NORFOLK, VIRGINIA — Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte made two criminal referrals on March 25, 2026 against New York Attorney General Letitia James. The referrals alleged that James may have falsified information on homeowner's insurance applications for two properties in Norfolk, Virginia.

One referral was made to U.S. Attorney Jason Quiñones in the Southern District of Florida regarding a homeowners insurance application for a Norfolk property. Another referral was made to U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros in the Northern District of Illinois regarding a homeowners insurance application for a different Norfolk property.

In a letter to prosecutors in Florida, Pulte alleged that James may have falsified information on her homeowner's insurance application to Universal Property Insurance, a Ft. Lauderdale-based company. Pulte wrote in the referral to Quiñones that James represented her property would be unoccupied five months out of the year but that it was occupied year-round by her niece, according to referral documents.

In a letter to U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros, Pulte alleged that James may have falsified information on her homeowner's insurance application to Allstate, an Illinois-based company. Pulte wrote in the referral to Boutros that James represented that the house would be occupied by a single adult with no children but knew it was occupied by four people: three children and her niece, according to referral documents.

A Justice Department spokesperson confirmed that the Department's U.S. Attorney's Offices received the criminal referrals. The referrals were based on publicly available court documents from a previous criminal case against James in the Eastern District of Virginia, according to court documents.

Abbe D. Lowell, an attorney for James, criticized the referrals. "Trump and his political enablers keep abusing their power to pursue a vendetta against her by trying to rename, refile, and repeat baseless allegations," Lowell said. "They continue this improper revenge campaign instead of helping bring down the rising cost of living in this country." "These desperate tactics will fail — just as every previous attempt has failed — and exposes an Administration that has abandoned its responsibility to the American people in favor of petty political payback," Lowell said.

The Justice Department has unsuccessfully attempted to prosecute James three times on mortgage-related charges. A federal grand jury in Alexandria, Virginia refused to indict James on mortgage-related charges in December. In November, a federal judge dismissed criminal indictments against James, ruling that the prosecutor Lindsey Halligan was unlawfully appointed as interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.

Last fall, James was charged in federal court on counts of bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution related to misrepresenting information about a Virginia property to seek favorable mortgage terms. Those bank fraud and false statements charges against James were later dismissed.

Bill Pulte sent criminal referrals last year against James, Rep. Eric Swalwell, Sen. Adam Schiff, and Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook.