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Federal housing official submitted Schiff criminal referral to DOJ over mortgage documents
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Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., has been referred to the Department of Justice for criminal prosecution regarding mortgage documents.
The director of the U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) sent a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche in May citing alleged misconduct by Schiff, who owns homes in California and Maryland.
“Based on media reports, Mr. Adam B. Schiff has, in multiple instances, falsified bank documents and property records to acquire more favorable loan terms, impacting payments from 2003-2019 for a Potomac, Maryland-based property,” FHFA Director William Pulte wrote in the letter, which Fox News obtained on Wednesday. “As regulator of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Home Loan Banks, we take very seriously allegations of mortgage fraud or other criminal activity. Such misconduct jeopardizes the safety and soundness of FHFA’s regulated entities and the security and stability of the U.S. mortgage market.”
On Monday, Pulte received a memo from the Fannie Mae financial crimes investigations concluding that Schiff allegedly engaged in “a sustained pattern of possible occupancy misrepresentation” on five Fannie Mae loans, Fox News has learned.
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Adam Schiff was referred to the Department of Justice for criminal prosecution regarding mortgage documents. (Screenshot/HBO)
It is unclear if the Justice Department is pursing action against Schiff at this time, but earlier this week, President Donald Trump did demand his longtime foe be brought to justice for the alleged mortgage fraud scheme.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Justice Department for more information, but they did not immediately respond.
Schiff and his wife purchased a home in Potomac, Maryland, in 2003 for $870,000, according to the letter. They entered into a Fannie Mae-backed mortgage agreement for $610,000 at a rate of 5.625% over a term of 30 years, asserting the property would be their primary and principal residence.
The letter said they reaffirmed that the Maryland home was their primary residence in mortgage refinancing filings in 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2013, despite Schiff being an elected official representing the state of California at the same time.
Fox News obtained a copy of the 2011 affidavit showing Schiff signed certifying that the Maryland house is his primary residence.
Pulte said Schiff and his wife did not list the Maryland home as their secondary residence until 2020.
Over the same time frame, Schiff took a homeowner’s tax exemption on a condo that he owns in Burbank, California, also claiming that home as his primary residence for a $7,000 reduction off of the 1% property tax, Pulte wrote, citing media reports.
In 2023, the letter notes, a spokesperson for Schiff asserted that “Adam’s primary residence is Burbank, California, and will remain so when he wins the Senate seat.”
“Primary residence mortgages receive more favorable loan terms, including lower interest rates, than secondary residence mortgages,” the letter said. “Lenders view secondary residence mortgages as significantly riskier, as a borrower is more likely to continue paying off a primary residence mortgage during any financial hardship. Interest rates on secondary residence mortgages are typically between 0.25-0.50% higher than their primary residence counterparts; however, this gap can widen depending on the lender.”
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The federal housing official wrote that he believes Schiff’s alleged misconduct could be violations of federal criminal codes banning wire fraud, mail fraud, bank fraud and false statements to financial institutions.
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,” Pulte wrote.
According to the letter, a spokesperson for Schiff in 2023 told 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.”
Last year, the letter notes, a federal jury convicted Marilyn Mosby of making false statements on a mortgage application for a Florida condominium when she was the Baltimore City state’s attorney.
The letter also cited how a St. Louis man pleaded guilty last month to fraudulently obtaining home mortgages “after the hard work of our agency’s IG and the DOJ.”
“There are unfortunately too many examples of individuals who commit fraud or mortgage fraud,” Pulte wrote. “As always, we look forward to cooperating with the Department of Justice to support any actions that the Department of Justice finds appropriate. U.S. Federal Housing FHFA appreciates the Department of Justice’s support in ensuring the protection of American homebuyers and taxpayers from mortgage fraud and other financial misconduct.”
Trump took to social media on Tuesday demanding Schiff be held accountable.
“I have always suspected Shifty Adam Schiff was a scam artist. And now I learn that Fannie Mae’s Financial Crimes Division have concluded that Adam Schiff has engaged in a sustained pattern of possible Mortgage Fraud,” Trump wrote in part on TRUTH Social. “Mortgage Fraud is very serious, and CROOKED Adam Schiff (now a Senator) needs to be brought to justice.”
Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., in the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, May 6, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Schiff, a congressman until his 2024 election to the upper chamber, spearheaded the House Intelligence Committee impeachment inquiry into Trump for requesting that Ukraine investigate Joe Biden, whose son Hunter held a lucrative gig at a Ukrainian natural gas company during his vice presidency. Schiff also issued multiple subpoenas and held multiple hearings alleging Trump “colluded” with Russia.
Schiff released a video statement Tuesday reacting to the mortgage fraud claims, saying Trump has long threatened to prosecute him.
“He’s accused me of treason, he’s also accused me of leaking classified information, he’s accused me of fraud, it’s been basically one thing after another, all baseless, all without merit,” Schiff said. “It’s nothing new – but his attacks on the rule of law are more dangerous than ever.”
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Ahead of a massive Week 5 showdown between two of the Big Ten’s primary contenders, Oregon visiting Penn State, college football analyst David Pollack broke down the game and explained which side he’s giving the edge to on Saturday evening.
An episode of Pollack’s podcast, See Ball Get Ball, dropped on Wednesday and featured the former All-American’s picks for the top games of the week, which he paired with some in-depth commentary behind why he’s selected the teams and final scores that he has. For the big one, Oregon at Penn State, he explained why the Nittany Lions could have a few aces hiding up their sleeve.
“Penn State ain’t hasn’t had show nothing yet, and they haven’t showed nothing yet,” Pollack said of PSU’s soft open to their 2025 schedule. “Listen, (Andy) Kotelnecki, with a preseason tune-up, he knows exactly who he is, he knows what he is, like, they’re going to score some points,” he added.
Penn State ran off wins against Nevada, FIU and Villanova before taking their bye week ahead of Oregon. En route to outscoring those poor souls by a 132-17 total score, Pollack’s right, Penn State didn’t have to dive deep into their bag. He referenced Georgia’s performance vs. Tennessee from a couple weeks ago, noting that the Nittany Lions have an established ground game to pair with whatever new tricks are introduced in the passing game.
“The run game beat up Oregon a year ago,” Pollack commented. “The run game can be exactly the same as it was, if not better. The receiving corps cannot be worse, and I just think, with all of that, I’m betting on Penn State and I’m betting on who they have, their experience.”
The heads of that strong ground game are senior running backs Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen, contributors since the day they stepped on campus, while quarterback Drew Allar is a veteran returning starter with NFL aspirations. That’s a lot of experience for PSU, whereas Oregon has a younger transfer leading the charge in former UCLA QB Dante Moore.
“I think Jim Knowles will have something for Dante Moore that he’s absolutely never seen before in an atmosphere that’s going to be absolutely ballistic,” Pollack emphasized. “I think Dante Moore is going to look more human than he’s looked, and because of that, they could struggle a little bit. They’re not going to get to 45 like they did a year ago in the Big Ten championship game.”
With the experience edge and having the Ducks migrate across all three time zones to touch down in a “ballistic” Beaver Stadium, Pollack sees too much evidence going in Penn State’s direction for the victory.
“I got the Nittany Lions, man,” he stated. “I got 30-24 Penn State, they take care of business. All of the guys on the front who can make plays, they can get to the quarterback, they can get TFLs. They can rattle Dante Moore and I think they take care of business.”
A pair of Big 12 teams looking to get back on track clash in Morgantown, West Virginia, on Saturday, as Utah and West Virginia square off coming off disheartening losses.
While the Utes strive to put a 24-point defeat to Texas Tech behind them, the Mountaineers hope to completely wash away their lackluster outing against Kansas in their league opener, setting up an intriguing battle between two teams that need to get back in the win column if they want to keep pace in the ultra-competitive Big 12 title race.
Several outlets and media personnel have phoned in their picks for the Week 5 matchup at Milan Puskar Stadium. It’s worth noting, though, that the following predictions have been made without confirmation of the health status of some key players on both sides, namely, West Virginia running back Tye Edwards.
Here’s a look at how a few prognosticators foresee the Utes-Mountaineers matchup playing out.
Bleacher Report’s David Kenyon, after predicting the Utes would beat the Red Raiders last week, has Utah edging out a 7-point win on the road in Week 5 to move to 4-1 on the season.
Kenyon’s prediction forecasts a much closer contest on Saturday in comparison to some of the other picks on this list.
After simulating the outcome of the Utes-Mountaineers matchup over 10,000 times, Dimers.com’s model gives Utah an 83% win probability, while West Virginia has a win probability of 17%.
ESPN’s matchup predictor has been more favorable to the Utes since the start of the season, and that trend continues heading into Week 5 as Utah boasts a 72.2% win probability rate over West Virginia.
The Utes, who previously had the upper hand in five of their 12 regular-season games heading into the 2025 campaign, according to ESPN analytics, are now the algorithm’s favorite to win six of their final eight Big 12 contests, with the exception of road trips to BYU (29%) and Kansas (38.1%).
Bill Connelly’s SP+ model, a tempo- and opponent-adjusted measurement of college football efficiency, grants the Utes an 83% chance of beating the Mountaineers on the road. Connelly’s metrics-based formulas have accurately predicted three of Utah’s four games so far this season, with the exception of last week’s Texas Tech game.
Technically, Odds Shark’s computer predicts the Utes will score 33.6 points against the Mountaineers. But that’s not possible, thus the slight round-up.
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