With one former federal prosecutor labeling the amount New York Attorney General Letitia James is accused of defrauding a bank out of as “small peanuts,” legal experts contacted by the conservative Wall Street Journal expressed skepticism that the DOJ’s bank fraud case filed on Thursday will be successful.
Late in the day, newly appointed U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan levied two charges in a five page indictment against James alleging she defrauded a bank when she acquired a mortgage on a second home in Norfolk, Virginia for $109,600.
According to Halligan, who has never prosecuted a case, James stands to gain over $19,000 over the entire life of the loan due to receiving a slightly lower interest rate.
The Journal’s C. Ryan Barber and Lydia Wheeler are reporting that there is a strong reason to expect a guilty verdict will never be in the cards if the case even gets to trial.
Former prosecutors uniformly cited the paltry amount James is accused of defrauding the bank out of, with one claiming that the dollar amount is a “red flag” meaning the case the DOJ is pressing is not worthy of a federal indictment.
Jacqueline Kelly, a former federal prosecutor in Manhattan, cited the money involved and scoffed, “The idea that someone would expose themselves to federal fraud charges for so little money doesn’t really make any sense. It’s a red flag.”
Former Virginia prosecutor Gene Rossi agreed and added, “The amount of loss in this case is small peanuts, period.”
Former federal prosecutor Glenn Kirshner predicted the case is dead on arrival.
“I would be shocked if this thing makes it to a jury trial,” he claimed. “I fully expect the judge to grant a motion to dismiss based on vindictive prosecutions.”
The allegations against James are already under a cloud after Donald Trump mistakenly posted a direct message to Attorney General Pam Bondi on his Truth Social account where he urged charges be brought against James and others and added, “We can’t delay any longer, it’s killing our reputation and credibility.”
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