DoJ Opens Criminal Probe in Mortgage Fraud Claims – HotAir

Democrats created the lawfare model. Adam Schiff enthusiastically promoted it. Now the model has turned on them, and on Schiff specifically.

According to Fox News host Laura Ingraham, the Department of Justice has opened a criminal probe into potential mortgage fraud involving Schiff. The allegations have floated for months, similar to those surrounding New York Attorney General Letitia James, that Schiff claimed primary residency in Maryland for personal gain while representing California in Congress:





The investigation comes a month after a story broke about the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) sending a criminal referral to the Department of Justice (DOJ) alleging that Schiff, in multiple instances, falsified bank documents and property records to acquire more favorable loan terms.

In a 2011 affidavit signed by the then California congressman, Schiff certified that a property in Montgomery County, Maryland is his primary residence.

Schiff also owns a condominium in Burbank, California, which he has also claimed as his primary residence as recently as 2023, during his campaign for Senate.

Beege wrote about this last month, so be sure to click through and read the background on the case. This doesn’t just involve potential mortgage fraud, by the way, but could also involve tax fraud in either California or Maryland. States offer lower property tax rates for primary residences (homesteads) in exchange for the benefits communities receive when owners occupy their own properties. If Schiff claimed and received homestead benefits in both states at the same time, both states could file civil or criminal claims of tax fraud. 





Neither California nor Maryland will be likely to do that — to a Democrat, anyway. But the possibility still exists. 

What can the DoJ charge in such cases? The New York Post reports that FHFA Director William Pulte laid out the possibilities in his criminal referral to the DoJ:

Schiff and his wife did not list the Potomac property as a secondary residence until 2020, Pulte noted.

“Mr. Schiff appears to have falsified records in order to receive favorable loan terms, and also appears to have been aware of the financial benefits of a primary residence mortgage when compared to a secondary residence mortgage as a spokesperson in 2023 told the media outlet CNN that, ‘Adam’s California and Maryland addresses have been listed as primary residences for loan purposes because they are both occupied throughout the year and to distinguish them from a vacation property,’” the letter explained. 

Schiff may have violated federal laws against wire fraud, mail fraud, bank fraud and making false statements to financial institutions, Pulte said. 

And no one is above the law, right? Wasn’t that the Democrat slogan between 2017 and 2024, and even into this year? 

With that said, the law also includes statutes of limitations. Generally speaking, those run for five years at the federal level, and any crime that Schiff may have committed in the mortgage applications would have taken place longer ago than that. Schiff appears to have cured the issue in 2020, which is either at or around the statute of limitations. 





Interestingly, though, Schiff and his team aren’t talking about that point. They are instead raising an objection that should sound very familiar to Trump supporters:

A spokesperson for Schiff noted at the time that “the lenders who provided the mortgages for both homes were well aware of then-Representative Schiff’s Congressional service and of his intended year-round use of both homes, neither of which were vacation homes.”

Say, wasn’t that Trump’s defense in New York in Letitia James’ ruinous lawsuit over property valuations? The banks did their own due diligence, didn’t lose a dime, and still wanted Trump’s business. How did Democrats respond to that defense? Oh, let’s not always see the same hands …

What’s good for the goose is good for the gander. If Schiff wants to make that argument, then he should call on James to withdraw her lawsuit against Trump. If not, then have fun playing by the rules y’all created. 


Editor’s Note: Help us continue to report the truth about corrupt politicians like Adam Schiff, Letitia James, the Bidens, the Clintons, Democrat fleebaggers, and the entire DC swamp.  

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