This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

'When powerful people cheat to get better loans, it comes at the expense of honest and hardworking people'

A new report from Joel Gilbert, a Los Angeles-based film producer, is suggesting New York Attorney General Letitia James lied on various forms to obtain favorable real estate mortgage terms on a building she owns.

James was the state prosecutor who created a real estate fraud case against President Donald Trump, in which she claimed fraudulent activities in the valuation of his properties and his work to obtain various loans for his real estate business.

She brought the lawfare case against Trump and obtained a fraud judgment against him from a left-leaning judge who imposed damages of hundreds of millions of dollars even though witnesses during the trial testified Trump paid off every loan in full and on time, they did not lose any money and they wanted to do business with him again.

That judgment and penalty, from Arthur Engoron, now is on appeal.

But James' involvement in real estate transactions and her own activities were profiled in a report published at the Gateway Pundit, which noted that for more than two decades, James has "repeatedly claimed her Brooklyn apartment building was a four-unit property on mortgage applications – despite official records proving it had five."

The report explained, "This may seem a minor discrepancy, but misrepresenting the unit count enabled her to secure more favorable loans, including a 2011 Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) loan that saved her tens of thousands of dollars annually."

The report includes online postings of various documents, including a Brooklyn Department of Buildings Certificate of Occupancy for the address that shows one family residence in the basement, one the first floor, one on the second, and two on the third.

That makes five residences.

But James repeatedly has described it as a four-unit building in mortgage applications.

The report said the difference "is critical."

"Properties with four or fewer units qualify for more favorable 'residential' interest rates, while those with five or more are classified as 'commercial' properties—often subject to higher rates," the report confirmed.

The report described how, in 2005 with an adjustable-rate mortgage likely rising to a cap of more than 10%, "James sought relief from HAMP – a federal initiative under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) designed to assist homeowners at risk of foreclosure."

"HAMP, however, had strict eligibility requirements. According to its official Making Home Affordable Program Handbook, 'Eligibility is limited to owner-occupied properties with no more than four units.' The reasoning was clear: the program aimed to assist regular homeowners and not landlords of multi-family rental apartment businesses," the report said.

In her HAMP application, James said the property had four family apartments.

Further, James is on record with a "financial hardship statement," declaring, "I am experiencing a financial hardship, and as a result, (i) I am in default under the Loan Documents, and (ii) I do not have sufficient income or access to sufficient liquid assets to make the monthly mortgage payments now or in the future."

But, Gilbert said, "Public records indicate that in 2011 Letitia James earned at least $126,390. Of that total, $122,500 was from her position on the City Council of New York City, and another $3,890 from her work at CUNY. She also earned rental income from her building. … Given James was a single woman with no children, with a high salary and rental income, her claim of 'hardship' was suspect at best."

The report charges that James obtained the HAMP benefits, giving her a mortgage rate of $2.7% and saving her "at least $44,000 per year."

Gilbert noted, when she obtained a real estate fraud judgment against Trump, she said, "When powerful people cheat to get better loans, it comes at the expense of honest and hardworking people. Everyday Americans cannot lie to a bank to get a mortgage to buy a home. No matter how big, rich, or powerful you think you are, no one is above the law."