A high-ranking Trump administration official has filed new criminal referrals against New York Attorney General Letitia James, alleging homeowner’s insurance fraud across two states.
Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Bill Pulte submitted the referrals Wednesday to federal prosecutors in Miami and Chicago. The allegations center on claims that James provided falsified information on insurance applications for properties in Florida and Illinois.
Allegations of Insurance Fraud
In a letter sent to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, Pulte alleged that James misrepresented details on an application to Universal Property Insurance, a Fort Lauderdale-based firm. A second referral, directed to the Northern District of Illinois, claims James provided false information to Allstate.
The referrals were first reported by MS NOW. President Trump corroborated the reports late Wednesday via Truth Social, stating that James had been “referred again for criminal prosecution for alleged homeowner insurance fraud.”
The Florida referral was delivered to U.S. Attorney Jason Reding Quiñones. Quiñones is currently overseeing several high-profile probes into Obama-era intelligence officials and has previously sought records related to special counsel Jack Smith’s investigations into the President.
Defense Slams ‘Political Vendetta’
Abbe Lowell, counsel for Attorney General James, dismissed the allegations as a politically motivated misuse of federal resources.
“The Trump administration is abusing their power to pursue a vendetta against her by trying to rename, refile, and repeat baseless allegations,” Lowell said in a statement. He added that the tactics represent “petty political payback” and predicted they would fail as previous legal challenges have.
A Pattern of Legal Friction
This development marks the latest chapter in a protracted legal battle between James and the Trump administration. James previously secured a massive civil fraud judgment against Donald Trump regarding his real estate valuations, though an appellate court later vacated the financial penalties.
The new referrals follow a dismissed federal indictment against James last fall. In that case, James was charged with bank fraud and making false statements regarding a Virginia property. A federal judge dismissed the charges in November, ruling that the interim U.S. Attorney who brought the case, Lindsey Halligan, had been appointed unlawfully. Two separate grand juries subsequently declined to re-indict James on those charges.
James has previously accused Pulte of “weaponizing” the FHFA—which oversees mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac—to target the President’s political opponents.
Neither the FHFA nor the U.S. Attorney’s offices in Florida and Illinois have issued formal statements regarding the status of the new referrals.
