FBI opens formal criminal probe into New York AG Letitia James over alleged mortgage fraud
The FBI and US Attorney's Office in Albany have launched a criminal investigation into mortgage fraud claims against New York Attorney General Letitia James, a source familiar with the probe told The Post.
The investigation, first reported by the Albany Times Union, follows a request that the Justice Department investigate James, sent by Federal Housing Finance Agency Director William Pulte to the Justice Department last month.
New York's Northern District, where Pulte's referral was steered, is led by US Attorney John Sarcone III, an ally of President Trump.
Rep. Elise Stefanik, who reps the district where the investigation was initiated, commended the FBI and Albany prosecutors.
'The investigation into Letitia James is a vital step toward justice,' the Republican congresswoman said in a statement. 'I will continue to fight to expose NY corruption, protect constitutional rights, and hold these failed Democrat leaders in NY accountable.'
Pulte's letter alleged James 'falsified records' to obtain favorable loans on a home she purchased in 2023 in Virginia and a Brooklyn brownstone she's owned since 2001.
The Democrat also allegedly indicated the Virginia home would be her 'principal residence' while acting as New York's top cop, and that she misrepresented the number of units in her Brooklyn residence.
'Ms. James, for both properties listed above, appears to have falsified records in order to meet certain lending requirements and receive favorable loan terms,' Pulte told Attorney General Pam Bondi.
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That could amount to criminal charges, including wire fraud, mail fraud, bank fraud and false statements to a financial institution, among others, Pulte added.
The FBI and US Attorney's Office in Albany didn't immediately return requests for comment Thursday.
James' office declined to comment.
She has previously dismissed the allegations as 'baseless' and claimed the referral was part of a 'revenge tour' by the president because she brought civil fraud charges against him and his company, the Trump Organization.
James famously professed, 'no one is above the law,' when she launched her investigation into Trump in 2019, that ended with a $454 million judgment against him and his real estate firm.
The AG's Office has retained high-powered attorney Abbe David Lowell, one of Hunter Biden's top lawyers in the scandal-scarred first son's special counsel probe.
Lowell was retained by the attorney general's office rather than James in her personal capacity, according to a Times Union report, which means New York taxpayers will eventually foot the bill for his services.
Democrats in Albany are expected to sign off on a provision creating a $10 million slush fund state officials can tap into to cover 'any reasonable attorneys' fees and expenses incurred,' including for probes not directly related to their employment.
James plans to rely on both state funds and a private legal defense fund to fight the battle, a spokesman for her office told The Post on Wednesday.
Lowell said in a blistering letter to Bondi last month that the mortgage fraud allegations were nothing more than a meritless assault in Trump's 'revenge tour' against the state's top prosecutor.
'These baseless and long-discredited allegations, put to rest by my April 24 letter to the Department of Justice, are suddenly back in the news just days after President Trump publicly attacked Attorney General James,' Lowell said in a statement Thursday.
'This appears to be the political retribution President Trump threatened to exact that AG Bondi assured the Senate would not occur on her watch. If prosecutors are genuinely interested in the truth, we are prepared to meet false claims with facts.'
Last month, America First Legal (AFL), a Trump administration-aligned legal watchdog group, filed a complaint against James with the New York State Unified Court System's Committee on Professional Standards, which oversees disciplinary matters for lawyers licensed in the state.
'If Ms. James has engaged in fraud by deceiving her lenders and the government to obtain financial benefits she would otherwise not be entitled to, then she has engaged in professional misconduct and violated her obligations as a lawyer and is subject to discipline by the New York Bar,' AFL's April 24 letter reads.
— Additional reporting by Vaughn Golden and Craig McCarthy
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