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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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SALT LAKE CITY – The San Juan County assessor has resigned partway through his second term, following a recommendation that he be removed from office.
Rick Meyer’s resignation became effective on Monday, according to San Juan County Commissioner Lori Maughan. A copy of Meyer’s resignation letter was not immediately available.
This comes after the Utah State Tax Commission determined that Meyer had failed to follow the law and was “unfit to perform his duties.” In a letter last week to San Juan County commissioners, the tax commission recommended “the immediate removal of the San Juan County assessor from office to protect the public interest and restore the integrity of the property tax system in San Juan County.”
Among other things, Meyer was accused of failing to tax agricultural buildings, misclassifying property, and giving property tax exemptions to certain parcels, including vacant land, when he shouldn’t have.
The recommendation to remove Meyer from office was the first under a recent state law giving the Utah State Tax Commission more power to take corrective action against county assessors who aren’t doing their jobs properly. Assessors play a major role in the property tax process by determining the value of property throughout their counties.
Yet, it was unclear whether the San Juan County Commission could have actually removed Meyer from office had he not stepped down.
With Meyer’s resignation, the San Juan County Assessor’s Office has just one employee left. Deputy assessor Nathan Pitts will run the office until the San Juan County Republican Party recommends a replacement and the County Commission appoints one.
“It’s me holding down the fort here,” Pitts told KSL on Thursday, noting that he has spoken with the Utah Association of Counties and the state tax commission about plans for this interim period. “Everybody’s on board to assist and try to make it the best as we can, (but) I’ve definitely got my work cut out for me.”
Pitts said he does not plan to run for county assessor to replace his old boss.
“That is not my intention at all,” he said. “I’m quite content as a deputy assessor.”
Meyer was first elected as San Juan County assessor in 2020 and won reelection in 2024. His current term was set to conclude in 2029.
The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.
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