New York AG Letitia James indicted on mortgage fraud charge

A federal grand jury indicted Letitia James, the New York attorney general, for bank fraud on Thursday, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press.

The source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the matter, told the outlet that James was indicted in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia on one count after a mortgage fraud investigation.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Virginia, via the U.S. Department of Justice‘s website, put out a release shortly after the Associated Press broke the news. The release, confirmed that James was indicted for bank fraud.

“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,” said U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan. “The facts and the law in this case are clear, and we will continue following them to ensure that justice is served.”

The release says that if convicted, James faces penalties including up to 30 years in prison per count, up to a $1 million fine on each count, and forfeiture. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties, the release discloses.

A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Trump has repeatedly called for charges against James, claiming without evidence that she’s “guilty as hell.” The DOJ began a criminal investigation in May related to James’s alleged mortgage fraud, which followed a criminal referral by Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Bill Pulte in April.

James, a second-term Democrat, denies any wrongdoing, saying she made and promptly corrected an error on a home purchase form. Her attorney accused the DOJ of pursuing a baseless case to serve Trump’s vendetta after she won a major fraud judgment against him last year.

James’s indictment comes just days after Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac announced their New York offices would close permanently in response to what officials described as James’s “corrupt and dangerous business practices” in the state.

Neither the DOJ nor James’s office immediately responded to HousingWire‘s requests for comment.