Legal expert explains how the Trump family is on the hook for ‘mega-fraud’ in New York

Donald Trump's family is facing allegations of having committed "mega-fraud" in New York that is being investigated by the state's attorney general.

"New York Attorney General Letitia James alleged on Tuesday that former president Donald Trump’s business inflated the value of his properties and misstated his personal worth in representations to lenders, insurance brokers and other players in his real estate empire," The Washington Postreported. "In a nearly 160-page filing, James cited multiple examples of Trump allegedly lending his signature to financial statements that estimated the worth of properties in the Trump Organization portfolio and the value of his own fortune — estimates that James’s team has long suggested were misleading and potentially key to taking legal action against the Manhattan-based company."

CNN interviewed former federal prosecutor Elie Honig about the overnight developments in the case.

"This filing — that came out just before midnight — gives us by far the most depth and detail we have seen on this allegation we have heard for years now about the overvaluation of these assets," Honig said. "Let me tell you, this is mega-fraud. That's not a legal term. This is mega-fraud — we are talking hundreds of millions of dollars, preposterous over statements what the properties are worth."

READ: George Conway: Trump 'lied his derrière off' for two months — and the Jan. 6 committee is on it

"This is happening on the civil side. We're talking lawsuits here, not prosecutions. That's a separate question," he noted. "Big steps on the civil side."

Watch:

Elie Honigwww.youtube.com