New York State’s Attorney General, Letitia James, has made fresh allegations against Donald Trump in her ongoing civil lawsuit against him and his family business.

In a recent court filing in Manhattan, James claimed that Trump may have fraudulently inflated his wealth to a much greater extent than previously estimated. Her new assertion is that Trump falsely increased his net worth by anywhere from $1.9 billion to $3.6 billion annually over a period of ten years, Reuters reports.

This updated figure surpasses her earlier estimate, which ranged from $812 million to $2.23 billion, and was based on what she referred to as “undisputed” evidence – a claim contested by Trump.

James argued that there is a substantial body of evidence demonstrating that Trump and his associates provided false information about his assets and net worth to secure more favorable loan and insurance terms. She believes that this evidence justifies a judgment before the scheduled trial on October 2, declaring Trump’s financial statements as fraudulent.

As part of her legal action, Attorney General James is seeking a $250 million fine and aims to prevent Trump and his sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, from leading the Trump Organization, which is headquartered in New York City.

In response to James’ latest filing, Trump’s legal team promptly fired back, insisting that Trump is worth “many billions of dollars” and has generated significant profits for the companies that financed and insured his real estate ventures.

They categorically denied any fraud and asserted that there were no victims in this case. Trump’s lawyers also argued that the statutes of limitations should invalidate most of James’ claims and accused her of pursuing an opportunistic lawsuit for political gain, stating that she had unfairly maligned and libeled Trump and his family.

Notably, Letitia James is a Democrat, while Trump was a prominent figure in the 2024 Republican presidential nomination race at the time of these developments.

The presiding judge, Arthur Engoron, has scheduled a hearing for September 22 to consider both sides’ motions for summary judgment. His decisions in this matter could potentially narrow the scope of the case or, if favorable to Trump, eliminate the need for a full trial that could extend until late December.

It’s essential to clarify that this civil lawsuit is separate from the four criminal indictments Trump faces, two of which relate to attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results. In all four criminal cases, Trump has entered a plea of not guilty.

Among the properties whose valuations are disputed in this lawsuit are Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida and his penthouse triplex in Trump Tower in midtown Manhattan. According to James’ experts, Trump may have inflated his net worth by $3.5 billion to $3.6 billion annually from 2014 to 2019, with his financial statements reflecting peak values of $6.1 billion in 2015, 2018, and 2019.

In a recent development, Judge Arthur Engoron rejected Trump’s request to delay the trial by at least three weeks, ensuring that the legal proceedings continue as scheduled. The case is officially titled New York v Trump et al and is being heard in the New York State Supreme Court, New York County, under case number 452564/2022.