Donald Trump is anticipated to attend the commencement of the civil fraud trial.
Donald Trump, a former US president, is scheduled to appear in court in New York on Monday to begin a civil fraud trial that could threaten his economic empire.
The Trump Organization, Mr. Trump, and his two adult sons are charged with inflating the worth of their assets by more than $2 billion (£1.65 billion).
A New York judge determined last week that Mr. Trump was accountable for commercial fraud.
The defense team for Mr. Trump attempted but failed to delay the case.
Judge Arthur Engoron concluded last Tuesday that Mr. Trump had materially misrepresented his wealth, to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars.
Letitia James, the attorney general of New York, is now requesting a $250 million (£204 million) punishment and a prohibition against Mr. Trump conducting business in his home state.
The Trump Organization might be compelled to sell some of its iconic properties as a result of the action, hand over control of its properties to a court-appointed receiver, or both.
Mr. Trump announced late on Sunday that he intended to attend the trial’s opening on Monday morning.
He posted on his Truth Social platform, “I’m going to Court tomorrow am to fight for my name and character. “This whole investigation is a sham!”
Being a bench trial, Judge Engoron will determine the matter rather than a jury. He stated that the hearing for the matter might go on for up to three months.
The defense of Mr. Trump and the other defendants in the case is that they never engaged in fraud.
The judge has already been under assault from the former president, who accused him of conducting a politically driven witch hunt.
After Judge Engoron’s decision last week, the primary fraud claim in Ms. James’ complaint was resolved, allowing the trial to concentrate on a smaller group of the six remaining fraud allegations and on deciding Mr. Trump’s punishment.
Among other rulings, Judge Engoron found that Mr. Trump exaggerated the size of his penthouse at Trump Tower in New York by three times and inflated his Mar-a-Lago, Florida property by 2,300%.
Ms. James claimed that Mr. Trump created these fake documents to obtain better terms on insurance and loan agreements and to reduce taxes.
One of the many legal battles the former president is engaged in is the civil fraud case. He also faces criminal allegations for handling confidential data and interfering with an election.