New York AG Letitia James indicted on fraud charges

By Chris Wade
The Center Square

A federal grand jury in Virginia on Thursday indicted New York Attorney General Letitia James on mortgage fraud charges.

U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Lindsey Halligan announced that a grand jury found enough evidence to charge James with bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution. If convicted, James faces up to 30 years in prison and $1 million fine for each count, Halligan’s office said.

“No one is above the law. The charges as alleged in this case represent intentional, criminal acts and tremendous breaches of the public’s trust,” Halligan said in a statement. “The facts and the law in this case are clear, and we will continue following them to ensure that justice is served.”

The indictment accuses James of falsely telling a bank that she would be living in a Norfolk, Virginia, home she bought in 2020 for about $137,000 as a secondary residence, but allegedly used it as an investment property.

The charges claim the alleged misrepresentation to the federally backed bank allowed James to receive a favorable interest rate, saving her nearly $19,000 over the life of the loan.

In a short video posted on social media later Thursday, James denied any wrongdoing and vowed to defend herself against the charges.

“This is nothing more than a continuation of the president’s desperate weaponization of our justice system,” she said. “I am not fearful — I am fearless. We will fight these baseless charges aggressively, and my office will continue to fiercely protect New Yorkers and their rights.”

James, who was first elected in 2018, has been a frequent critic of President Donald Trump and has filed several multistate lawsuits against the Trump administration over federal immigration policies, rollbacks in federal funding, and worker layoffs and other actions.

That includes a civil fraud trial that ended in a $454 million judgment against the Trump organization and several of its executives, which was recently overturned by a New York appeals court. James has appealed.

In April, the Federal Housing Finance Agency sent a letter to the DOJ accusing James of committing fraud by listing a home in Virginia as her primary residence and identifying her father as her husband on federally backed mortgage loan applications to get a lower interest rate and more favorable terms. The investigation has been widened to include her handling of the civil trial against Trump, according to reports.

James’ lawyers have denied any wrongdoing and blasted the Trump administration’s investigation as an act of political retribution.

Trump has publicly exerted pressure over Attorney General Pam Bondi to pursue charges against James, California Sen. Adam Schiff and former FBI director James Comey, who was recently indicted.

“Nothing is being done. What about Comey, Adam ‘Shifty’ Schiff, and Leticia???” Trump posted in a social media post. “We can’t delay any longer, it’s killing our reputation and credibility.”

The president tapped Halligan after announcing two weeks ago that he would fire the first acting U.S. attorney he appointed to the post, Erik Siebert, who resisted seeking fraud charges against James and other charges.

A few days after taking over the Virginia prosecutor’s office, Halligan won the indictment of Comey on charges of lying to Congress and obstructing a congressional proceeding.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, was among those who criticized the indictment against James and calling the prosecutions politically motivated.

“This is what tyranny looks like,” Schumer said. “President Trump is using the Justice Department as his personal attack dog.”

But Congresswoman Elise Stefank, a New York Republican, praised the charges against James and called it a “critical step toward restoring accountability and the rule of law.”

“For years, Letitia James has illegally weaponized her office to conduct a political witchhunt against Democrats’ political opponents most notably President Donald J. Trump,” Stefanik posted on social media. “Her hypocrisy is profound as she campaigned on the mantra that ‘no one is above the law.'”