A second Virginia grand jury has refused to indict New York Attorney General Letitia James on federal bank fraud charges tied to a Norfolk property.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
A federal grand jury in Virginia for the second time declined to indict New York Attorney General Letitia James on allegations of mortgage fraud, despite prosecutors presenting evidence that she misled a bank to obtain favorable terms on a home loan, ABC News reported Thursday.
According to federal sources cited by ABC, prosecutors were unable to convince a majority of jurors to approve charges that James violated 18 U.S.C. §1344 (Bank Fraud) and 18 U.S.C. §1014 (False Statements to a Financial Institution). The charges stemmed from a mortgage loan on James’s Norfolk, Virginia property, referred to in court filings as the Perrone Property.
The alleged violations involved James’s certification that the property would serve as a secondary residence, even though she later treated it as an investment property on her federal tax filings, declaring rental income on a Schedule E. Prosecutors argued that this contradicted the loan’s stated purpose and violated the terms of her mortgage agreement.
A previous grand jury also refused to indict James last week, shortly after Judge Cameron McGowan Currie, a Clinton appointee, dismissed the initial case. The dismissal was based on a finding that U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan had been improperly appointed, invalidating the earlier indictment. The Justice Department attempted to refile the case, but the latest grand jury once again declined to move forward.
The repeated refusals mark a setback for prosecutors in the Eastern District of Virginia, who had sought to revive the case following the procedural dismissal.
ABC News confirmed the grand jury’s decision on social media:
Federal officials have not confirmed whether prosecutors will pursue a third attempt to bring charges against James.
Original article
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