A conservative-aligned watchdog group had filed a bar complaint New York Attorney General Letitia James, accusing her of professional misconduct tied to her Norfolk, Virginia, mortgage. The complaint cites allegations made in the recently dismissed criminal case against James, a decision that is currently being appealed.
The Center to Advance Security in America (CASA) filed the complaint with the state’s Attorney Grievance Committee, accusing James of engaging in “illegal and dishonest conduct” in connection with the mortgage she took out on the property, according to a report from the New York Post.
According to the complaint, the group alleges that James’ actions raise concerns under the state’s Rules of Professional Conduct, the ethical standards lawyers in New York are beholden to. “Fraud, misrepresentation, honesty and trustworthiness are all factors that the Rules of Professional Conduct expressly consider when weighing whether to discipline an attorney,” Curtis Schube, the group’s director of research and policy, wrote in the four-page complaint.
“The Committee, therefore, should immediately investigate the allegations against James and, if by ‘preponderance of the evidence’ the allegations are substantiated, she should be disciplined accordingly.”
A federal judge on Monday threw out the criminal indictments filed against James and former FBI Director James Comey, which were filed in federal court for the Eastern District of Virginia. The judge claimed that interim U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan was improperly appointed, leading to a dismissal of the charges without prejudice.
The Justice Department is appealing the decision, while President Donald Trump has suggested the charges could be re-filed.
The indictment centered on a single-family home in Norfolk, Virginia that was co-purchased by James in August 2020 for roughly $137,000, most of which was financed with a $109,600 loan that prohibited it from being used as a rental investment property, prosecutors have alleged. This allowed her to obtain favorable loan terms not available for investment properties,” prosecutors alleged in a five-page court filing, which allowed her to save “approximately $18,933 over the life of the loan.”
According to disclosures to the New York State Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government, which were reviewed by the New York Post, the property is listed as an “investment” in the “real estate” section of James’ 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 disclosures to the commission. In 2024, she then designated the Norfolk home as a “real property” rather than an “investment,” however.
The indicted attorney general also estimated the value of the property anywhere between $150,000 and $200,000.
The 2024 disclosure was filed in May of this year, just a month after Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director William Pulte sent a criminal referral to the Justice Department alleging that James may have committed fraud by mischaracterizing the property in order to secure more favorable loan terms. It is unclear why James opted to change the word “investment” to “real property” on her 2024 disclosure.”
James also did not disclose any revenue generated from renting out the home on her disclosure forms from 2021 through 2024, despite the fact that it generated thousands of dollars, prosecutors alleged.
