The New York State Attorney General Letitia James was indicted in Alexandria, Virginia on Thursday. James has been under investigation since May of this year regarding a mortgage she obtained in 2023 for a property she purchased in Norfolk, Virginia. The indictment filed on Thursday focuses on a mortgage for another property she bought in Norfolk in 2020.
A grand jury brought two felony charges: bank fraud and making false statements to financial institutions. James will appear in Norfolk on October 24 for her initial court appearance.
According to the indictment, James claimed in the mortgage documents that a house she purchased in Norfolk would be her second home. Prosecutors said this statement allowed her to obtain loan terms that were not available for investment properties. However, prosecutors allege that James did not use the house but instead rented it out to a family of three. Prosecutors accuse James of knowingly misrepresenting the property as a second home in the loan application when she intended to use it as an investment property.
The interest rate on the mortgage for the property as a second home was lower than the rate for an investment property. Prosecutors allege that James gained $18,933 in improper benefits during the loan period.
In a statement, James said, "This is just the continuation of the President's reckless weaponization of our justice system."
For years, James has had a confrontational relationship with Trump. James promised to investigate Trump during her campaign and formally sued Trump, his adult children, and Trump Organization in 2022, accusing them of repeatedly inflating asset values in financial statements for economic gain.
In January 2024, a New York court ruled that Trump and his company committed fraud and ordered them to pay a $355 million fine. This was one of the heaviest legal blows in Trump's business career and made James a prominent political figure across the United States.
During the trial, Trump publicly attacked James multiple times, calling her a tool of the Democrats. He angrily told James she should be ashamed of herself in court and accused her of manipulating the judiciary for political purposes. James repeatedly emphasized outside of court and on social media that the case "was not political persecution, but a victory in upholding the law and facts."
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1845598258549002/
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