Updated on: March 26, 2026 / 12:07 AM EDT
A Trump administration official has made new criminal referrals against New York Attorney General Letitia James to federal prosecutors in Florida and Illinois over possible homeowner’s insurance fraud, sources told CBS News.
Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Bill Pulte wrote Wednesday to U.S. attorneys, saying James may have falsified information on homeowner’s insurance applications. One referral was sent to Jason Reding Quiñones, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, alleging false information on an application to Ft. Lauderdale-based Universal Property Insurance. A separate referral went to Andrew Boutros, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, alleging false information on an application to Allstate. MS NOW first reported the referrals.
Abbe Lowell, an attorney for James, accused the administration of “abusing their power to pursue a vendetta against her by trying to rename, refile, and repeat baseless allegations.” Lowell called the efforts “desperate tactics” that would fail and said they exposed an administration focused on “petty political payback.” CBS News has reached out to Pulte’s representatives for comment.
Last fall James was charged in federal court with bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution, accused of misrepresenting information about a Virginia property to obtain better mortgage terms. Those charges were later dismissed. The indictment followed a referral by Pulte for possible mortgage fraud, though prosecutors’ charges involved a different property than the one Pulte had cited.
James has denied wrongdoing and has said the investigations are politically motivated. She previously sued former President Donald Trump in state court over the valuation of his real estate; a New York judge found Trump and his company liable for fraud and imposed a large judgment that was later partly overturned on appeal.
James’ legal team has accused Pulte of using the FHFA — which oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — as “a weapon to be brandished against President Trump’s political enemies.” CBS News reported earlier this month that Pulte has sought a protective security detail, citing threats he allegedly received connected to the James matter.
A federal judge dismissed the bank fraud indictment in November on the grounds that interim U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan was appointed unlawfully; a separate criminal case Halligan brought against former FBI Director James Comey was also dismissed. In the months after the dismissal, two federal grand juries declined to re-indict James on the bank fraud allegations.
Prosecutors opened a new line of inquiry earlier this year focused on financial transactions between James and her longtime hairdresser, Iyesata Marsh. That investigation is being led jointly by U.S. Attorney’s Offices in the Western District of Louisiana and the Northern District of New York.