Former U.S. President Donald Trump appears in court in New York on Monday to testify in a civil trial in which he faces allegations of fraudulently inflating his wealth to bolster his real estate empire.

Trump (77 years old), who hopes to return to the White House, launched into politics promoting his business acumen, which he says brought him wealth.

Before testifying in court, his son Eric confirmed that he is "very excited" for the trial scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. (15:00 GMT) before New York judge Arthur Engoron, amid tension between him and the former Republican president since the trial began last month.

Just as he insulted the judges overseeing his four criminal trials, Trump described Engoron as "crazy" and "a radical left-wing Democratic activist he hates," and Engoron responded by imposing two fines on Trump: one of $5,000 and another of $10,000, when he ruled that the former reality TV star violated a partial gag order imposed on him after attacking the court reporter on social media.

Trump has undergone two hearings related to the investigation in this case, the first on August 10, 2022, and the second on April 13, 2023.

In excerpts from his first testimony, he described the proceedings as "the most vicious witch hunt in our country's history," led by New York State Attorney General, Democrat Letitia James.

The candidate, who leads the 2024 Republican presidential race, also faces one of the first legal challenges in this civil trial, which will proceed without a jury.

So far, two of his sons, Donald Jr. and Eric, have testified alongside other executives in the Trump Organization, which includes countless companies managing residential skyscrapers, offices, luxury hotels, residences, and golf courses worldwide.

Also, before proceedings began on October 2, the judge said the New York State Attorney General’s office, which filed the civil complaint, presented "conclusive evidence that between 2014 and 2021, the defendants exaggerated the valuation of the group's assets" from "$812 million to $2.2 billion," in Donald Trump’s annual financial statements.

As a result of "repeated fraud," the judge ordered the liquidation of companies managing these assets, such as Trump Tower and the private and luxurious "Seven Springs" property in the suburbs.

This decision remained pending appeal, but its broad and potential consequences shed light on the significant risks facing the former president, who built his political persona on the image of successes described in his book "The Art of the Deal."

Moreover, the 45th U.S. president (2017–2021) will have to deal with a very busy legal agenda during the Republican primary elections.

He is expected to appear in March 2024 before the federal court in Washington, charged with "conspiring to overturn the 2020 presidential election results."

However, so far, the charges against him have not affected his dominance in the polls, and he has been attending the hearings regularly in New York.

Trump also reiterated that his luxurious residence in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, is valued 50 to 100 times higher than the court estimates ($17 to $28 million), which take into account the restrictions on the site's use since it is considered a private club, reducing its value.

Regarding the case details, Trump's lawyers deny any fraud, considering the real estate valuations subjective, and that the banks lending to the Trump Organization did not lose any money.

Meanwhile, Donald Jr. and Eric stressed that they did not participate in preparing any of the organization’s annual financial statements, leaving this task to the accountants, but the prosecutors confronted Eric with emails that seem to contradict these claims.

Meanwhile, the parade of family witnesses will continue to stream into the court, where Trump’s daughter Ivanka, who no longer holds any official role within the Trump Organization, is expected to testify despite attempts to avoid giving testimony.

It is noteworthy that since the judge established the existence of fraud, he must now rule on whether other financial violations of laws were committed and issue his decision regarding the potential fine amount, with the prosecution having demanded fines amounting to $250 million.