Watchdog group with Trump ties demands state probe into mortgage-fraud claims against NY AG Letitia James
A Trump administration-aligned legal watchdog group is demanding a state probe into bombshell accusations of mortgage fraud recently leveled at New York Attorney General Letitia James.America First Legal (AFL) 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.The group’s five-page missive rehashes allegations detailed in a letter seeking a federal criminal probe into James that was sent by Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director William Pulte to the Justice Department earlier this month.Pulte said James appeared to have “falsified records” to obtain favorable home loans for a Virginia property and a Brooklyn apartment she owns.“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.“As the chief legal officer for the State of New York, Ms.
James ought to aspire to the highest ethical standards.Instead, it appears she has repeatedly traded in her integrity for a monetary benefit through deceiving lenders and the public in pursuit of personal enrichment.”Among Pulte’s accusations was that James claimed the Virginia home — which she purchased with her niece Shamice Thompson in 2023 after securing a $219,780 mortgage — as her “principal residence” while serving as New York’s top cop.
The state AG must live in New York while in office.That document cited power-of-attorney papers from 2023 signed by the AG authorizing the purchase of the property in which she attested, “I hereby declare I intend to occupy this property as my principal residence.”But her lawyer, Abbe David Lowell, said the situation amounted to nothing more than a clerical er...