The Trump administration is now taking aim at New York Attorney General Letitia James over a criminal referral that accuses her of mortgage fraud, reported Fox News' Laura Ingraham on Tuesday evening.
The complaint, also reported in Newsweek, alleged that she improperly amended her records for a real estate transaction months before she filed a major civil fraud case against President Donald Trump.
"A 'specific power of attorney' document signed by James on August 17, 2023, shows her intent to change her residence to Norfolk, Virginia. The attorney general authorized her relative, Shamice Thompson-Hairston, to act on her behalf," said the report, noting the documents were originally flagged by Sam Antar's White Collar Fraud blog. "The 1,450-square-foot single-family home property in Norfolk was built in 1947 and has three bedrooms and one bathroom, per the deed. It was purchased for $240,000, with a $219,780 mortgage. James and Thompson-Hairston have equal ownership rights as both are listed within as co-owners in 'joint tenancy with right of survivorship as at common law.'"
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The land agreement requires both James and Thompson-Hairston to "occupy, establish, and use" the property as their "principal residence."
Per the report, if James is using the Virginia home as her primary residence, she could be running afoul of New York residency laws to serve as attorney general.
If she is not using the home as her primary residence, that could land her in trouble under federal mortgage or tax fraud laws, as it would mean she falsely misstated her primary residence to get more favorable mortgage terms or perhaps take advantage of Virginia's tax laws where they carry a lower burden than New York's. It's the latter the Trump administration could potentially investigate.
The civil fraud case James prosecuted involved claims that Trump effectively kept two sets of books, assessing his properties more generously to banks loaning him money than to tax agencies. That judgment, for which he was found liable, totals half a billion dollars, although Trump is still trying to fight his obligation to satisfy it.
James, who has long been a public focus of attack by Trump, is also currently investigating whether Trump's tariff announcements were timed to manipulate markets and facilitate criminal insider trading under New York state law.
