Political Context: James’s high-profile cases and Trump connections
James is one of several Democratic state attorneys general who have filed lawsuits to block Trump administration actions. She is best known for leading a civil fraud case against Trump and his family’s real estate company in 2022, which resulted in a $454.2 million penalty after a judge found Trump had fraudulently overstated his net worth to mislead lenders.
A New York state appeals court in August threw out the penalty, which had exceeded $500 million with interest, but upheld the trial judge’s finding that Trump was liable for fraud. Both Trump’s and James’s offices are appealing to the state’s highest court, Al Jazeera reports. Trump denied wrongdoing and accused James’s office of pursuing the case against him for political reasons.
Details of the charges against Letitia James
According to the indictment, reviewed by CNN, James claimed in mortgage paperwork that a home she purchased in Norfolk would be her second residence, which allowed her to secure loan terms not available for investment properties. Prosecutors allege James did not use the house herself and instead rented it to a family of three. They claim she falsely stated in loan applications that the property would be a secondary home while knowing it would be used as an investment property.
Mortgage fraud investigation and James’s defence
The investigation centers on a mortgage obtained in 2023 for a property in Norfolk, Virginia. James’s attorneys provided documents to the Justice Department in April to contest the claims, arguing there was no fraud. They acknowledged that one document in the mortgage application “mistakenly” said the property would be James’ primary residence. However, they submitted other documents showing otherwise.
One email from James to her loan originator states, “this property WILL NOT be my primary residence,” according to CNN. James also checked a box on another document indicating the property would not be her primary residence.