Overview

• The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia announced a federal grand jury indictment charging Letitia James with bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution.
• Prosecutors allege she secured favorable loan terms by claiming a Virginia house would be her primary residence while the property was actually rented.
• Court filings in the Eastern District of Virginia detail potential penalties of up to 30 years in prison and up to $1 million in fines per count, along with possible forfeiture.
• Press reports say the mortgage at issue was tied to helping purchase a home for her niece, a detail not central to the formal charges but cited in coverage.
• James’s lawyers call the residency designation an error and point to conflicting documents, and James labels the case baseless and politically motivated by President Donald Trump.