We're closing our live coverage of the lawsuit announced against former President Donald Trump and his three eldest children.

To recap, here's what happened:

• New York's attorney general alleged that the Trump family - as well as senior Trump Organization officials - committed numerous acts of fraud and offered false valuations of property assets between 2011 and 2021
• The lawsuit - which followed a three-year investigation - is seeking $250m (£220m) from the defendants. Attorney General Letitia James' office is also seeking that the Trumps be barred from serving as officers or directors of New York-based companies
• If Trump and the company lost in a future trial, their ability to operate in New York could be severely restricted
• Several allegations of criminal conduct have also been referred to federal prosecutors and the International Revenue Service
• Trump and his children have characterised the lawsuit as a politically-motivated witch hunt on the part of James, a Democrat who is seeking re-election in November. They have repeatedly denied wrongdoing

For the latest developments, read our story here.

Kayla Epstein
Reporting from New York

Today, New York's attorney general filed a civil lawsuit. But at her press conference, she also announced that she would pass her findings to other powerful law enforcement officials including the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Justice.

They could carry out potential criminal investigations.

Miriam Baer, vice-dean at Brooklyn Law School, called this one of the more notable developments from today’s press conference.

“The New York attorney general went one step further today,” Baer told the BBC. “It announced that in addition to filing this civil complaint, it was also making a referral to federal law enforcement authorities for a criminal investigation.”

“This sends an additionally ominous signal, as the Department of Justice’s Tax Division and the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York will now consider whether a criminal investigation is warranted,” Baer said.

This development could open up additional fronts in Trump’s multi-pronged legal war against both federal and state officials.

In addition to the $250m (£220m) that New York's attorney general is seeking, today's announcement could have far-reaching implications for Donald Trump, his family members and their business dealings.

For one, Attorney General Letitia James said her office is hoping that a court permanently bars Donald Trump - as well as Donald Trump Jr, Eric and Ivanka - from serving as an officer or director in any corporation or business entity in the entire state of New York.

Additionally, Trump - and the entire Trump Organization - would be unable to acquire any commercial property in the state for the next five years, and would be barred from applying for loans from any institution registered with the state's Department of Financial Services.

As one of the trustees of the Donald Trump Revocable Trust - which controls the former president's business interests - Donald Trump Jr would also be replaced with an independent trustee if the entity is replaced with a new trust.

A judge would have to rule on all these measures before they come into effect.

Image source, Getty Images

Mike Wendling
Reporting from Chicago

At nearly 100 stories tall, the Trump International Hotel and Tower in Chicago is the city’s second-tallest building. Its shiny, stacked-box design and all-caps TRUMP logo stands out even among the huge towers that line the Chicago River.

But according to the New York lawsuit, Trump declared this luxury building – stuffed with apartments, hotel rooms and restaurants – “worthless”.

The lawsuit alleges the claim would help offset federal taxes. At the same time, however, the former president was obtaining loans against the tower from Deutsche Bank.

The massive German financial institution loaned billions to Trump over decades despite the ex-president’s defaults and lawsuits against the bank. Deutsche Bank vowed to stop lending Trump money shortly after the 6 January riot at the US Capitol.

Government lawyers say Trump has obtained tens of millions of dollars of loans on the Trump Chicago building since 2011. The lawsuit alleges that Trump and his organisation misrepresented their financial position in order to obtain favourable terms, not only on loans against the Chicago tower but on property around the world.

The 222-page lawsuit against Donald Trump and his three eldest children lists a number of properties that New York officials say were grossly misrepresented as part of the alleged fraud.

Here are a few of the most well-known:

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Even before she took office as New York's attorney general, Letitia James has had Donald Trump in her sights.

On the night she was elected, the former New York City councilwoman from Brooklyn took aim at Trump.

“He should know that we here in New York - and I, in particular - we are not scared of you,” she said after her win in 2018. “And as the next attorney general of his home state, I will be shining a bright light into every dark corner of his real estate dealings, and every dealing, demanding truthfulness at every turn.”

James has made good on her promise, officially launching a civil investigation into Trump and his family business in 2019.

Trump, in turn, has responded with his customary name-calling, accusing "Letitia Peekaboo James" of a politically-motivated campaign against him.

He's called James, who is black, a "racist" and a "failed" attorney general with bad poll numbers.

On Wednesday, James appeared to shrug off the insults, saying they had no bearing on her investigation or the potential outcome in court.

For those of you just joining us, here's the latest:

• Donald Trump and his three eldest children are being sued for business fraud in New York following a long-running investigation into the Trump Organization's practices
• The lawsuit, announced in a press conference by the Attorney General Letitia James, alleges that the Trump family and company officials committed "numerous acts of fraud" and grossly misrepresented the value of property assets by billions of dollars
• In total, the lawsuit is seeking about $250m (£220m) from the defendants
• Allegations of criminal wrongdoing have also been referred to the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Justice
• Trump denies any wrongdoing and accused the attorney general - a Democrat up for re-election in November - of being at the helm of a politically-motivated witch hunt

The taxpayers of New York are paying for the attorney general’s investigation and other legal costs. Legal experts say these costs could eventually be charged to Trump as part of a settlement, or as part of a judge's order.

But a large chunk of Trump’s legal bills have so far been footed by the Republican National Committee. The RNC paid almost $2m (£1.76m) in legal fees to law firms representing the former president between October 2021 and July of this year, according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) records.

This could, however, end if Trump decides to run for president again in 2024.

RNC officials, quoted in various US media reports, say the payments would stop because the party has a "neutrality policy" that prohibits it from taking sides in the presidential primary.

Kayla Epstein
Reporting from New York

Should he declare another run for president in 2024, Donald Trump would be running under the shadow of a fraud lawsuit that could ultimately be “ruinous” for his real estate business, Tristan Snell, a lawyer and former prosecutor who handled a fraud case against Trump University, tells the BBC.

He would enter the campaign as the undisputed frontrunner of the Republican pack, but his legal jeopardy opens up lines of attack that a potential challenger could exploit.

Snell says Trump and the Trump Organization may seek to settle, rather than go to a full trial, in an effort to deal with at least one of the multiple legal battles he faces.

“From Trump’s perspective, it’s better to rip off the Band-Aid and get it over with and out of the way ahead of any run that could happen next year,” he says.

Mike Wendling
Disinformation reporter

Image source, Telegram

Donald Trump and some of his most staunch supporters reacted with predictable fury against today’s lawsuit, but for others the news was a bit "meh".

On his Truth Social network, which has become Trump’s main megaphone following his removal from mainstream social networking platforms, the ex-president railed against a “Witch Hunt by a racist Attorney General”.

On other outlets, including pro-Trump channels on the Telegram chat app, users repeated Trump’s main themes - angrily accusing New York Attorney General Letitia James of ignoring violent crime and driving businesses out of the state.

”Why doesn’t James stop harassing President Trump?” one supporter tweeted. Trump’s sons also accused the attorney general of being politically biased.

At the same time, other big supporter accounts and pro-Trump media outlets, perhaps wearied by yet another legal fracas involving the former president, seemed to barely notice the news.

On alternative social network Gab, populated mostly by fringe and far-right characters, the most popular posts railed against immigration and Covid vaccines, with little mention of the fraud case.

As well as this civil investigation, there's also an active criminal investigation into the Trump Organization based out of New York.

For months, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has been looking into whether Donald Trump or the Trump family business purposely inflated the value of the company's assets to potential lenders.

In the last few moments, Bragg released a statement saying this investigation was "active and ongoing".

It has already yielded criminal charges against the Trump Organization and its former Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg - who was also named by Letitia James today.

Last month, Weisselberg pleaded guilty to 15 felonies and admitted he had conspired with the company to avoid paying taxes. As part of a plea deal, Weissleberg must testify at the company's criminal trial if asked by prosecutors.

Nada Tawfik
Reporting from New York

Remember the name Michael Cohen? This lawsuit can be traced back to President Trump’s former lawyer and his dramatic testimony to Congress in 2019.

He described the former president as a “con-man” who repeatedly exaggerated his wealth in financial documents to receive favourable loans from banks and insurance coverage.

That caught the attention of New York state’s Attorney General Letitia James, who said today that her investigation started only after Cohen had shed light on the alleged misconduct.

Former President Trump fought her at every turn through the courts, insisting this was a witch-hunt by James, a Democrat. But his attempts to ignore her subpoenas and to block her investigation altogether were unsuccessful.

When he sat for a four-hour, court ordered, deposition earlier this year he invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination more than 400 times.

While that can’t be held against Trump in a criminal trial, it very much can be in a civil one. Perhaps seeing the writing on the wall, his legal team tried to settle but were rebuffed. He has a long legal battle ahead and must now also worry whether this will turn into criminal charges.

Image source, Getty Images

The lawsuit is long (more than 200 pages) and the result of a three-year investigation. Here's a look at what it alleges:

• Donald Trump and his three children lied about the value of his properties - hotels, golf courses and other assets - in order to secure better loans and lower tax rates
• Over the course of a decade, Trump and his family made more than 200 false or misleading valuations on financial statements
• Each statement was personally certified as accurate by Donald Trump, Donald Trump Jr, or former Trump Organization financial executive Allen Weisselberg
• The scheme enriched the Trump family by at least $250m (£220m)

“This conduct cannot be brushed aside and dismissed as some sort of good-faith mistake,” James said on Wednesday.

“The statements of financial condition were greatly exaggerated, grossly inflated, objectively false, and therefore fraudulent and illegal."

Trump has repeatedly denied wrongdoing.

Image source, Getty Images

Donald Trump Jr - the former president's eldest son - has responded to the lawsuit on Twitter, saying Letitia James is "weaponising her office" to attack political opponents.

"This is all about politics," he wrote - echoing a statement made by his father's lawyer just moments ago.

Donald Jr and two of his siblings, Eric and Ivanka, are defendants in the suit. They are accused of helping their father inflate his net worth by billions of dollars.

Attorney General Letitia James was earlier asked whether she would be willing to settle the case with Donald Trump and his children out of court.

"I will not negotiate in public," she said, noting recent coverage saying her office had rejected settlement offers from Trump lawyers in recent days.

"Our doors are always open," she added.

Kayla Epstein
Reporting from New York

Image source, Getty Images

The decision to move ahead with a fraud lawsuit against Donald Trump and three of his children raises the political stakes for the former president.

That's because this is one of several ongoing investigations into Trump. These range from his businesses, his efforts to challenge the results of the 2020 presidential election, to his handling of classified government documents. Several of these have heated up in the last few weeks.

The advancement of another major investigation into Trump gives his Democratic rivals more fodder as the midterm elections on 8 November loom ever nearer.

While Trump is not on the ballot, Democrats have sought to tie Republican candidates to the former president, his policies and his alleged conduct.

He has spun the multiple investigations as a partisan witch hunt, and has portrayed himself and his supporters as victims of political persecution.

Trump, meanwhile, continues to hold rallies across the country and has not ruled out a run for president in 2024.

Image source, Getty Images

Former President Donald Trump has responded to the lawsuit, calling it politically motivated.

“Today’s filing is neither focused on the facts nor the law,” he said in a statement through his lawyer Alina Habba.

“It is abundantly clear that the Attorney General’s Office has exceeded its statutory authority by prying into transactions where absolutely no wrongdoing has taken place,” it read.

Trump and Attorney General James have repeatedly sparred over the past year, while her office conducted an investigation into his family's business affairs.

Image source, Getty Images

The sweeping lawsuit against Donald Trump and three of his adult children – Donald Jr, Ivanka and Eric – alleges that they lied to lenders and insurers for more than a decade in order to enrich themselves.

In the more than 200-page lawsuit, James alleges that the defendants “repeatedly and consistently” manipulated the value of their assets to receive favourable loans and lower tax rates.

The “astounding” fraud scheme, she said, helped Trump pad his bank account by at least $250m (£220m).

James, a Democrat, is asking the court for these funds to be returned.

She is also seeking to permanently bar Trump, Donald Jr, Ivanka and Eric from serving as the director of a business registered anywhere in New York state.

She is also seeking to cancel the Trump Organization’s corporate certificate. If this motion is granted by a judge, it could effectively force the company to cease operations in the state.

The attorney general of New York, Letitia James, has filed a fraud lawsuit against Donald Trump and three of his children.

It is seeking around $250m (£220m) from the defendants.

James said the former president's family business, the Trump Organization, had repeatedly used false statements to get banks to lend them money on favourable terms.

"[He] falsely inflated net worth by billions of dollars," she said in a press conference earlier.

Trump has denied wrongdoing.

Follow us here for live updates and analysis of what this could mean for the former president and his family.