Interim U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Lindsey Halligan on Thursday released a trove of evidence related to New York Attorney General Letitia James’s alleged mortgage fraud.
Halligan, a former personal attorney for President Donald Trump appointed to her position in September, secured an indictment against James on Oct. 9 on charges of bank fraud and false statements to a financial institution. The charges stem from allegations that James lied on a 2020 mortgage application to obtain favorable loan terms for a Virginia property. On Thursday, Halligan filed documents allegedly showing James knowingly lying to the lending bank, the IRS, and an insurer.
James’s Affidavit of Occupancy showed her pledging, under oath, that the Norfolk home would be used as a secondary home, such as a vacation home, while she maintained her primary residence elsewhere. However, according to witness testimony, James’s niece and three children lived at the home full-time, while James didn’t reside there at all.
In her homeowner’s insurance application, James claimed that the home would be unoccupied for five months out of the year, despite it being occupied the whole year.
In another insurance application, James claimed only one person would be occupying the house, an adult, and no children.
Halligan said the evidence proved that James’s “actions show she knew what she was doing, and she financially gained by getting a better mortgage rate of 3% rather than 3.815%.”
Mike Davis, a former law clerk of Justice Neil Gorsuch, called the evidence “damning,” saying that it “showed that she lied to the lending bank, the IRS, and her homeowners’ insurer.”
If James is found guilty, she faces 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine per count.
Kaelan Deese contributed to this report.