Donald Trump Jr., the eldest son of former US President Donald Trump, admitted in court on Thursday that he signed false financial documents for the family company, but said they were prepared by accountants, Reuters reported.

Donald Jr., 45, said on the second day of his testimony at the trial against the Trump Organization in New York that he relied on the company’s accountants and the auditing firm Mazars to make sure the valuations of the assets owned by the family business were correct.

“They had more information and details about all of this than I could have. That’s why we have accountants,” he said.

The documents in question are at the center of a civil fraud lawsuit filed by New York state that analysts say could hit the Trump family company hard.

Donald Jr. and his brother Eric took over the Trump Organization in 2017 after their father won the presidential election. At the time, Donald Trump was criticized for delaying his exit from the company for several months as the November 2016 presidential election took place.

What the fraud lawsuit against the Trump Organization is all about

New York State Attorney General Letitia James filed a complaint in New York State Supreme Court with hundreds of pages of documents in support of a civil complaint she filed in September 2022 seeking $250 million in damages from Trump, his children and their group. Trump Organization for tax and financial fraud.

James, a Democratic-backed prosecutor, accused the Republican billionaire and his children of “deliberately” manipulating — up and down — the valuation of the Trump Organization’s assets — golf clubs, luxury hotels and other properties — to get better loans from banks or lower their taxes.

In court documents released by Letitia James’ office, prosecutors say Trump overstated his financial status each year between 2011 and 2021 by “between 17% and 39%, or between $812 billion and $2.2 billion.”

The attorney general said Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, his luxury apartments in Trump Tower in Manhattan, and various office buildings and golf courses were among the assets that were overvalued.

A judge in the case has already ruled in favor of a New York state magistrate, but a hearing is ongoing to determine the amount of damages the defendants will have to pay.

The former American president has repeatedly condemned the “senseless” case led by a “racist” African-American judge. The trial is expected to conclude by Christmas.