Former U.S. President Donald Trump created a new company in Delaware called the Trump Organisation II ahead of the lawsuit filed by New York attorney general Letitia James, accusing him and his company of fraud. 

The New York Times reports that on September 21, the day the suit was filed, the new Delaware company filed paperwork in New York, seeking to be recognised as the Trump Organisation II.

On Thursday, Ms James filed a request seeking an order from the judge that would prohibit the Trump Organisation from transferring its assets without court approval.

The filing said the Trump Organization “now appears to be taking steps to restructure its business to avoid existing responsibilities under New York law.”

Ms James also asked a judge to immediately install a monitor to oversee the company’s disclosures to lenders and insurers.

“Since we filed this sweeping lawsuit last month, Donald Trump and the Trump Organisation have continued those same fraudulent practices and taken measures to evade responsibility,” Ms James said in a statement. “Today, we are seeking an immediate stop to these actions because Mr Trump should not get to play by different rules.”

In September, Ms James accused former Mr Trump, his adult children and his family business, the Trump Organisation, of $250 million fraud, adding that they capitalised on the valuations of its properties to gain financial advantages. 

The civil lawsuit seeks to bar Mr Trump, Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, and Ivanka Trump from acting as officers of the company in New York.

The lawsuit results from a three-year-long probe of Mr Trump’s business practices, during which Mr Trump was personally invited for a deposition. 

Mr Trump invoked the Fifth Amendment in August, a few days after FBI agents raided his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida as part of an unrelated federal probe into whether he took classified records when he left the White House.