New York Attorney General Letitia James is facing two federal criminal referrals accusing her of potentially engaging in homeowners insurance fraud. These referrals surfaced on Wednesday, raising questions about the integrity of her insurance dealings.
William Pulte, the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), initiated these referrals, which were obtained by The Post. Pulte alleges that James may have provided misleading information in her filings with Allstate Insurance Company based in Illinois, as well as Universal Property Insurance in Florida.
The referrals have been directed to Andrew Boutros, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Jason Reding Quinones, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida. This development follows a recent legal victory for James, as a federal judge in Virginia dismissed a criminal indictment accusing her of mortgage fraud just four months ago.
Pulte’s allegations are bolstered by insurance documents that were shared on social media by Mike Davis, a prominent ally of former President Trump and the founder of the conservative judicial advocacy group Article III Project. These documents purportedly indicate that James informed the Illinois-based insurance company that a property she acquired in Norfolk, Virginia, in 2020, was intended to be occupied by a single adult with no children, according to Pulte’s claims.
Both of Pulte’s referrals cite insurance documents posted on social media by Mike Davis, a close ally of President Trump and founder of the conservative judicial advocacy group Article III Project.
The documents appear to suggest James represented to the Illinois-based insurer that a Norfolk, Va., property she purchased in 2020 “would be occupied by a single adult, with no children,” Pulte wrote.
“Instead, according to the post, she knew the house was actually occupied by four people – three children and her niece,” the Housing chief continued. “As such, it appears Ms. James may have defrauded the Illinois-based insurance company.”
In the Florida referral, Pulte alleged James “made false representations” to Universal Property Insurance that the same Norfolk home “would be unoccupied five months out of the year.”
“According to the post, this was false,” he wrote. “The house was, in fact, occupied year-round by her niece.”
A Justice Department spokesperson confirmed that the referrals were received by the US attorneys.
James’ attorney dismissed the allegations as “baseless” and argued the referrals were part of an “improper revenge campaign.”
“Frustrated by repeated failures, where judges and grand juries have rejected their attempts to charge Attorney General James, Trump and his political enablers keep abusing their power to pursue a vendetta against her by trying to rename, refile, and repeat baseless allegations,” attorney Abbe Lowell said in a statement.
“They continue this improper revenge campaign instead of helping bring down the rising cost of living in this country,” Lowell added. “These desperate tactics will fail — just as every previous attempt has failed — and exposes an Administration that has abandoned its responsibility to the American people in favor of petty political payback.”
US District Judge Cameron Currie dismissed the DOJ’s mortgage fraud case against James last November after finding then interim US Attorney Lindsey Halligan was improperly appointed to her position and “had no lawful authority” to secure indictments.
Two other federal grand juries subsequently refused to re-indict James.
The mortgage fraud case pertained to the same property mentioned in Pulte’s latest criminal referrals.
