A Miami-Dade County woman is running a GoFundMe page to help former President Donald Trump cover a $355 million civil court judgment.
Elena Cardone, an Aventura resident, launched the page Friday to assist Trump in facing an "unprecedented and unfair treatment by certain judicial elements in New York."
"This is more than a legal fund; it's a call to all business owners and entrepreneurs to rally in defense of all businesses and for a man who has never hesitated to stand in defense of us," she wrote on the page. "It's about making a stand. It's about showing that when one of us is targeted for championing the values that make America great, he does not stand alone."
By 3 p.m. Sunday, the page recorded 6,300 donations totaling $286,000. The average donation was $49. The top donation, so far, was $5,000 from someone named Aaron Jones, whom some people are ridiculing on the social media site, Reddit, using a GIF of Forrest Gump.
On Friday, New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron ordered Trump to pay $355 million in penalties, finding that the former President lied about his wealth for years in a sweeping civil fraud verdict.
The verdict pierced Trump's billionaire image, but stopped short of putting his real estate empire out of business and marked a staggering setback for the presumptive GOP nominee for President.
Trump, who decried Friday's decision as "a lawless and unconstitutional atrocity," has vowed to appeal and won't have to pay immediately. Under state law, he would be required to pay interest on the penalties, which New York Attorney General Leticia James said could hold him accountable for more than $450 million in damages.
Combined with other fines — including $83.3 million in penalties to the writer E. Jean Carroll for damaging her reputation after she accused him of sexual assault — the former President's legal debts might now exceed a half-billion dollars.
Cardona announced the GoFundMe effort in an X post just before 6 p.m. Friday. Its target is the full $355 million.
On her LinkedIn page, Cardona describes herself as a professional speaker on empowerment, relationships and family whose goal is "Restoring the Value of Women to Society."
She and her husband, private equity fund manager and internet celebrity Grant Cardone, co-authored the 2022 book "Build an Empire: How to Have it All." It holds a 4.5-star out of a possible 5-star rating on Amazon with 172 reviews.
Speaking with ABC affiliate WPLG Miami, she said she has "never been a political person with my viewpoint, but this ruling really rocked me to the core."
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This report uses material from The Associated Press, republished with permission.
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