Democratic New York Attorney General Letitia James said Thursday that the allegations of fraud and misconduct she faces are “baseless” and an act of political retaliation, but official documents suggest otherwise.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) referred James to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for potential prosecution for allegedly falsifying real estate documents in connection to properties in Norfolk, Virginia, and Brooklyn, New York, while a report from White Collar Fraud also highlights how James’ financial disclosures inconsistently reported various loans on a separate Norfolk property since 2020. In a Thursday interview with Errol Louis of Spectrum News NY1, James suggested that the allegations against her have no basis in fact, even though primary source documents indicate that she may have made misrepresentations on real estate paperwork in potential violation of the law.
“Let me just say to all New Yorkers and to all Americans: the allegations are baseless. The allegations are nothing more than a revenge tour,” James said during the interview. “And as you said, my office was successful in securing a $454 million judgement against Donald Trump and others for exaggerating the value of his assets. He engaged in a pattern and practice of fraud, and the interest is accruing each and every day while the case is on appeal in the first department. It’s important that individuals know that this is nothing more than the continuation of the tour. He went after law firms, universities, immigrants, women, thousands of federal employees are right now unemployed. Our government is in chaos and disarray, Medicaid, Social Security, CFPB, and the list goes on and on and on.”
When asked by Louis to address the substance of the allegations, James declined and said that she will address the allegations in the appropriate venue and at the appropriate time. Both James and the interviewer suggested that the motive of James’ referral to the DOJ was for the Trump administration to generate headlines and media buzz.
James further bemoaned the fact that journalists — including reporters from the Daily Caller News Foundation — visited the properties at the center of the allegations. The attorney general likened these efforts to harassment during the interview, while Louis consistently downplayed the allegations.
“I was under the impression by all of this that what they were really looking for is what they got, which is a headline saying, you know, ‘Tish James is under a criminal investigation,’” Louis said during the interview. “Is that pretty much what’s going on here?”
At the Norfolk property highlighted in the FHFA’s referral, James allegedly signed a Specific Power of Attorney document in August 2023 in which she declared she intended to make the property her “principal residence.” That document was signed as James was serving as New York’s top cop and just weeks before her trial against Trump began, and it does not appear that she ever moved south to the property.
“I HEREBY DECLARE that I intend to occupy this property as my principal residence,” reads the document. That declaration was made under oath, and the document effectively deputized one of James’ relatives to act for her in getting a mortgage loan for the home, according to White Collar Fraud. Notably, primary residences tend to receive more favorable loan terms than a secondary home because a distressed borrower is more likely to start defaulting on loan repayment for a secondary property before falling behind on repayments for a primary residence.
When the DCNF visited the property Wednesday, it appeared to be the case that someone other than James is living in the home. Multiple neighbors said they did not recognize James at all when shown a photograph, and one neighbor bluntly said that the residents of the home do not include the “lady from New York.”
If the allegation that James misrepresented her intent to live at the property is proven true, she may have violated real estate fraud laws, according to White Collar Fraud. If she truly moved into the property as her principal residence, James may have fallen afoul of residency requirements for her office in New York, according to the outlet.
Moreover, a 2001 Certificate of Occupancy for the Brooklyn property states that it is a five-unit dwelling. However, James has allegedly mischaracterized the property as a four-unit dwelling for decades, including as recently as 2020, potentially in pursuit of more favorable loan terms, according to White Collar Fraud.
On the second Norfolk residence, highlighted by White Collar Fraud but left out of the FHFA’s referral, James appears to have inconsistently reported various loans and mortgages in her financial disclosures. For example, some loans show up in some years’ disclosures while not in others, and there is no external independent proof of two disclosed loans on the property — one from Freedom Mortgage and another from National Mortgage — in public records as is typical, according to White Collar Fraud, leading the outlet to suggest that the two loans simply may not exist at all.
“I will not be silenced, I will not be bullied, I will not bend, I will not break and I will not bow to anyone,” James said during the interview. “No one is above the law, including the president of these United States.”
James’ office did not respond to a request for comment.
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