New York AG Letitia James Indicted in Virginia Mortgage Case

New York Attorney General Letitia James was indicted on Thursday by a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia on two felony counts, federal prosecutors said, accused of bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution in connection with a 2020 mortgage for a property in Norfolk, Virginia. She has been summoned to appear in federal court on October 24.

The five page indictment alleges that James falsely represented the Norfolk home as a secondary residence on loan documents to obtain more favorable mortgage terms, and then treated the property as a rental, leasing it to a family. Prosecutors say that misrepresentation lowered her loan costs and saved her nearly 19,000 over the life of the loan. If convicted, the indictment says, James faces statutory penalties that include up to 30 years in prison for each count and fines of up to 1 million per charge.

The case was brought by the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Lindsey Halligan, who presented the matter to a grand jury shortly after taking over the office. Halligan said in a statement that the charges "represent intentional, criminal acts and tremendous breaches of the public's...