New Focus on Adam Schiff After Letitia James Indicted for Mortgage Fraud

The legal troubles of New York Attorney General Letitia James have sparked renewed attention on another high-profile Democrat — California Sen. Adam Schiff — who is facing his own mounting allegations of mortgage fraud.

James was indicted Thursday by a federal grand jury in Virginia on charges of bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution — accusations that prosecutors say enabled her to unlawfully save nearly $19,000 on a mortgage for a second home. The Department of Justice confirmed the indictment was handed down in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia — the same court that recently charged former FBI Director James Comey with making false statements to Congress and obstruction of justice.

U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan called the charges a “tremendous breach of the public’s trust.”

“No one is above the law. The charges as alleged in this case represent intentional, criminal acts and tremendous breaches of the public’s trust,” Halligan said. “The facts and the law in this case are clear, and we will continue following them to ensure that justice is served.”

James, however, rejected the allegations, framing the indictment as political payback from President Donald J. Trump’s administration.

“This is nothing more than a continuation of the president’s desperate weaponization of our justice system. He is forcing federal law enforcement agencies to do his bidding, all because I did my job as the New York State Attorney General,” she said.
“These charges are baseless, and the president’s own public statements make clear that his only goal is political retribution at any cost. The president’s actions are a grave violation of our Constitutional order and have drawn sharp criticism from members of both parties.”

James made a name for herself by promising to “get Trump” during her 2018 campaign, later filing a civil lawsuit in 2022 accusing President Trump and the Trump Organization of inflating property values. That case — once celebrated by Democrats — now stands in sharp contrast to her own criminal charges.

But after James’ indictment, attention has swiftly shifted to Sen. Adam Schiff, who was recently criminally referred to the Department of Justice for alleged mortgage fraud involving multiple properties.

According to Fox News, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Maryland has opened an investigation following a criminal referral from the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). The agency accused Schiff of falsifying bank documents and property records to obtain favorable mortgage terms on multiple occasions.

In a 2011 affidavit, Schiff certified that a property he owned in Montgomery County, Maryland, was his primary residence. However, records show that he continued to claim a Burbank, California condominium as his primary residence as recently as 2023 during his Senate campaign — a contradiction that investigators are now probing.

In a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, FHFA Director William Pulte detailed the allegations:

“Based on media reports, Mr. Adam B. Schiff has, in multiple instances, falsified bank documents and property records to acquire more favorable loan terms, impacting payments from 2003–2019 for a Potomac, Maryland-based property,” Pulte wrote.
“As regulator of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Home Loan Banks, we take very seriously allegations of mortgage fraud or other criminal activity. Such misconduct jeopardizes the safety and soundness of FHFA’s regulated entities and the security and stability of the U.S. mortgage market.”

A subsequent memo from Fannie Mae’s financial crimes unit reportedly accused Schiff of engaging in a “sustained pattern of possible occupancy misrepresentation” involving five Fannie Mae-backed loans.

The FHFA letter states that Schiff and his wife purchased a Potomac, Maryland home in 2003 for $870,000, securing a $610,000 Fannie Mae-backed mortgage at 5.625% interest — claiming it would be their primary residence. Yet records show the couple continued to affirm the same property as their primary residence in refinancing documents filed in 2009, 2011, 2012, and 2013, even as Schiff served in Congress representing California.

With James now under federal indictment and Schiff under active investigation, critics are questioning whether a broader pattern of Democratic corruption and double standards is finally being exposed under President Trump’s administration.