The Trump administration this week referred New York Attorney General Letitia James to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for possible criminal charges in connection with alleged mortgage fraud.
A criminal referral sent on April 14 by Federal Housing Finance Agency Director William Pulte alleged that James, a Democrat who filed a civil case against President Donald Trump’s business, falsified business records in federally backed letters to obtain better home mortgages.
“Based on media reports, Ms. Letitia James has, in multiple instances, falsified bank documents and property records to acquire government backed assistance and loans and more favorable loan terms,” the letter from Pulte to Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche reads.
“This has potentially included 1) falsifying residence status for a Norfolk, Virginia-based home in order to secure a lower mortgage rate and 2) misrepresenting property descriptions to meet stringent requirements for government backed loans and government assistance.”
Pulte alleged that James had claimed she lived in Virginia to purchase a home in Norfolk while serving as the attorney general of New York state, where she must live to remain in her position. James allegedly co-signed a mortgage with her niece, Shamice Thompson-Hairston, to jointly purchase a home in Norfolk. The terms of the mortgage required both to use the home as their primary residence starting on Oct. 30, 2023, for at least a year.
In another incident, Pulte accused James of not accurately representing a description of a piece of property that she owns in Brooklyn in order to meet the requirements for securing a federal loan.
“Ms. James, for both properties listed above, appears to have falsified records in order to meet certain lending requirements and receive favorable loan terms,” Pulte said in the letter.
Pulte’s letter also accused James and her father of signing mortgage documents in 1983, saying they “were husband and wife in order to secure a home mortgage,” adding that she again was listed as “husband and wife” in documents dated May 2000.
“While this was a long time ago, it raises serious concerns about the validity of Ms. James representations on mortgage applications,” the letter reads.
The Epoch Times contacted the New York Attorney General’s office for comment on Thursday and did not receive a response by publication time.
In response to the letter, a spokesperson for her office told media outlets this week that the criminal referral was an attempt to intimidate her.
James is currently “focused every single day on protecting New Yorkers, especially as this Administration weaponizes the federal government against the rule of law and the Constitution,” the spokesperson said. “She will not be intimidated by bullies—no matter who they are.”
In response to Pulte’s allegations, Bondi told Fox News on Wednesday that her office is now reviewing his letter.
“The most I’ve learned about the case, I just learned from you. I saw it on breaking news this morning. This case was sent to us by Bill Pulte,” she said. “No one in my office has read it yet. Of course, we’ll be reviewing it. You just told me more than I knew about it so far.”
James has been criticized by Trump on numerous occasions after she filed a lawsuit against his Trump Organization for what she said was over-inflating the values of its properties to obtain better loan terms. A judge last year found that the company committed fraud and ordered it to pay a $454 million judgment, and the matter has been appealed.
In September 2024, New York appeals court judges signaled in a hearing on the case that they might limit the judge’s decision. They questioned whether James’s office properly applied the law, with one judge saying that “there has to be some limitation on what the attorney general can do in interfering in these private transactions where people don’t claim harm.”
