Donald Trump‘s business empire is on the line, with the potential for it all to come crumbling down … as he appears in court for the first time for his $250 million civil fraud trial.

The former president arrived at Manhattan Supreme Court Monday morning as his trial kicked off … something Trump’s previously labeled as a “witch hunt” with the goal of diminishing his run for the presidency.

Trump was seated next to his attorneys Clifford Robert, Alina Habba, and Christopher Kise … as attorney Kevin Wallace delivered opening statements on behalf of the Attorney General’s office.

Wallace said Trump overvalued his statements from anywhere between $812 million and $2.2 billion … claiming he knew they were false but used them to his advantage.

Monday’s trial comes a year after being sued by NY Attorney General Letitia James — claiming he misrepresented his net worth by billions of dollars. Trump’s top execs and his sons Eric and Donald Jr. are also in the crosshairs for the alleged decade-long scheme.

Judge Arthur Engoron ruled last week that Trump and co. were liable for the fraud claims against them — canceling the defendant’s NY business certificates and ordering an independent receiver to oversee their dissolution.

In other words, James got a substantial win in court before the trial even kicked off.