❓WHAT HAPPENED: New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) was hit with two federal criminal referrals alleging she may have committed homeowners’ insurance fraud.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Federal Housing Finance Agency Director William Pulte, U.S. Attorneys Andrew Boutros and Jason Reding Quinones, and Letitia James.
📍WHEN & WHERE: Referrals were filed on Wednesday with U.S. Attorneys in Florida and Illinois, concerning incidents tied to a property in Norfolk, Virginia.
💬KEY QUOTE: “[I]t appears Ms. James may have defrauded the Illinois-based insurance company.” – William Pulte
🎯IMPACT: The referrals add to ongoing legal scrutiny of James; her attorney has dismissed the allegations as baseless and politically motivated.
New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) has received two federal criminal referrals accusing her of possibly providing false information in homeowner insurance applications. William Pulte, Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, sent the referrals to U.S. Attorneys Andrew Boutros in Illinois and Jason Reding Quinones in Florida. The claims focus on insurance documents filed with Allstate Insurance Company and Universal Property Insurance.
The referrals followed the posting of documents on social media that appeared to show inconsistencies in James’s filings. Pulte’s referral alleges that James misrepresented the occupancy of a Norfolk, Virginia, property she bought in 2020, claiming it would house a single adult when it was allegedly occupied by four people, including three children and her niece. A separate allegation claims she falsely stated the property would sit empty for five months each year, even though it was reportedly occupied year-round.
A Justice Department spokesman confirmed that the referrals had been received. James’s attorney Abbe Lowell—who has also represented Hunter Biden—rejected the accusations as elements of a politically motivated “revenge campaign,” charging that opponents were simply recycling baseless claims. “These desperate tactics will fail—just as every previous attempt has failed,” said Lowell.
Notably, this is not the first time James has faced legal action. A federal judge dismissed a mortgage fraud case against her last November, ruling that the interim U.S. Attorney assigned to the matter had been improperly appointed. Two federal grand juries declined to issue new indictments on related charges. The current referrals concern the same Norfolk property that was central to the earlier case.
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