Federal housing authorities have referred another high-profile Democrat for criminal prosecution—the second such case this year under the Trump administration’s renewed crackdown on mortgage fraud involving political opponents.
U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA), a longtime adversary of President Donald Trump, is now under investigation for allegedly misrepresenting a Maryland property as his primary residence while serving in Congress representing a district in California.
In a referral letter to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, Federal Housing Finance Agency Director William Pulte accused Schiff of falsely listing the Maryland home as his primary residence from 2009 to 2020, despite serving as the elected representative for California’s 28th and 29th congressional districts during that period.
“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 Pulte wrote.
“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,” he added.
On Monday, Pulte stated that he received a report from the Fannie Mae Financial Crimes Division, which concluded that Schiff engaged in a “a sustained pattern of possible occupancy misrepresentation” on five government loans, Fox News reports.
It remains unclear whether the U.S. Justice Department is currently involved in the investigation. However, the development follows President Trump’s announcement of the allegations against Schiff in a Truth Social post on 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,” Trump wrote. “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.”
Pulte’s letter to Bondi cites a Fannie Mae investigation that allegedly shows Schiff listed his Maryland residence as his primary home on financial disclosures filed in 2009, 2011, 2012, and 2013.
Although the Constitution doesn’t require members of Congress to live in the specific district they represent, they must reside in the state where that district is located. If Schiff did in fact claim Maryland as his primary residence during that period, it would conflict with the requirement that he be a primary resident of California to serve as its congressional representative.
