New York Attorney General Letitia James has been criminally indicted on federal charges by a grand jury.
James, who led a civil fraud investigation against Trump in 2023, was indicted on charges of bank fraud in the Eastern District of Virginia in Alexandria, according to court documents.
Prosecutors accuse James of alleged bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution regarding a mortgage loan for a house in Norfolk, Virginia, the documents state.
In a statement, James accused the president - who recently publicly pressured prosecutors to file criminal charges against her - of a desperate weaponization of our justice system.
He is forcing federal law enforcement agencies to do his bidding, all because I did my job as the New York State attorney general, she said.
These charges are baseless, and the president's own public statements make clear that his only goal is political retribution at any cost.
The US prosecutor assigned to the case, Lindsey Halligan, meanwhile, said the case proved that no one is above the law.
The charges as alleged in this case represent intentional, criminal acts and tremendous breaches of the public's trust, she said.
James' first court appearance is scheduled for 24 October in Norfolk.
The federal government alleges James bought a three-bedroom home in Norfolk using a mortgage loan that required her to use the property as her secondary residence and did not allow for shared ownership or timesharing of the home.
The indictment claims the property was not occupied or used by James as a secondary residence, but was instead used as a rental investment property, which was being rented to a family of three.
The misrepresentation allowed James to obtain favourable loan terms that would not have been available for an investment property, prosecutors claim.
James's attorney, Abbe Lowell, expressed concern that this case is driven by President Trump's desire for revenge.
Trump last month called on US Attorney General Pam Bondi, who leads the justice department, in a social media post to prosecute his political opponents, including James.
During the civil fraud case brought by James, Trump was found liable of falsifying records to secure better loan deals, leading to a $500m (£375m) fine. The penalty was thrown out by an appeals court, which called the fine excessive, though it upheld that Trump was liable for fraud.
