New York Attorney General Letitia
James vowed to fight President Donald Trump. She’s a classic case of the
dangers of Trump derangement syndrome infesting elected offices.
Whether these legal challenges would have gone anywhere is another
story, but her crusade could end soon, not by her choice. She might be
facing federal charges for mortgage fraud. Reportedly, she has been
referred to the Justice Department for potential prosecution (via NY Post):
New York Attorney General Letitia James 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 over-inflating the values of many of its
properties, which ended in a $454 million judgment.
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.
The letter referenced
earlier media reports about purportedly falsifying her residence status
to get a lower mortgage rate in Virginia and misrepresenting her
five-unit residence in Brooklyn, that 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 Assistance Modification Program (HAMP) since it was listed
as containing just four units, according to Pulte.
The publication added that wire fraud, mail fraud, and bank fraud are just some of the charges James could face.
Trending on Townhall Videos
No comments:
Post a Comment