Letitia James pleads not guilty to bank fraud

NY Attorney General Letitia James indicted for fraud on Trump’s demand

Letitia James has pleaded not guilty to two felony charges of bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution.

James was arraigned just after 11 AM ET in the Eastern District of Virginia, entering a plea not guilty.

Federal prosecutors, led by Donald Trump’s favorite beauty queen DOJ attorney Lindsey Halligan, accuse James of misleading a bank during her purchase of a Virginia residence in order to achieve a more favorable loan.

James is accused of claiming her Virginia residence was a second residential home instead of an investment property in order for her to obtain better terms on her mortgage agreement.

The indictment claims James saved nearly $19,000 on a $109,600 mortgage for her property in Norfolk, Virginia.

The indictment, obtained by the Daily Mail, states she signed a ‘Second Home Rider, which required James, as the sole borrower, to occupy and use the property as her secondary residence, and prohibits its use as a timesharing or other shared ownership agreement or agreement that requires her to rent the property or give any other person control over the occupancy or use of the property.

‘Despite these representations, the Peronne Property was not occupied by James as a secondary residence and was instead used as a rental investment property, renting the property to a family of [three],’ it continues.

Letitia James Pleads Not Guilty in Mortgage Fraud Case

If found guilty, James could face up to 30 years in prison per count, along with a $1 million fine on each count and lose ownership of the properties cited in the indictment.

James has denied any wrongdoing and has called the DOJ’s indictment ‘a continuation of the President’s desperate weaponization of our justice system.’

The New York attorney general is a longtime political enemy of Trump after she successfully sued the president and his Trump Organization for fraud.

Trump was ordered by a New York judge to pay $500 million penalty in early 2024 before he won the election. A New York appeals court later overturned the fine.

James’ lawyers plan to have the case thrown out, according court filings, by arguing that Halligan was improperly appointed by the Justice Department.

New York State Attorney General Letitia James pleaded not guilty to two felony charges from Trump’s DOJ