Donald Trump wasn’t sued for paying back loans with interest

Was former President Donald Trump prosecuted for something that is ordinarily not considered unlawful? That’s what a viral Facebook post says.

“When Trump takes out a loan and pays it back with interest, it is a crime,” the March 26 post claimed. The post is then critical of President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness program, parts of which have been blocked by the Supreme Court.

The Facebook post was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.)

The post appears to be referring to the New York attorney general’s fraud case, which accused the former president of manipulating the value of properties to obtain favorable loan terms from banks. 

That was a civil case, not a criminal matter. He was not accused of taking a loan out and paying it back with interest.

In February, New York judge Arthur Engoron ruled in the state’s favor, saying that “in order to borrow more and at lower rates, defendants submitted blatantly false financial data to the accountants, resulting in fraudulent financial statements.” 

Engoron ordered Trump to pay more than $450 million and barred him from being an executive for any New York businesses for three years. His sons and other co-defendants were also barred from executive roles.

Trump has appealed the ruling and he posted a $175 million bond, which will prevent his assets from being seized while the case is under appeal.

We rate the claim that Trump was sued for taking a loan and paying it back False.