A federal grand jury declined Thursday to indict New York Attorney General Letitia James, dealing a minor setback to prosecutors who filed a revised mortgage fraud criminal case, The Post can confirm.
The jury was empaneled to review the case again, but rejected revised mortgage fraud charges brought by other federal prosecutors in Norfolk, according to sources familiar with the proceeding.
Roger Keller, who had been serving as a federal prosecutor in Missouri before joining the team to prosecute James in Virginia on October 22, presented the indictment, one source noted.
A federal grand jury has declined to indict NY AG Letitia James after the DOJ refiled a revised mortgage fraud criminal case. APJames, 67, had previously faced two counts brought by acting US Attorney Lindsey Halligan in the Eastern District of Virginia for alleged bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution related to a six-figure loan she obtained in 2020 to buy a second home in Norfolk.
The New York AG has called the charges “baseless.” In a statement Thursday, James said: “I am grateful to the members of the grand jury and humbled by the support I have received from across the country. Now, I will continue to do my job standing up for the rule of law and the people of New York.”
That indictment was handed up by a grand jury in Alexandria, Va., federal court on Oct. 9 — but thrown out by US District Judge Cameron Currie on Nov. 24, who ruled that Halligan was improperly appointed to her position and had “no lawful authority” to bring the charges.
US Attorney General Pam Bondi had vowed the same day as Currie’s decision that the Department of Justice “be taking all available legal action, including an immediate appeal,” though none has been filed yet.
The jury reviewed the case once more, only to reject the latest charges. Luiz C. Ribeiro for New York PostBondi also pledged to appeal charges of lying to Congress and obstruction of justice brought against former FBI Director James Comey. Prosecutors still have six months to revise those as well if they seek to refile them.
The jurors’ decision won’t bar prosecutors — who have a six-month grace period to refile charges following Currie’s ruling — from bringing another indictment. The judge dismissed the indictment without prejudice.
James has faced two counts of alleged bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution for obtaining a six-figure loan to buy a home in Norfolk, Virginia, in 2020. Ron Sachs – CNP for NY PostJames faced up to 60 years in prison and a $2 million fine if she was convicted on both counts.
Democratic powerhouse attorney Abbe Lowell, who is representing James, said in a statement that the jurors’ decision “should be the end of this case.”
“If they continue, undeterred by a court ruling and a grand jury’s rejection of the charges, it will be a shocking assault on the rule of law and a devastating blow to the integrity of our justice system,” Lowell said.
Halligan, who was not present for the grand jury proceedings on the revised indictment, served previously as President Trump’s personal attorney for his defense team.
She began serving as the interim US attorney on Sept. 22, after the ouster of her predecessor, Erik Siebert, who declined to bring charges against James and Comey. Siebert resigned from the office on Sept. 19.
Trump had urged Bondi to prosecute James, Comey and Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) in a Truth Social post days before Halligan’s appointment.
US Attorney General Pam Bondi has vowed that she will “be taking all available legal action, including an immediate appeal,” to indict James. AFP via Getty ImagesBoth James and Schiff were hit with criminal referrals from Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte for possibly falsifying information on mortgages for second homes, with the California Democrat having declared his Maryland house as a primary residence.
Pulte’s referral for James, however, referenced another Norfolk home she purchased in 2023, which she also listed as a “principal residence.”
The NY AG bought a three-bedroom, one-bath house in Norfolk on Aug. 17, 2020, via a mortgage with a “second home rider” that attested she would be its primary occupant and would refuse to rent it out, though one of her grandnieces moved into the property shortly after.
The relative, Nakia Thompson, a 36-year-old mother of three with a lengthy rap sheet, told a federal grand jury earlier this year that she never paid rent, but James recorded up to $5,000 in rental income earned through the property in her 2020 New York State ethics filings.
After Pulte made the criminal referral in April 2025, James’ ethics filings the following month for the 2024 calendar year listed her Norfolk home as “real property” and not an “investment,” as she had previously.
The favorable loan terms for her “second home” will also net her nearly $19,000 in savings, prosecutors alleged in their first indictment.
James declared “no one is above the law” when suing Trump and his family’s real estate business for “staggering” fraud in September 2022 — a phrase that Halligan turned back on the state AG when she secured the first indictment.
Reps for the Department of Justice and the US Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of Virginia did not respond to requests for comment.






