A Prosecution Memorandum is an internal legal document prepared by prosecutors that summarizes the facts, law, and reasoning supporting (or recommending against) bringing criminal charges.
It is not filed in court, rather it’s an internal document the prosecutors use to guide decision-making. Below is a mock Prosecution Memorandum that could easily be used to consider charges against New York Attorney General Letitia James.
PROSECUTION MEMORANDUM
Re: United States v. Letitia James
Prepared for: Eastern District of Virginia, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of New York and Special Prosecutor’s Office
Date: September 21, 2025
I. Introduction
This memorandum addresses potential federal, Commonwealth of Virginia, and New York State charges against Letitia James, Attorney General of New York, arising out of an alleged 43-year pattern of mortgage-related fraud and false filings. The investigative reporting of Joel Gilbert (The Gateway Pundit), as well as Sam Antar (White Collar Fraud), provides documentary evidence and witness analysis suggesting that James repeatedly misrepresented the legal status of her properties, particularly a five-unit apartment building at 296 Lafayette Avenue in Brooklyn, as well as a residential home in Norfolk, Virginia in order to obtain loans and preferential loan terms she was not entitled to. James also is harboring a wanted fugitive in the Virginia home.
If corroborated, these acts constitute violations of both federal statutes (bank fraud, false statements to financial institutions, wire fraud, RICO) and New York State statutes (residential mortgage fraud, offering false instruments for filing, scheme to defraud, enterprise corruption).
II. Factual Background
A. Early Fraud (1983)
Letitia James and her father, Robert James, obtained a mortgage on a Queens property by falsely identifying themselves as “husband and wife.”
Motivation: to enhance creditworthiness and secure a loan Letitia James could not have qualified for alone at age 24 based on her work and income.
B. Brooklyn Apartment Building (2001–2019)
James purchased 296 Lafayette Avenue (legally a five-family dwelling) in 2001.
On at least four separate mortgage and refinance applications (2001, 2004, 2011, 2019), James declared the property had four units, and not five, in order to obtain more favorable terms. This misrepresentation:
– Qualified James for lower residential mortgage rates, closing costs, and taxes.
– Allowed avoidance of higher commercial mortgage rates, closing costs, and taxes.
– Enabled receipt of a 2011 US Government HAMP loan, restricted to 1-4 family dwellings, at 2.7% interest (saving approx. $44,000 annually) over her 10% adjustable rate loan. James also swore a financial hardship to qualify for this loan, despite earnings of around $ 14,000 per month.
C. 2021 Citizens Bank Credit Line Mortgage
James signed a $200,000 credit line mortgage with Citizens Bank.
In mortgage documents, James described this property as “1 family dwelling”, contrary to its legal designation on her 2001 Certificate of Occupancy (five dwelling units).
Result: James avoided $20,000-$30,000 in commercial loan closing costs, appraisal fees, and higher interest rates.
D. Virginia Property Misstatements (2023)
James allegedly designated a Norfolk, Virginia residence as her “primary residence” on mortgage filings.
This misrepresentation materially altered underwriting, insurance rates, and loan terms to lower costs and rates than James was entitled to had she admitted her primary residence was in Brooklyn, NY.
E. Harboring a Fugitive (2025)
In her Virginia home, Letitia James allegedly provides shelter for her niece, a convicted fugitive and Absconder with an active warrant for arrest in North Carolina.
Legal Significance: Harboring a fugitive is illegal. This allegation also bolsters the RICO and enterprise corruption claims by showing an ongoing pattern of unlawful activity. It demonstrates James’s willingness to obstruct justice, further establishing continuity of corrupt intent.
III. Applicable Federal Law
- 18 U.S.C. § 1014 – False Statements to Financial Institutions
– Each false mortgage application (2001–2021) constitutes a violation.
– 2021 Citizens Bank filing actionable until June 2026.
– Penalty: up to 30 years per count. - 18 U.S.C. § 1344 – Bank Fraud
– Pattern of obtaining loans by materially false pretenses.
– Predicate acts include misrepresentations of unit counts and residency.
– Penalty: up to 30 years. - 18 U.S.C. §§ 1341 & 1343 – Mail and Wire Fraud
– Transmission of false loan applications through mail/electronic systems.
– Penalty: up to 20 years per count. - 18 U.S.C. §§ 1961–1968 – RICO
– “Pattern of racketeering activity” demonstrated by multiple bank/wire fraud acts within 10 years.
– Enterprise: ongoing ownership/financing of 296 Lafayette Avenue.
– Penalty: up to 20 years (or life if underlying penalties apply). - 18 U.S.C. § 1071
“Harboring a Fugitive” is an act of knowingly harboring or concealing a person in order to prevent their discovery or arrest.
– Penalty: up to five years imprisonment.
IV. Applicable Commonwealth of Virginia Law
- Penal Law § 18.2-472 – Harboring a Fugitive
– Harboring in Virginia makes someone an accessory after the fact, a Class 1 misdemeanor
– Penalty: Up to 12 months jail and a $2,500 fine. - Penal Law 18.2-186. False statements to obtain property or credit
– Making a materially false statement in writing with intent that it be relied on in order to procure a loan or credit is grand larceny, a felony.
– Penalty: Imprisonment of 1 to 20 years.
V. Applicable New York State Law
- Penal Law § 187.20 – Residential Mortgage Fraud, Second Degree
– Fraud over $50,000; Class C felony, 15-year max.
– Applies to 2011 HAMP loan, 2019 refinance, 2021 Citizens Bank credit line. - Penal Law § 175.35 – Offering a False Instrument for Filing (First Degree)
– False mortgages recorded with Kings County Clerk.
– Each document a separate Class E felony (up to 4 years). - Penal Law § 190.65 – Scheme to Defraud (First Degree)
– Systematic misrepresentations to multiple financial institutions over two decades.
– Class E felony (up to 4 years). - Penal Law § 460.20 – Enterprise Corruption
– New York’s “mini-RICO.”
– 20+ years of fraudulent acts in furtherance of an enterprise (property ownership/financing).
– Class B felony, 25-year max.
VI. Pattern and Continuity
Courts require more than isolated misconduct to sustain RICO or enterprise charges. Here, however, Letitia James’s illegal acts span:
– 1983 (father mortgage misrepresentation).
– 2001–2019 (multiple false filings on 296 Lafayette).
– 2011 (fraudulent HAMP application “4-family dwelling”).
– 2021 (Citizens Bank “1-family dwelling” claim).
– 2023 (Virginia primary residence misrepresentation).
This timeline demonstrates continuity and persistence – a defining hallmark of enterprise-based fraud. Older acts, though time-barred, remain admissible as background evidence and to prove intent.
VII. Potential Defenses
- Statute of Limitations – Conduct prior to 2015 may be time-barred. However, 2019 and 2021 filings are within federal 10-year and state 5-year limits.
- No Financial Harm – Defendant may argue banks were repaid.
Counter: James herself argued in the Trump case that fraud exists regardless of bank losses, and any misstatement is a grave crime.
- Clerical Error Defense – Possible claim of “mistaken unit counts.”
Counter: consistency of false statements across decades undermines inadvertence. - No Intent – Possible claim of “Didn’t know the laws”.
Counter: James was an attorney very familiar with real estate law given her many public statements in support of tenants and homeowners, and the legal actions of her office suing real estate companies to enforce New York real estate law over years. She knew the law. - Rarity of Prosecutions – Rarity of prosecution has no legal weight.
- Political Retribution – Retaliation claims are nearly impossible to prove without hard evidence of discriminatory targeting.
VIII. Trial Strategy
Documentary Evidence: Public documents, Mortgage applications, Certificates of Occupancy, ACRIS filings (Brooklyn), Insurance documents.
Expert Witnesses: Investigator Joel Gilbert, Forensic Accountant Sam Antar, mortgage underwriters, former bank officers.
Pattern Proof: Demonstrate James’s long-running scheme, contrast with her public statements that “no one is above the law.”
Jury Appeal: Leverage hypocrisy – prosecutor of Trump accused of the same frauds she claimed were per se illegal.
VIII. Conclusion
Based on the evidence, there is a strong basis for prosecution under both federal and New York law. The most compelling charges are:
– Federal: False Statements to Financial Institutions (§ 1014), Bank Fraud (§ 1344), RICO (§ 1962), Harboring a Fugitive
– State: Residential Mortgage Fraud (§ 187.20), Offering a False Instrument (§ 175.35), Enterprise Corruption (§ 460.20).
There exists more than a sufficient basis to proceed with charges, ensuring that the maxim that “no one is above the law”.
The evidence presented in this Prosecution Memorandum demonstrates a consistent pattern of misrepresentation and fraud spanning more than four decades by Letitia James. James’s actions reveal a deliberate scheme to exploit mortgage classifications, interest rates, and government programs, resulting in substantial personal benefit at the expense of both lenders and the integrity of the financial system.
From the early loan obtained under false pretenses in 1983, to the repeated understatement of unit counts at 296 Lafayette Avenue, to the more recent Citizens Bank credit line and Virginia residence misrepresentations, and the harboring of a fugitive, the evidence establishes continuity and intent for illicit financial gain. Such conduct, if proven in court, squarely meets the elements of both federal bank fraud statutes and New York’s parallel enterprise corruption laws.
Joel Gilbert is a Los Angeles-based film producer and president of Highway 61 Entertainment. He is the producer of the new film Roseanne Barr Is America. He is also the producer of: Dreams from My Real Father, The Trayvon Hoax, Trump: The Art of the Insult, and many other films on American politics and music icons. Gilbert is on Twitter: @JoelSGilbert.
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