Overview
- A federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia charged New York Attorney General Letitia James with one count of bank fraud and one count of making false statements to a financial institution.
- The indictment alleges she secured favorable mortgage terms on a Norfolk, Virginia home by certifying it as a second residence, then rented the property to tenants.
- Lindsey Halligan, a former Trump lawyer appointed interim U.S. attorney after Erik Siebert’s departure, personally presented the case to jurors following earlier resistance from career prosecutors.
- James denied wrongdoing, called the case politically motivated, and her lawyer signaled challenges to Halligan’s appointment and the grand jury process; her initial court appearance is set for Oct. 24 in Norfolk.
- The probe followed an April referral from FHFA Director William Pulte and comes two weeks after former FBI Director James Comey was indicted in the same district.