Overview

• A federal grand jury in Virginia charged New York Attorney General Letitia James with bank fraud and making false statements over a 2020 Norfolk home designated as a second residence, alleging about $18,933 in benefits from favorable loan terms.
• The indictment centers on a Fannie Mae second-home rider and asserts the property was rented, noting an insurance application marked owner-occupied while federal tax filings treated it as rental real estate.
• Career prosecutors reportedly declined to bring the case before acting U.S. attorney Erik Siebert departed under pressure, after which Trump appointee Lindsey Halligan, a former personal lawyer with little prosecutorial experience, took the matter to a grand jury.
• James, represented by Abbe Lowell, rejects the charges as political retribution by President Trump, and 22 state attorneys general issued a joint statement condemning the prosecution.
• Legal scholars say standalone occupancy-fraud prosecutions are rare and hard to prove intent, with just 38 federal mortgage-fraud sentences in 2024, and James is scheduled to appear in court on October 24.