The plot thickens!
As the media has widely reported within the past several days, none other than Letitia James, perhaps one of the most anti-Trump prosecutors in recent memory, has been ensnared in a fraud scandal of her own.
And now, it would appear that the scandal is deepening, per the latest details that have been revealed.
According to a report from the New York Post, James apparently misrepresented her principal place of residence in order to obtain a more favorable rate.
The problem, however, is that such a misstatement was easily disproven.
“New York Attorney General Letitia James listed a Virginia home more than 300 miles from her office in New York City as her ‘principal residence’ in official public documents obtained by The Post – but neighbors said Wednesday that they’ve never seen her.
According to Norfolk property records, James granted power of attorney to her niece Shamice Thompson-Hairston on August 17, 2023 authorizing the purchase of the Virginia property – for which they secured a $219,780 mortgage,” the New York Post reported.
Oops.
Indeed, James, whose salary is $220,000, is apparently not immune to financial scandals herself … including those in which she makes statements that she must realize are false.
“I hereby declare I intend to occupy this property as my principal residence,” James proclaimed, in reference to a property in Virginia.
Seems that James has a funny definition of “principal,” considering that her neighbors surely do not appear to consider her a “principal” resident.
Just consider the remarks of one of her neighbors … who she has seen “maybe two or three times.”
“I’ve only met [the new resident] like maybe two or three times. She seemed really nice … The last time I saw her was, like, maybe a week or so ago and she was just outside smoking a cigarette and we were talking about her grandkids,” one neighbor remarked.
It would seem Ms. James has chosen a strange “principal” address in that case.
“It might have been maybe a little bit more than three months that she moved in because it was just before. It’s definitely not a year,” the neighbor helpfully added.
More evidence of potentially fraudulent behavior going on.
Though the referral had even more information.
The referral also claimed that James misrepresented the number of apartments for a building she owns in Brooklyn: Specifically, James claimed that it has four units, when New York City Department of Buildings records note that it has five.
As noted by the New York Post, “that’s a key distinction because buildings with four or fewer units quality for mortgages with better terms.”
So, in other words, James was undertaking the same actions as Trump reportedly was.
Yikes.
“Ms. James was the sitting Attorney General of New York and is required by law to have her primary residence in the state of New York – even though her mortgage applications list her intent to have the Norfolk, VA, property as her primary home,” the letter stated.
And, as noted in the article, a primary motivation for doing so would include “a lower interest rate and more favorable loan terms.”
On her part, James’s office asserted that no wrongdoing had occurred.
“The Attorney General has been clear in her financial filings that this is a 4-unit, owner-occupied building. The previous Certificate of Occupancy from January 2001 that lists it as a 5-unit building was filed by the previous owner before the Attorney General owned the home,” James’s office declared.
Tellingly, New York City Mayor Eric Adams was less that encouraging of James, merely wishing her the best amid the controversy.
In an appearance on MSNBC’s “José Díaz-Balart Reports” Wednesday, Adams noted, “it’s up to the investigative bodies to do an unbiased investigation,” referring to James “a longtime friend” and wishing her well.
Asked whether he believes the probe is being launched for political reasons, he said James herself should address that.
Adams also remarked that he believed former President Joe Biden’s Department of Justice was “politicized,” which Biden acknowledged, as well as Trump.
City Council Speaker and Democratic mayoral candidate Adrienne Adams was blunter in her assessment of the motivation behind the criminal referral.
“Letitia James has spent her career standing up to powerful interests and fighting for everyday New Yorkers. Now she’s being targeted by a president who abuses the power of the federal government to go after his enemies,” she angrily informed the New York Post.
In light of the last ten or so years, that’s an ironic statement to make.
Author: Jane Jones
