Attorney General Letitia James, New York’s top prosecutor, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Virginia.
James faces one charge of bank fraud and another of making false statements to a financial institution. The indictment alleges she misrepresented how she used a home she bought in Norfolk in 2020 to get a more favorable mortgage.
According to the indictment, the loan “required James, as the sole borrower to occupy and use the property as her second home, and prohibited its use as a timesharing or other shared property arrangement.”
“Despite these representations, the Peronne Property was not occupied or used by James as a secondary residence and was instead used as a rental investment property, renting the property to a family of (3),” the indictment says.
“Attorney General James flatly and forcefully denies these charges,” James’ attorney Abbe David Lowell, said in a statement. “We are deeply concerned that this case is driven by President Trump’s desire for revenge. When a President can publicly direct charges to be filed against someone – when it was reported that career attorneys concluded none were warranted — it marks a serious attack on the rule of law. We will fight these charges in every process allowed in the law.”
New York leaders also blasted the indictment as an abuse of federal power and weaponization of the Justice Department.
James’ office sued President Trump and the Trump organization for fraud in 2022, which led a nine-figure judgement against the company.
