Guest post by Joel Gilbert
Once celebrated as the stalwart defender against mortgage malfeasance, New York Attorney General Letitia James now finds herself under the same scrutiny she once expertly wielded against others. The irony is palpable; the very system she vowed to protect now points its accusatory finger in her direction.
Attempts by Letitia James to feign ignorance in response to her own mortgage fraud indictment seem increasingly untenable.
In June 2019, James proudly proclaimed the conviction of John F. Iacono and Shpresa Gjekovic, a couple embroiled in a $1.3 million mortgage fraud scheme, an event she hailed as a landmark victory against financial deceit.
She condemned their actions as a “deliberate scheme to enrich themselves at the expense of hardworking New Yorkers,” declaring that “no one is above the law.” Yet today, as she faces her own indictment, her past rhetoric feels less like a triumphant declaration and more like an ironic prelude to her own downfall.
James’s words about the couple, accusing them of falsifying endless documents to enrich themselves, now resonate with unsettling familiarity for her. Her ethos once touted “no place in this state” for mortgage fraud, a rallying cry both heroic and righteous.
The roll-out of her CUFFS Initiative, aimed at Combatting Upstate Financial Frauds and Schemes, epitomized her commitment to restoring faith in financial integrity, touting collaboration with state police to unearth deceit.
Her office’s press release from 2019 detailed the couple’s intricate scheme, involving the use of fabricated bank records to obtain over $1.3 million in ill-gotten loans. Fast forward to now, and let’s just say, the chickens have come home to roost for James.
Where once she championed justice, she now stands accused of much of the same, leveraging fraudulent representations of her properties to score lower interest rates and evade legitimate costs—actions strikingly similar to those she so vocally condemned.
Investigations show that her misrepresentations spanned decades—engaging in 24 years of mortgage fraud and housing regulation violations related to her Brooklyn property.
She maneuvered to obtain lower interest rates by falsely declaring her multi-family building as containing fewer than five units, a game-changing threshold in the lending landscape.
Additionally, she neglected to file necessary registrations for rent stabilization, undermining both tenant protections and city regulations.
James even fabricated her marital status on her first mortgage application, deceitfully claiming to be married to her father in a bid for loan qualification.
More recently, my colleague Sam Antar uncovered that James had mischaracterized a property co-purchased in Virginia with her niece as her primary residence, maneuvering for more favorable loan terms.
It raises serious ethical concerns, especially considering this property was allegedly acquired to provide housing for her niece’s daughter, Nikia Monique Thompson, a fugitive wanted on multiple charges.
The glaring parallels between her actions and those of Iacono and Gjekovic tell a sobering story of hypocrisy. Both cases are marked by falsified documents and exploitation of financial systems for personal gain.
While James’s former defendants faced swift justice, she now adopts the role of a victim of political persecution. At a recent rally for Zohran Mamdani, she proclaimed, “We are witnessing the fraying of our democracy.” Her defiance blended moral indignation with self-preservation, presenting herself as a crusader fighting against a corrupted system—ironically, one she is now deeply mired in.
James stated, “You come for me, you got to come through all of us,” rallying support from the crowd while paradoxically isolating herself from the ideals she once championed.
For a public figure who constructed her image around integrity, the narrative has dramatically shifted to one where rules apply only to others. The once-celebrated image of Letitia James now evokes cringes and memes in the face of her own legal missteps.
Her name is now intrinsically linked to the term “mortgage fraud investigation,” reflecting a swift transformation from hunter to prey—a cautionary tale of hubris, as noted by political analyst Steve Bannon.
Public office is not merely a position of authority; it entails a profound moral responsibility. The essence of our democracy and the rule of law hinges on integrity and public trust.
If Letitia James once insisted there was “no place in this state” for such fraudulent schemes, she must be held to that same standard. The only just resolution would be her resignation, as the true measure of justice is whether one abides by the laws they impose on others.
Joel Gilbert is a Los Angeles-based film producer and president of Highway 61 Entertainment. He is the producer of the new film Roseanne Barr Is America, among others focused on American politics and culture. Follow him on Twitter: @JoelSGilbert.
