TRENTON -- The Donald J. Trump Foundation must "immediately cease" its fundraising activities in New York because it failed to register as a charity, New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced Monday.

Registered charities are expected to file annual financial reports and audits. The foundation named for the real estate mogul and Republican nominee for president has never filed these reports, according to Schneiderman's announcement.

Fundraising activities must end and the foundation must produce the financial reports within 15 days of receiving the notice, the announcement said.

The Trump campaign told the Associated Press the foundation intends to cooperate with the investigation.

"While we remain very concerned about the political motives behind Schneiderman's investigation, the Trump Foundation nevertheless intends to cooperate fully with the investigation," Trump campaign spokeswoman Hope Hicks said in a statement. "Because this is an ongoing legal matter, the Trump Foundation will not comment further at this time."

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is a Democrat who has endorsed Trump's opponent, Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.

The Washington Post on Friday reported any charity that collects more than $25,000 a year from the public must be registered to do so. Schneiderman confirmed for the Post that the foundation lacked the proper certification.

In June, the Post reported Donald Trump appears to have given less than $100,000 of his own money in the seven years before a high-profile donation to veterans groups earlier this year. More recently, the Post reported the foundation has survived on the contributions of others, rather than from Trump, and how he may have used the donations for himself or business purposes.

Trump and his staff have repeatedly told the media that the businessman gives away millions privately, which aren't found in the foundation's records. Such figures could be found on Trump's tax returns, but he refuses to release them publicly, saying they are under audit.

Susan K. Livio may be reached at slivio@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @SusanKLivio. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.