New York Attorney General Letitia James indicted for bank fraud.

 

New York Attorney General Letitia James. New York Post/Reuters.

New York Attorney General Letitia James indicted for federal bank fraud charges. New York Post. James stands accused of lying about a property she bought in Virginia. She told the bank that she was not going to use the property for rentals but tax records show income from the residence, proving that she was lying to her loan officer. If convicted on both counts she could face 60 years in prison. James said the charges were retribution for bringing charges against Donald Trump. 

My Comment:

The irony here is pretty obvious. James was the one that charged Trump for similar actions and she managed to win the case, even though the case was partially overturned on appeal. But unlike Trump, this kind of crime actually is prosecuted regularly. From what I understand 2000 cases a year are brought for this kind of bank fraud. 

It's actually a serious charge that could lead to 30 years per charge. It's not something you would think of when you hear about it as bank fraud isn't that commonly discussed and I think a lot of people get away with it. But it is considered fraud to lie about what your property is going to be used for. 

In this case, James pretty clearly lied about what she was going to use the property for. She claimed that she was going to use it as a 2nd home but instead she used it as a rental property. Had the bank known that she would have gotten a lot worse loan rate, because rental property loans have dramatically more risk than properties used as a secondary residence. This cost her lender money, supposedly roughly $19,000 in interest payments. 

Indeed, this case seems completely open and shut. Unless there is some exculpatory evidence that comes out at trial, I can't see how she would ever get off in this case. The only thing I can think off is maybe jury nullification? If she got a sympathetic jury that likes her and hates Trump, I could see that as a possibility. But I really can't see many juries that would simply ignore an open and shut case like this just because of politics. 

James is saying that this case is retaliatory and though she is probably right that the case might not have brought under Kamala Harris if she had become president, that says more about Harris than the case itself. It is true that Trump was pushing for this case, but even then, an appeals court would be extremely unlikely to overturn the case when the evidence is this strong. Like I said, the evidence is pretty convincing and I am guessing that an unbiased justice department would have filed these charges regardless. 

I do think that the case is a political message as well. James brought some pretty ridiculous charges against Trump, a case with no victim and no complainant. She did this while being guilty of an actual federal crime. The message is that if you bring these kinds of ridiculous charges against Republicans, when they are in power they will put you under the microscope. And, if you are the kind of person that is willing to bring false charges against someone else, it's likely they will find things. 

Finally, as an aside, I have to say the most depressing thing about this is the fact that James was able to buy a three bedroom house in Norfolk Virginia for $137,000. I'm no expert in home prices in the area, but the fact that she was able to sell it for roughly $220,000 is just completely black pilling. James made out like a bandit, but folks like me, who couldn't afford the cheaper cost back in 2020 but could now, got totally screwed...