Overview
- FHFA Director Bill Pulte sent two criminal referrals Wednesday to U.S. attorneys in South Florida and Northern Illinois alleging misstatements on homeowners insurance applications tied to Norfolk, Virginia properties.
- Pulte’s letters cite claims that one application said a home would be unoccupied for five months and another said it would house a single adult with no children, while posts and prior filings say James’s niece and three children lived there year‑round.
- The referrals rely on court exhibits reposted on social media by attorney Mike Davis, whose posts Pulte cites as the source for the alleged misrepresentations.
- The Justice Department confirmed the U.S. attorney offices received the referrals and has not announced any investigation or charges, and a referral only asks prosecutors to consider whether to open a case.
- The push follows failed mortgage cases last year that were dismissed because an interim U.S. attorney was improperly appointed and two grand juries declined to re‑indict, as James’s lawyer calls the new claims a politically driven vendetta.