Appeals court rejects Trump's $500 million civil fraud fine.

A state appeals court in New York has handed the president a major financial victory in a lawsuit accusing him of massive fraud in his family business by handing him multimillion-dollar fraud penalties.

Last year, a ruling in Manhattan found that Trump and his co-defendants in his Trump Organization empire illegally enriched themselves by defrauding banks and investors in a decades-long scheme for some of their brand-building properties.

An appeals court ruling on Thursday determined that New York Judge Arthur Engoron’s financial award — which has ballooned to more than $515 million with mounting interest — was “excessive.”

But the ruling applies only to financial penalties. The court upheld Engoron’s findings that the president and his business partners committed brazen fraud — something the president had tried to shield him from through the courts.

Last year’s ruling followed a three-year investigation and trial under New York Attorney General Letitia James, who accused Trump and his associates of persuading banks and lenders to grant favorable financing terms based on false and misleading financial statements.

After a bench trial in civil court, Trump, his companies and the trust were ordered to pay the state more than $354 million. The total “repossession” owed to the state between all defendants — money that is effectively forfeited as “unjustified profits” — has been increasing with interest since Trump appealed.

“While harm certainly occurred, it was not a catastrophic harm that could justify an award of nearly half a billion dollars to the state,” appellate Judge Peter Moulton wrote in a lengthy, complex ruling spanning more than 300 pages.