New York AG Letitia James Linked to Mortgage Fraud Scam Involving Historic NYC Nonprofit

By Roger Stone and Mark Vargas
Published originally in The StoneZONE

New York State Attorney General Letitia James is embroiled in yet another scandal – this time involving a charity in New York City – and how she used the powers of her office to protect an organization accused of fraudulently inflating the value of their property to secure a better loan.

In 2017, The American Irish Historical Society in New York City – a widely-known nonprofit organization headquartered in a mansion across from Central Park, had fallen on hard times due to poor management. Facing foreclosure, the nonprofit turned to respected board member and wealthy Georgia businessman James Doyle for help.

An agreement was put in place that Doyle would loan the organization $3 million in a setup that was structured as a private mortgage. And by 2020, the note would be repaid.

For Doyle, this seemed like a fair deal. After all, the nonprofit’s leadership boasted that the mansion was worth $80 million and had “air rights” so the townhome could be built taller at a later time and increase in value.

But in 2021, the organization’s financial crisis had reached a fevered pitch with internal bickering and dysfunction dividing the board – prompting executive director Christopher Cahill to put the headquarters up for sale. The original asking price for the mansion was $52 million, but was later reduced to $44 million.

A year later, Cahill would pass away – and that’s when the attorney general intervened and blocked the sale of the building.

According to James, her office had the power by law to approve the sale of any nonprofit in New York. And if she didn’t approve it – the deal was dead.

Immediately after blocking the sale of the building, James appointed an interim board – handpicked by the attorney general herself.

Doyle was also persuaded by James’ new team not to foreclose on the mortgage before July 2023.

But by late 2023, Doyle had still not been repaid for the $3 million, so he initiated foreclosure proceedings.

That’s when James intervened for a second time and blocked the foreclosure proceedings from going any further. The NY AG was arguing that the mortgage was invalid because at the time, Doyle was a board member. However, the board was clearly aware of the loan terms, and his status as a board member made no difference at all.

The nonprofit was now safe because the attorney general’s office was providing top cover.

Not only did James block the sale of the building – she also blocked foreclosure proceedings from going any further and had stacked the board of directors with her own people.

In March 2024, Doyle filed a lawsuit against the nonprofit and requested a subpoena for James to gather information about whether or not the attorney general had used the headquarters for fundraising events – or if any of the new board members had donated to her campaign.

In the lawsuit, Doyle also alleges mortgage fraud, and that the nonprofit “fraudulently inflated valuations” of the mansion.

Prior to issuing the loan, Doyle was assured that the value of the townhome was $80 million. However, that proved to be false – and the building is valued closer to $20 million instead.

And the air rights? That was also a lie to convince Doyle to issue the loan.

In a separate case on Tuesday, The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) referred Letitia James to the U.S. Department of Justice for potential criminal prosecution involving alleged mortgage fraud and falsifying documents to secure a lower mortgage rate on a home in Virginia that she claimed was her “primary” residence despite serving as the current New York State Attorney General.

James is also alleged to have misrepresented other properties in New York to secure better loan terms.

In a speech on April 4th, James called President Donald Trump “ignorant and stupid.” James then had a message for the 45th and 47th President of the United States.

“Donald Trump, I’m not afraid of you.”