Trump administration refers NY AG Letitia James for potential prosecution over alleged mortgage fraud
WASHINGTON — New York Attorney General Letitia James — who infamously declared that “no one is above the law” when she was targeting Donald Trump — was hit with a federal criminal referral for instances of alleged mortgage fraud on Tuesday, according to a letter obtained by The Post.
Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director William Pulte sent the missive to Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy AG Todd Blanche, alleging that James had “falsified records” to get home loans for a property in Virginia that she claimed was her “principal residence” in 2023 — while still serving as a New York state prosecutor.
That occurred in late August 2023, weeks before James began her civil fraud trial against the Trump Organization for overinflating the values of many of its properties, which ended in a $454 million judgment.
“Ms. James was the sitting Attorney General of New York and is required by law to have her primary residence in the state of New York — even though her mortgage applications list her intent to have the Norfolk, VA, property as her primary home,” the letter stated.
“It appears Ms. James’ property and mortgage-related misrepresentations may have continued to her recent 2023 Norfolk, VA property purchase in order to secure a lower interest rate and more favorable loan terms.”
Stay up to date on Letitia James’ mortgage fraud scandal
- Trump administration refers NY AG Letitia James for potential prosecution over alleged mortgage fraud
- Conservatives celebrate after Trump admin refers NY AG Letitia James for potential prosecution: ‘Karma’
- Letitia ‘no one is above the law’ James dodges questions about mortgage fraud scandal outside NYC home, pretends to be on phone
In February 2001, James also purchased a five-family dwelling in Brooklyn — but has “consistently misrepresented the same property as only having four units in both building permit applications and numerous mortgage documents and applications,” the letter noted.
Pulte attached several documents also showing that James purchased another property with her father as a co-signer — but falsely listed the pair as “husband and wife” in 1983 and 2000.
“While this was a long time ago, it raises serious concerns about the validity of Ms. James’ representations on mortgage applications,” he wrote.
“Attorney General James is focused every single day on protecting New Yorkers, especially as this Administration weaponizes the federal government against the rule of law and the Constitution. She will not be intimidated by bullies — no matter who they are,” a spokesman for her office said in a statement.
The letter referenced earlier media reports about James purportedly falsifying her residence status to get a lower mortgage rate in Virginia and misrepresenting her five-unit residence in Brooklyn, which were first reported by the outlet White Collar Fraud.
James granted power of attorney to Shamice Thompson-Hairston, a relative, to sign an Aug. 17, 2023, document authorizing the purchase of the first property, according to legal filings reported by the outlet.
She secured a $218,780 mortgage to do so.
Loans secured for the latter property could have reduced her mortgage interest rate by as much as 1% and had lower monthly payments under the federal Home Affordable Modification Program since it was listed as containing just four units, according to Pulte.
“Ms. James, for both properties listed above, appears to have falsified records in order to meet certain lending requirements and receive favorable loan terms,” he told Bondi and Blanche.
That could amount to criminal charges, including wire fraud, mail fraud, bank fraud and false statements to a financial institution, among others, Pulte added.
The documents Pulte included in his criminal referral “are quite damning,” George Washington University law professor and Post columnist Jonathan Turley told Fox News host Laura Ingraham Tuesday night.
“These are misleading statements,” he said on “The Ingraham Angle.” “Either it’s your principal residence or it’s not. Either you’re married to your father or he’s your father.”
Turley also described it as “perfectly crushing” that James would face criminal allegations similar to those she brought against Trump and his family.
“This is a person who prosecuted Trump for everything short of ripping a label off a mattress, and among the charges that were brought in New York, in just the civil but the criminal case, was making false or misleading statements to financial institutions,” he said.
“As for James, if we apply the Letitia James standard that she created, there’d be little question here. This seems pretty straightforward.”
James professed, “Make no mistake: No one is above the law, not even the president,” when she launched her investigation into the Trump Organization in July 2019.
“No one is above the law” became a refrain of sorts for James throughout the Trump case.
She invoked the mantra when announcing her lawsuit against him and consistently deployed it to defend her unprecedented actions against the president.
The criminal referral for James dropped the same day her office confirmed it was preliminarily scrutinizing whether insider trading was in play regarding the 90-day pause President Trump put on “reciprocal” tariffs last week.
It is not yet a full-fledged probe, the AG’s Office told The Post earlier Tuesday. It is not clear if there are specific people or companies that are being reviewed.
Trump declared on Truth Social that it was a “GREAT TIME TO BUY” just before the US markets opened on April 9 — as indexes were in free fall over tariff uncertainty. He later announced he was postponing customized rates while keeping a 10% baseline duty in effect on most imports.
Trump has lashed out at James since returning to the White House, posting on his Truth Social Monday: “Letitia James, a totally corrupt politician, should resign from her position as New York State Attorney General, IMMEDIATELY.”
“Everyone is trying to MAKE NEW YORK GREAT AGAIN, and it can never be done with this wacky crook in office,” he added.
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
