The type of mortgage fraud case involving Sen. Adam Schiff is typically straightforward and difficult to defend against, according to financial crimes experts, who warn the senator could face substantial fines and penalties.
The California Democrat has been referred to the Justice Department for prosecution over allegations that he falsely claimed “primary” residence status in two different states to gain financial benefits.
Schiff is accused of submitting falsified bank and property documents, designating a home he owns with his wife in Potomac, Maryland, as their primary residence—an action that lowered their mortgage payments from 2013 to 2019, the Washington Times reports.
However, as a U.S. Senator from California—and previously a Representative for a California district—his legal primary residence must be in that state.
Despite this, Schiff also claimed a property in Burbank, Calif., as his primary residence during the same period, securing a tax exemption that saved him approximately $7,000.
Borrowers can secure lower mortgage rates by designating a property as their primary residence rather than a secondary home or investment property, as lenders view primary residences as less risky, the Times explained.
The allegations mark a dramatic reversal of fortune for Schiff, a vocal critic of President Trump who led calls for his prosecution over business fraud.
Last year, Schiff accused Republicans of abandoning their principles in order to support Trump, who was later convicted on 34 counts of business fraud in New York on charges several legal experts dismissed as bogus and politically driven by Democratic state Attorney General Letitia James.
“The party, formally of the moral majority, is now, I suppose, trying to fashion some kind of immoral majority to reinstate Donald Trump as president,” Schiff said at the time.
Schiff has denied the allegations, claiming that the lenders for his California and Maryland properties were “well aware” of his year-round use of both homes and that neither was a vacation property.
Yet, despite those claims, Schiff has also been one of the most vocal lawmakers accusing Trump of business fraud.
“He’s accused me of treason, he’s also accused me of leaking classified information, he’s accused me of fraud, it’s been basically one thing after another — all baseless, all without merit,” Schiff said of the president last week, per the Times. “It’s nothing new. But his attacks on the rule of law are more dangerous than ever.”
Mortgage fraud cases are commonly prosecuted by the Justice Department but seldom make it to trial, according to Keith Gross, a Florida defense attorney who specializes in criminal cases, the Times reported.
He noted that such cases are typically resolved through plea deals, as they often rely on clear-cut financial records that leave little room for dispute.
If charges are brought against Schiff, the case will likely center on whether he personally signed the documents and whether he actually lived full-time in the Maryland home.
“If the answers to those questions are undisputed, there is nothing to have a trial about,” Gross told the outlet. “Often, you just see some sort of payment included as part of a plea deal, so there would probably be a fine, there would be restitution, there may be some other sanctions.”
In a Truth Social post this week, Trump called Schiff a “scam artist” and claimed he obtained a mortgage for a Maryland home in 2009 but only designated it as a second home in 2020 as part of a ruse to get better rates and terms from the company, which has been in federal conservatorship since the 2008 financial crisis.
The president stated that Fannie Mae’s Financial Crimes Division had discovered the suspected wrongdoing.
“I have always suspected Shifty Adam Schiff was a scam artist. 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 in part.
“Mortgage Fraud is very serious, and CROOKED Adam Schiff (now a Senator) needs to be brought to justice,” Trump added.