Latest news with #mortgageFraud
Fox News
21-07-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Trump invokes Russia collusion hoax while calling for longtime foe Schiff to face jail time
President Donald Trump called for California Democrat Sen. Adam Schiff to face jail time while invoking recently declassified documents alleging Obama administration officials "manufactured and politicized intelligence" to create the narrative that Russia was attempting to influence the 2016 presidential election. "Adam 'Shifty' Schiff is in BIG TROUBLE!" Trump posted to Truth Social Sunday evening. "He falsified Loan Documents. He once said my son would go to prison on a SCAM that Schiff, along with other Crooked Dems, illegally 'manufactured' in order to stage an actual coup." "My son did nothing wrong, knew nothing about the fictional story," he added. "It was an American Tragedy! Now Shifty should pay the price of prison for a real crime, not one made up by the corrupt accusers!" Schiff is under scrutiny after the U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) sent a letter to the Department of Justice in May sounding the alarm that in "multiple instances," Schiff allegedly "falsified bank documents and property records to acquire more favorable loan terms, impacting payments from 2003-2019 for a Potomac, Maryland-based property." FHFA is an independent federal agency that oversees Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Bank System. Schiff's office did not respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment Monday morning. Trump publicly lambasted Schiff Tuesday over the alleged mortgage fraud, while Fannie Mae's financial crimes investigations concluded last week in a letter to the FHFA that Schiff allegedly engaged in "a sustained pattern of possible occupancy misrepresentation" on five Fannie Mae loans, Fox News Digital previously reported. "I have always suspected Shifty Adam Schiff was a scam artist," Trump posted to Truth Social Tuesday. "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." "Adam Schiff said that his primary residence was in MARYLAND to get a cheaper mortgage and rip off America, when he must LIVE in CALIFORNIA because he was a Congressman from CALIFORNIA. I always knew Adam Schiff was a Crook. The FRAUD began with the refinance of his Maryland property on February 6, 2009, and continued through multiple transactions until the Maryland property was correctly designated as a second home on October 13, 2020." Schiff has passed off the allegations as a continuation of Trump's history of slamming the liberal lawmaker. "Since I led his first impeachment, Trump has repeatedly called for me to be arrested for treason," Schiff posted to X earlier in July after Trump first accused Schiff of mortgage fraud. "So in a way, I guess this is a bit of a letdown. And this baseless attempt at political retribution won't stop me from holding him accountable. Not by a long shot." Trump and Schiff have long been political foes, which was underscored during Trump's first administration when Schiff served as the lead House manager during the first impeachment trial against Trump in 2020, and when Schiff repeatedly promoted claims that Trump's 2016 campaign colluded with Russia. Days after Trump first posted about Schiff's mortgages in Maryland and California, the president's Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard declassified documents that reportedly show "overwhelming evidence" that then-President Barack Obama and his national security team laid the groundwork for what would be the yearslong Trump–Russia collusion probe after Trump's election win against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2016. "It lays out, these over 100 documents that you're referencing, that I declassified and released, spells out in great detail exactly what happens when you have some of the most powerful people in our country directly leading at the helm, President Obama and his senior-most national security cabinet, James Comey, John Brennan, James Clapper, and Susan Rice and others, essentially making a very intentional decision to create this manufactured, politicized piece of intelligence with the objective of subverting the will of the American people," Gabbard told Fox News' Sean Hannity Friday evening. She argued that the goal of Obama and his team was to essentially "not accept the decision of the American people" in 2016, and to use this "manufactured, politicized piece of intelligence" as a means to enact a "years-long coup against President Trump." Schiff was an incredibly vocal lawmaker amid the Russian collusion claims, most notably when the House censured him in 2023 over his promotion that Trump's 2016 campaign colluded with Russia. Schiff served in the House representing California from 2001 to 2024, when he was sworn-in as a senator after his successful 2024 campaign to serve in the nation's upper chamber. Schiff served as the ranking member of the House intelligence committee from 2015 to 2019, before becoming the committee's chair from 2019 to 2023. In that role, Schiff was kept up to date on classified materials surrounding the Russian collusion claims. Schiff advocated in 2018 that Donald Trump Jr., the president's son, face a subpoena amid Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into claims Trump's 2016 campaign colluded with Russia to secure the election, which Trump cited in his latest Truth Social aimed at Schiff. Mueller's investigation, which wrapped up in March 2019, into the Russia claims determined there was no evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.
CBS News
01-07-2025
- CBS News
Kouri Richins, grief book author accused of killing husband with fentanyl-laced cocktail, faces 26 new charges
Kouri Richins, the Utah mom who allegedly poisoned her husband with a fentanyl-laced cocktail and then wrote a children's book about coping with grief, is facing dozens of new charges. The charges, filed Friday in a Utah court, include five counts of second-degree felony mortgage fraud, seven counts of second-degree felony money laundering, one count of second-degree felony communications fraud, one count of pattern of unlawful activity, five counts of third-degree felony forgery, and seven counts of third-degree felony issuing a bad check, according to documents reviewed by CBS News. Kouri Richins and Eric Richins wed in 2013. At the time of their marriage, Eric Richins owned a successful stone masonry business. As part of a prenuptial agreement, the couple relinquished all rights or claims to any businesses they established. The only exception was if Eric Richins died while the two were still married. In that case, his business would transfer to Kouri Richins. In 2019, Kouri Richins started a real estate business, where she bought, flipped and re-sold homes. Prosecutors alleged that Kouri Richins began stealing money from her husband's accounts without his knowledge in 2019. In 2020, Eric Richins learned about her actions, prosecutors said, and met with an estate planning lawyer to establish a living trust. In the case of his death, his sister Katie Richins-Benson would become the manager of his estate. Kouri Richins was not informed of the trust. Kouri Richins looks on during a hearing, on Nov. 3, 2023, in Park City, Utah. Rick Bowmer / AP The new court documents allege that in July 2021, Kouri Richins began using altered bank documents showing information from Eric Richins' business for mortgage loan applications. Then, from August to December 2021, Kouri Richins issued a series of bad checks, according to the court documents, and laundered money between multiple accounts. In January 2022, Kouri Richins defrauded a close friend, the documents allege. The friend sent money to Kouri Richins as down payments on a mortgage, but Kouri Richins used the money to pay other debts. The friend was eventually evicted from the house, according to the court documents. The pattern of unlawful activity charge covers allegations that Kouri Richins fraudulently applied for a life insurance policy for her husband, attempted to murder him, and then did murder him in March 2022. Prosecutors allege that Kouri Richins poisoned her husband with a fentanyl-laced cocktail. She also claimed false insurance benefits after his death, according to the court documents. In March 2023, a year after Eric Richins' death, Kouri Richins self-published a children's book, "Are You With Me?" The book, initially written for her children, addressed coping with grief. About two months later, in May 2023, Kouri Richins was arrested. Since her arrest, she has been denied bail and accused of witness tampering. She has not yet gone on trial for Eric Richins' murder.
Yahoo
20-06-2025
- Yahoo
Home detention for former Baltimore City State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby ends
BALTIMORE — Former Baltimore City State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby's year-long home detention sentence will wrap up on Friday, according to a judge's order. The order from U.S. District Judge Lydia Griggsby came in response to Mosby filing motions earlier this week for the return of her passport and waiver of her $1,447.23 location monitoring fee — legal restrictions that have limited Mosby's ability to travel freely. 'In support of her motion for return of her passport, the Defendant states that her home detention will be complete on June 20, 2025, and United States Probation has advised the Defendant that it will file a motion for early termination of the Defendant's supervised release upon the completion of her home detention,' Griggsby's order reads before granting Mosby's request. Mosby, 45, served as State's Attorney from 2015 to 2023 and was convicted on two counts of perjury and one count of mortgage fraud — both federal offenses — since leaving office. She was sentenced to home detention for these crimes in May 2024 and began serving her sentence the following month. Mosby's 2023 perjury conviction stemmed from her abuse of the CARES Act, a federal COVID-19 legislation that allowed people who claimed financial hardship to withdraw funds from retirement accounts without penalties. However, forensic accounts testified that Mosby made more money during the pandemic in 2020 than she did the year prior. In a separate 2024 trial, a jury found Mosby guilty of using retirement funds as down payments for two Florida vacation homes worth more than $1 million combined. Mosby was confined to her Fells Point home and common areas of her apartment complex while on home detention, but was still permitted to travel for work, childcare responsibilities, medical appointments and meetings with her legal team. Mosby had to get permission to travel to all other events, such as a barbecue held in her honor that she attended last summer in Clarksville. Mosby rose to national prominence by opting to criminally charge six Baltimore police officers in relation to the 2015 death of Freddie Gray in police custody, an event that sparked protests and looting across the city. After the trials of three officers ended without any convictions, Mosby's office dropped all charges against the three remaining officers. Baltimore School of Law professor David Jaros suggested Mosby's decision to charge the officers with offenses like second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter without cooperation from the Baltimore Police Department made the case very difficult to win. 'It may have benefited the public, and frankly, Ms. Mosby, to be more open about some of the challenges in obtaining a conviction in that case,' Jaros told The Sun. 'To some extent, supporters were left with disappointment and a question about whether or not there was true willingness by the criminal justice system to pursue police officers.' ---------------
New York Times
11-06-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
She Relishes Being Trump's Nemesis. Now He Is Out for Revenge.
The New York attorney general was an hour into a Westchester County town hall, expounding on her view of her mission during President Trump's second term — on democracy and the need to defend it, on courage and the need to display it — when a middle-age man stood up and told her she was going to prison for mortgage fraud. The attorney general, Letitia James, did not visibly react. As members of her staff escorted the man from the room, she thanked him with a small smile, said the allegations were baseless and turned her attention to a less fired-up attendee who was taking the microphone. The episode in Westchester last month neatly encapsulated the role Ms. James has staked out in recent years as one of Mr. Trump's chief antagonists, and the risks of having done so. The audience member was referring to allegations that have become the subject of a criminal investigation by Mr. Trump's Justice Department, whose leaders have rewarded the president's allies and targeted his foes. Ms. James has been one of the president's nemeses since she brought a fraud lawsuit against him three years ago, leading to a half-billion-dollar penalty that Mr. Trump has appealed. And unlike many of his enemies, she has not fallen silent during his second term. Her office has filed 21 lawsuits against him, working with other Democratic attorneys general to take aim at everything from Elon Musk's slashing approach to the federal government to the administration's sudden freezing of federal funds for states. Many of the suits have successfully barred the White House from achieving its goals, at least in the short term. In May, for instance, a judge blocked Mr. Trump from moving forward with mass layoffs that would have gutted the U.S. Department of Education. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
31-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Regina Hill's team wants key witness barred from testifying
Attorneys for suspended Orlando Commissioner Regina Hill have asked a judge to bar a key witness from testifying against her, saying she has exhibited a pattern of dishonest behavior as the attorneys gear up for trial. Sandra Lewis, a notary whose stamp and signature appear on a mortgage application Hill filed several years ago, gave evasive, contradictory, and sometimes false answers to questions Hill's attorneys threw her way, they claimed. The filing said Lewis feigned a lack of memory when answering basic background questions and tried to obscure the work she did for Shan Rose, a political opponent of Hill's, and Andrew Bain, who served as state attorney when Hill was arrested and charged. The document also stated Lewis was paid for political activities through her beauty school, which she failed to answer questions about. 'The notion that the State would proceed with this witness is disturbing,' attorneys wrote. 'She had two opportunities to provide truthful sworn testimony with an intervening period to consult with the State and a lawyer. Yet, she consistently engaged in deception and obstruction.' Lewis's, testimony would help prosecutors prove their accusations that Hill committed mortgage fraud when she applied for a loan in the name of a 96-year-old constituent without the woman's consent. WFTV interviewed Lewis shortly after the accusations against Hill became public last year. She admitted her stamp was on the document but pointed to several inconsistencies with the application and suggested the document had been altered. Lewis did not immediately return a request for comment Saturday. Hill is facing a maximum 180 years in prison if convicted, though she'd likely be sentenced to significantly less time. She said all accusations against her are false, and she had permission to apply for the mortgage, live in one of the woman's houses and spend the woman's money. Her trial is expected to take place in the fall. It's not clear if it will happen before or after she faces Rose in her fight to regain her commission seat in Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
