Fraud case threatens to end Trump's family business

Donald Trump attacked the judge and New York prosecutors who have charged him with orchestrating a years-long fraud on Monday as state prosecutors accused the former president of using the scam to inflate his wealth by as much as $2.2bn.

- Lauren Aratani and Edward Helmore

Trump arrived at a New York court just a few kilometres south of Trump Tower on Monday for the first day of a fraud trial that could see the former president and his family business paying hundreds of millions of dollars in damages and which has threatened to end his business career in the city.

The New York attorney general, Letitia James, has accused Trump of using false and misleading financial statements from 2011 to 2021 to make himself and his businesses wealthier, helping him broker deals and obtain financing. Based on her office's three-year investigation, James is arguing that Trump owes at least $250m for committing fraud.

"This is a continuation of the single greatest witch-hunt of all time," Trump said as he headed into court. He said his financial statements were "phenomenal", called James, who is Black, a "racist" and a "horror show", and said the case was being overseen by a "rogue judge".

"My message is simple: No matter how powerful you are, no matter how much money you think you may have, no one is above the law," James said outside the court.

During the three-year investigation, James found that Trump had exaggerated the value of 23 of his properties and assets to the tune of hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars. Trump used these financial statements to obtain favourable loans and make his net worth appear higher than it actually was.