Letitia James Celebrates Two Wins in One Week

New York State Attorney General Letitia James attends a local St Patrick’s Parade, March 17, 2024, in Staten Island, New York.

New York Attorney General Letitia James celebrated a second win in the past seven days when she announced a $100,000 payout from a landscaping supply company.

James, who is most known for the civil fraud suit that she brought against former President Donald Trump, had successes in two separate cases this week.

The attorney general wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Friday: “Stephen Affatato and his company, Affa Organics, illegally destroyed parts of the Pine Barrens, protected land that’s essential to Long Island’s drinking water and our environment.”

James and the Pine Barrens Commission reached a settlement with Affatato and his company, in which Affatato will pay a civil penalty of $100,000 and is required to fully restore the parts of the Pine Barrens in Long Island, New York, that were destroyed. If Affatato fails to restore the site, he will have to pay an additional $200,000.

“Long Island’s Pine Barrens are among New York’s most precious natural resources,” James said in a press release on Friday. “Stephen Affatato ignored the law and destroyed protected land for his own benefit, and now he must repair the damage and restore the area.”

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, James announced in an X post that conservative activists Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman “must pay up to $1.25 million for their racist and dangerous voter intimidation campaign that targeted Black voters.”

In March 2023, a federal judge found Wohl and Burkman liable for targeting Black New York voters by transmitting false and threatening messages to discourage them from voting by mail ahead of the 2020 election in a civil case filed by James in May 2021.

“The right to vote is the cornerstone of our democracy, and it belongs to everyone. We will not allow anyone to threaten that right,” James said in a press release on Tuesday, adding that Wohl and Burkman will “pay up to $1.25 million to my office, the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, and the individuals who were harmed by their scheme. My office will always defend the right to vote.”

James also claimed victory in February when New York Judge Arthur Engoron ordered Trump, who is the presumed 2024 GOP presidential nominee, to pay $355 million, plus interest, and banned him from doing business in New York for three years after finding him liable for financial fraud in a civil suit brought on by James.

“Today, justice has been served,” James said in an X post when Engoron’s judgment was released. “No matter how big, how rich, or how powerful you are, no one is above the law. Not even Donald Trump.”

The attorney general accused the former president, The Trump Organization and company executives of fraudulently overvaluing assets to secure more favorable bank loans and taxation deals in a lawsuit filed in September 2022.

Trump has appealed Engoron’s decision, maintaining his innocence and claiming the case is politically motivated against him.

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