The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) referred New York Attorney General Letitia James to the Department of Justice for alleged mortgage fraud.
“Based on media reports, Ms. Letitia James has, in multiple instances falsified bank documents and property records to acquire government backed assistance and loans and more favorable loan terms,” wrote Bill Pulte, director of FHFA, to Attorney General Pam Bondi.
Pulte added: “This has potentially included 1) falsifying residence status for a Norfolk, Virginia-based home in order to secure a lower mortgage rate and 2) misrepresenting property descriptions to meet stringent requirements for government backed loans and government assistance.”
In mid-August 2023, James allegedly gave someone power of attorney to establish the Virginia property as her “principal residence.”
At the end of the month, James purchased the property through her attorney.
“In a Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac Form 3047 and in mortgage documents, she reaffirmed this would be her primary residence, despite being a statewide public office holder in the state of New York at that same time and primarily residing in New York,” explained Pulte.
Pulte reminded Bondi that “[P]rimary residence mortgages receive more favorable loan terms, including lower interest rates, than secondary residence mortgages” since those are considered as “significantly riskier.”
Pulte references an article White Collar Fraud published about the Virginia residence.
The second property in the letter is a five-family dwelling in Brooklyn, NY.
Pulte accused James of consistently misrepresenting the property as a four-family unit. Why is that? James received “a conforming loan through the Freddie Mae/Freddie Mac Form 3033,” which is only available for buildings with four or fewer units.
“Conforming loans, or Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac-backed mortgages, have favorable rates and terms to traditional private market mortgages for the explicit purpose of availability to lower and middle-income borrowers,” stated Pulte.
According to Pulte, any building with more than four units is considered a multifamily property, requiring “a larger down payment and high interest rate terms.”
Oh, you know what else happened on Monday? James, who is obsessed with Trump, announced her office would investigate if any “insider trading” occurred during the tariff ping-pong game last week.
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