Grand Jury Rejects Mortgage Fraud Case Against Letitia James

On December 4, 2025, a federal grand jury in Norfolk, Virginia, turned down the Justice Department's second attempt to charge New York Attorney General Letitia James with mortgage fraud.

The most recent decision came after a judge threw out the first case, saying that the prosecutor who brought the charges had been wrongly chosen and didn't have the authority to do so. After that loss, federal officials had to rethink their plan before sending their case to a different panel.

People who know how the process works say that the grand jury still decided that there wasn't enough evidence to support a criminal indictment, even after prosecutors presented new evidence for consideration.

The house James bought in Norfolk in 2020 is the main point of contention. Federal officials say she may have listed the house as a second home instead of an investment property, which could have changed the terms and types of mortgages available.

After looking at the evidence, the grand jury came up with a 'no true bill,' which legal experts say is rare in cases that are politically sensitive and where indictments are more common.

James has always said she is innocent. In a statement after the ruling, she said that the claims were false and that the federal government's investigative powers were becoming more political. She added that the decision sets a troubling precedent and vowed to continue fighting the allegations through the legal process.

Her lawyers agreed with her, saying that the grand jury's decision showed that the case never had any facts to back it up.

Legal experts say that two failed attempts, first in court and now in front of a grand jury, make it much less likely that an indictment will be successful in the future, even though the Justice Department has not officially closed the case.

The decision is a big win for James in both the legal and political arenas. It also hurts federal prosecutors a lot, especially since there is still a lot of debate about how the DOJ handles politically sensitive cases.

It is not clear if the federal government will try to reopen the case. The grand jury's decision marks a major turning point in the long-running conflict for now and shows that there is no interest in taking further legal action.

Grand Jury Says No to New Mortgage Fraud Charges Against New York Attorney General Letitia James

On Thursday, a grand jury in Norfolk, Virginia, turned down a 'true bill,' which was the second time federal prosecutors tried to charge Letitia James with mortgage fraud.

The charges were connected to James's purchase of a house in Norfolk in 2020. Prosecutors said she falsely advertised it as a 'second home' to get better financing terms, even though the house was supposedly rented out.