Letitia James dodges questions about mortgage fraud scandal outside NYC home, pretends to be on the phone
SUMMARY
New York Attorney General Letitia James dodged reporters outside her Brooklyn home, faking a phone call to avoid questions about a federal criminal referral alleging mortgage fraud. The referral, sent April 15 by Federal Housing Finance Agency Director William Pulte to Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy AG Todd Blanche, claims James “falsified records” for a $219,780 mortgage on a Norfolk, Virginia, property she called her “principal residence” in August 2023—while serving as New York’s top prosecutor, a role requiring state residency. Pulte’s letter, per the New York Post, also says James bought a Brooklyn five-unit property in February 2001 but listed it as four units on permits and loans. Documents show she and her father, Robert James, bought a Queens home in 1983 and 2000, falsely listed as “husband and wife.” “Ms. James…appears to have falsified records to meet certain lending requirements and receive favorable loan terms,” Pulte wrote, flagging possible mail and bank fraud.
