New York Attorney General Letitia James is once again in the spotlight, this time for a potentially suspicious foreclosure purchase in 2008 that raises questions about campaign disclosure laws. The issue centers around her acquisition of a property at 21 Peters Street in Martinsville, Virginia.
According to documents, James’s name appears on the “Final Foreclosure Accounting” for the purchase, which also includes Johnsie and Philip Finney. A misspelling of her first name as “Letitua” adds to the suspicion, potentially making the transaction difficult to trace. At the time, James was serving on the New York City Council.
The property was acquired at a foreclosure auction, requiring immediate payment. The Finneys, previous owners of the home, had lost it to Wells Fargo Bank. It seems they enlisted James to help repurchase the property. James’s mother hailed from Martinsville, suggesting possible personal connections between James and the Finneys.
Strangely, James’s name does not appear on the new deed, known as the “Substitute Trustee’s Deed,” drafted in January 2009. Only the Finneys are listed as owners. This discrepancy might contravene a Virginia law mandating all foreclosure purchasers be recorded on a new deed unless there’s a legal transfer between them.
The absence of James’s name on the deed raises ethical and legal concerns, particularly regarding asset disclosure and campaign finance transparency. Under Virginia Code §55.1-321 and §55.1-322, purchasers must be listed on the Substitute Trustee’s Deed. While not legally required to appear immediately, the title should vest lawfully for any ownership claims.
James, as a public official and candidate, was subject to NYC Campaign Finance Board Rules and New York State Public Officers Law, which demands full disclosure of assets. Failing to disclose such a material asset could result in campaign finance violations and false filings under sworn ethics declarations.
If James orchestrated the purchase, financed it, and omitted this from her campaign records, she might face investigations under Federal mail/wire fraud statutes (18 U.S.C. § 1341, § 1343), Virginia false pretenses laws, and ethics violations.
Audits from 2013 and 2017 reveal no disclosure of the Virginia property in James’s campaign finance records. Her failure to disclose this property could be actionable, suggesting a pattern of behavior seen in her aggressive legal pursuits in New York. As she has stated, “No one is above the law,” a principle that equally applies to her actions.
An investigation into potential violations of NY Public Officers Law Article 4 is warranted to ascertain if James’s omission constitutes campaign finance or ethics violations.
Joel Gilbert, a Los Angeles-based film producer and president of Highway 61 Entertainment, provides these insights. Follow him on Twitter: @JoelSGilbert.
