Former U.S. President Donald Trump and his family business are set to stand trial in New York on Monday in a civil fraud case brought by Democratic New York Attorney General Letitia James. The case accuses Trump of inflating the value of his assets by billions of dollars to secure better loan and insurance terms. Trump, who is currently the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, plans to attend the first week of the trial, according to a court filing. The trial comes after Judge Arthur Engoron ruled last week that James had proven her fraud case against Trump and his two adult sons, Donald Jr and Eric, as well as 10 of his companies.

Engoron described in scathing terms how Trump and his associates made up valuations, including calculating the value of Trump's apartment in Trump Tower as if it were three times its actual size. The discrepancy was deemed fraud by Engoron. As a result of the ruling, Engoron canceled business certificates for 10 companies controlling Trump's empire, including Trump Tower and his golf clubs in New York, and said he would appoint receivers to oversee their dissolution. While the ruling only covers a handful of entities in Trump's portfolio, it includes some of his most valuable properties, potentially dealing a major blow to his finances.

During the trial, which is scheduled to run through early December, more than 150 people, including Trump, are listed as potential witnesses. The trial will likely involve a battle of experts opining on financial documents. James is seeking at least $250 million in fines, a permanent ban against Trump and his sons from running businesses in New York, and a five-year restriction on Trump's commercial real estate activities. James alleges that Trump fraudulently inflated the values of his assets to gain hundreds of millions of dollars in ill-gotten savings.

In response to the upcoming trial, Trump took to his Truth Social account to assert his innocence and criticize James and the judge in the case. He called the accusation a “sham” and accused James and the judge of being unfair, unhinged, and vicious in their pursuit of him. Trump has been sued by James in September 2022, and the case is unrelated to the four criminal indictments he is currently facing, including charges related to classified documents, his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, and hush money payments to a porn star. Trump has denied wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty in all four cases.