The Attorney General of New York outlines a pattern of possible fraud at Trump's company.

Letitia James, the attorney general, revealed fresh facts about her investigation as she pushed for questioning Donald J. Trump and two of his children under oath.

Late Tuesday, Letitia James, the New York State attorney general, accused Donald J. Trump's family firm of regularly misrepresenting the worth of its assets to boost its bottom line, alleging in court filings that the company had participated in "fraudulent or deceptive" activities.

Mr. Trump's recent attempt to prevent Ms. James from interrogating him and two of his adult children under oath as part of a civil probe into his company, the Trump Organization, prompted the move. Ms. James' investigation into Mr. Trump and the corporation is still ongoing, and it's uncertain if her attorneys will bring a lawsuit against them in the end.

Nonetheless, this was the first time the attorney general's office has made such precise allegations against the former president's corporation. Her rebuttal adds to the pressure on Mr. Trump, who is attempting to shut down her probe, which he has characterized as a politicized witch hunt. Ms. James is a member of the Democratic Party.

According to the lawsuit, Ms. James' office made false assertions about the worth of six Trump properties as well as the "Trump brand." Golf courses in Westchester County, New York, and Scotland, as well as major skyscrapers like Trump Tower and 40 Wall Street in Manhattan, were among the holdings.

The corporation misrepresented the worth of the properties to lenders, insurers, and the Internal Revenue Service, according to Ms. James' petition. According to the lawsuit, many of the assertions were "typically overstated as part of a pattern to portray that Mr. Trump's net worth was larger than it would have looked otherwise."

Mr. Trump's and his company's lawyers could not be reached for comment right away.

Ms. James can sue Mr. Trump and his firm since her probe is civil, but she cannot seek criminal charges. Her investigation is underway concurrently with a criminal probe sponsored by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, which is looking at some of the same activity. Ms. James' office has lawyers working on a separate inquiry, which is still ongoing. Mr. Bragg, a Democrat, took office on January 1 and inherited the investigation from his predecessor.

Ms. James filed a subpoena for Mr. Trump, Donald Trump Jr., and Ivanka Trump in early December, requesting that they be questioned as part of her civil investigation. In October 2020, Ms. James questioned another of Mr. Trump's sons, Eric Trump.

Mr. Trump's attorneys filed a federal complaint after receiving the subpoenas, requesting that Ms. James' civil probe be halted and that her office be barred from cooperating with the district attorney's criminal inquiry. Ms. James was accused of breaching Mr. Trump's constitutional rights in the complaint, which claimed that her inquiry was politically motivated and listed a long series of her public assaults on him.

Mr. Trump's attorneys also filed court documents in New York State this month, attempting to stop Ms. James's subpoenas, leading her to file on Tuesday.

Ms. James, who is running for re-election this year, argued in court that while her office had accumulated substantial evidence that Mr. Trump's company had engaged in possible fraud, investigators needed to question Mr. Trump to determine who was responsible for "the numerous misstatements and omissions made by him or on his behalf" — and whether they were intentional.

Since March 2019, Ms. James has started looking into Mr. Trump's business operations. She listed the properties she was looking at in prior filings, saying her investigators were looking into whether Mr. Trump had misrepresented the value of numerous properties throughout the country to acquire loans and receive economic and tax benefits.

She went even farther in Tuesday's petition, citing specific examples of how the former president's firm misrepresented the value of certain of its assets and how those misrepresentations benefitted the company by allowing it to acquire advantageous loans, insurance coverage, and tax benefits.

Mr. Trump's financial statements, or the annual record of his assets and liabilities that he presented to lenders and insurers, are at the focus of the allegations. According to Ms. James' office, he "was directly involved in examining and approving the financial statements before their issue."

According to the lawsuit, the claims "often used deceptive asset appraisals to seek financial benefits."

Mr. Trump's statement of a financial condition placed the property's value at $735 million in 2015, when he was trying to restructure debt on his 40 Wall Street tower in Lower Manhattan. Despite this, one lender determined that it was only worth $257 million.

Mr. Trump's lawyers claim that he made at least two false representations to the Internal Revenue Service, claiming that he significantly exaggerated the value of the land at both his Westchester County estate and his Los Angeles Golf Club. Ms. James said that the value of Seven Springs had been raised by calculating the worth of seven nonexistent residences. It is estimated that the property is worth $61 million.

They further accused the Organization of exaggerating the size of Mr. Trump's longstanding residence to calculate the worth of Trump Tower: Mr. Trump had claimed that his triplex penthouse apartment in the building was 30,000 square feet since 2012, although he had signed documentation showing that it was just 10,996 square feet.

Because of the extra square footage, the corporation was able to declare a $327 million value for the flat in its financial records. During interrogation by Ms. James's investigators, Allen H. Weisselberg, the Trump Organization's longstanding top financial officer, claimed the apartment was overpriced by "give or take" $200 million.

Mr. Trump's business has already been charged in Manhattan. Former district attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. accused the corporation and Mr. Weisselberg in July of a 15-year plan to give select executives off-the-books luxurious benefits. Later this year, that lawsuit is set to go to trial.

Jonah E. Bromwich writes on New York's criminal justice system, with an emphasis on the Manhattan district attorney's office, state criminal courts in Manhattan, and the city's jails.

Mr. Bromwich has covered investigations into former President Donald J. Trump and his family company, the resignation of New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, and the crisis at the Rikers Island jail complex, among other issues, during his tenure on Metro.

Ben Protess is a reporter who focuses on the federal government, law enforcement, and several criminal investigations involving former President Donald Trump and his associates.

William K. Rashbaum is a senior reporter on the Metro desk, where he focuses on political and municipal corruption, as well as courts, terrorism, and law enforcement. He was a member of the team that won the Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News in 2009.