New York Attorney General Letitia James, who is under a Department of Justice mortgage fraud investigation, could be on the hook for $500 in fines for a fence outside of her Brooklyn brownstone that is too high.
James’s residence in the historic Clinton Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn is at the center of the federal inquiry into whether she falsified records to secure better home loan terms on the brownstone and a property in Norfolk, Virginia.
The New York City Department of Buildings served James with a violation notice in late July that deemed her front fence exceeded height limitations. The notice said the property’s fence is 5 feet, 5 inches, over a foot higher than NYC’s generally permitted front fence height of 4 feet.
James, who has sued President Donald Trump multiple times, will face a hearing on the violation on Oct. 8th at 9:30 a.m. before an NYC Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings judge. If found guilty of the violation, James could be ordered to pay up to $500 in fines.
According to Department of Buildings official Andrew Rudansky, James’s violation is “curable.” If she fixes the fence height before Sept. 26, the hearing will be canceled, and the matter will be considered resolved.
Several of James’s neighbors, including one who claimed the fence was already in place before James moved into the residence, were unaware that the fence height violated city code, according to the New York Post.
Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte referred James to the DOJ for alleged mortgage fraud over her Brooklyn and Norfolk properties in April, alleging that James consistently listed her Brooklyn residence as a four-bedroom home instead of a five-bedroom home.
The DOJ is investigating several other government officials over alleged mortgage fraud, including Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook.