Grand juries in Virginia and Maryland are considering criminal indictments against New York Attorney General Letitia James and California Senator Adam Schiff on claims that they faked property records to achieve preferential loan conditions.
Attorney General Pam Bondi designated Ed Martin as a Special Attorney to lead the prosecution of James and Schiff for alleged mortgage fraud, bank fraud, and wire fraud, all of which carry 30-year prison sentences.
“Attorney General Bondi and President Trump have given me a very serious mission. I am committed to going where the facts take me. For months DOJ and the FBI have been working on these two cases, it is my job to stick the landing,” said Martin, the former acting US Attorney for Washington, DC.
Special attorneys are authorized to handle criminal processes, including grand jury investigations and prosecutions, in sensitive or high-profile matters, and may work outside of the district where the case is pending.
James is accused of falsifying information on mortgage applications, including portraying her father as her husband to gain advantageous financing, and misrepresenting her residency status on a Norfolk, Virginia, house.
Schiff is accused of mortgage fraud, mail fraud, bank fraud, and making false representations to financial institutions by certifying a Maryland property as his permanent house while concurrently claiming a California condominium as his main home for tax and mortgage purposes.
From 2003 to 2019, the alleged occupancy falsification on federally supported loans enabled him to take advantage of cheaper interest rates and tax incentives intended for primary residences.
Both James and Schiff have denied any misconduct.
“The allegations against Senator Schiff are transparently false, stale, and long debunked. Now Ed Martin, the most brazenly partisan and politically compromised person possible for the task, has been picked to investigate a political adversary. The bias here is glaring. Any supposed investigation led by him would be the very definition of weaponization of the justice process,” said former US Attorney Preet Bharara, who is representing Schiff in the case.
Subpoenas have been issued, and witnesses have begun to testify in grand jury procedures for Schiff in Maryland and James in Virginia.
The inquiry into James’ real estate assets began in April, when Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte filed a criminal referral with the Justice Department.
Pulte alleged James may have “falsified bank documents and property records to acquire government backed assistance and loans and more favorable loan terms” by claiming a Norfolk, Virginia, home she bought in 2023 would be her “principal residence” while acting as New York AG, and that a block of units she owned in Brooklyn was her second residence.
“Bill Pulte and his FHFA team got this started with his criminal referral. And as Tish James and Adam Schiff always say: ‘Nobody is above the law,’” said Martin.
Attorney General Pam Bondi on Friday told Fox News’ Peter Doocy that a special prosecutor is necessary to avoid any appearance of political animus that could influence a jury or judge’s decision about whether either defendant is guilty. James and Schiff are both accused of misrepresenting their residences to obtain better mortgage rates.
Taking over will be Ed Martin, President Donald Trump’s nominee to become U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia that was tanked by retiring GOP Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina.
Martin’s selection came the same day a grand jury was convened to consider charges against James, who was referred to Bondi by federal mortgage authorities after discrepancies were found on paperwork for several properties she purchased.
Documents appeared to show James listing her father as her husband — potentially to get more favorable home loan terms for married couples — and undercounting the number of units in a Brooklyn brownstone in what may have been an attempt to avoid costly safety upgrades.
Schiff was referred for claiming his primary residence at a Maryland property he bought in 2009, which he did not list as a secondary residence until 2021.
At the time, Schiff was serving as a member of the U.S. House representing California, where he was constitutionally required to live.
