Adam Schiff silent after Trump accuses him of mortgage fraud
Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., refused to answer repeated questions from Fox News Digital about his alleged mortgage fraud. (Credit: Nicholas Ballasy for Fox News Digital)
Longtime President Donald Trump political foe Democrat California Sen. Adam Schiff was referred to the Department of Justice to face criminal prosecution over alleged mortgage fraud that reportedly stretches back years.
Schiff, who was elected to the Senate in the 2024 election cycle following decades as a House lawmaker, is under scrutiny after the U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) sent a letter to the Department of Justice in May sounding the alarm that in "multiple instances," Schiff allegedly "falsified bank documents and property records to acquire more favorable loan terms, impacting payments from 2003-2019 for a Potomac, Maryland-based property."
FHFA is an independent federal agency that oversees Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Bank System.
This week, Trump publicly lambasted Schiff over the alleged mortgage fraud, while Fannie Mae's financial crimes investigations concluded Monday in a letter to the FHFA that Schiff allegedly engaged in "a sustained pattern of possible occupancy misrepresentation" on five Fannie Mae loans, Fox News Digital previously reported this week.
WATCH: ADAM SCHIFF SILENT AFTER TRUMP ACCUSED HIM OF MORTGAGE FRAUD
President Donald Trump highlighted 2024 allegations of mortgage fraud against Sen. Adam Schiff, claims that Schiff has denied. (Getty Images)
"I have always suspected Shifty Adam Schiff was a scam artist," Trump posted to Truth Social 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."
"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. I always knew Adam Schiff was a Crook. The FRAUD began with the refinance of his Maryland property on February 6, 2009, and continued through multiple transactions until the Maryland property was correctly designated as a second home on October 13, 2020."
Potomac, Maryland, is a suburb of Washington, D.C., located just more than 10 miles away from the nation's capital across the Maryland border.
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Trump and Schiff have long been political foes, which was underscored during Trump's first administration when Schiff served as the lead House manager during the first impeachment trial against Trump in 2020 and when Schiff repeatedly promoted claims that Trump's 2016 campaign colluded with Russia
Adam Schiff served as the lead House manager during the first impeachment trial against Trump in 2020. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Fox News Digital took a look back at the timeline of Schiff's Maryland home, and when the public was first made aware in 2023 of allegations that Schiff claimed a more than 3,000-square-foot home in the suburbs of Washington as his primary residence, while taking a homeowner’s tax exemption on a small condo in his home state of California.
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Timeline:
- 2003: Then-Congressman Schiff and his wife purchase a home in Potomac, Maryland, for $870,000, and sign a Fannie Mae-backed mortgage agreement for $610,000 at a rate of 5.625% over a term of 30 years. The mortgage asserts the property was their primary and principal residence, according to the FHFA letter to the Department of Justice (DOJ).
- 2009: Schiff purchases Burbank, California, condominium, CNN later reported in 2023. Schiff was serving as a U.S. House lawmaker at the time, representing the state's 29th District in Southern California outside of Los Angeles.
- 2009; 2011; 2012; 2013: Schiff reaffirms the Potomac, Maryland, home as their principal residence in mortgage refinancing those years, according to the FHFA letter to the DOJ.
- 2017: Schiff reportedly pays his California property taxes with a check showing his Maryland address, CNN reported in 2023.
- 2020: Schiff refinances his mortgage and lists his Maryland home as his secondary residence.
- June 2022: Schiff posts a photo of himself in front of his Maryland home wearing an "I voted" sticker on the day of Los Angeles' Democratic primary for the mayoral race. He captioned the photo on X: "California! Los Angeles! Voters are voting!" Schiff’s spokesperson explained to CNN in 2023 that he voted by mail that year and was in Washington for votes.
- January 2023: Schiff announces Senate run after then-California Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein announced she would not run for re-election.
- November 2023: CNN publishes first news article detailing that Schiff had claimed the Maryland home as a primary residence while also taking a homeowner’s tax exemption on the Burbank, California, condo. The outlet reported that real estate legal experts found Schiff was "likely not in any legal jeopardy" over the matter, but that the issue could hamper his election efforts with California voters.
- November 2023: Schiff's Senate campaign responds to the mortgage claims, saying, "Adam’s primary residence is Burbank, California, and will remain so when he wins the Senate seat. As Adam has discussed openly many times over the years, including in his recent New York Times best-selling book, he and (his wife) made the difficult decision to move their family to the D.C. area to spend more time with his children while doing his job." The campaign added that Schiff's two properties were listed as primary residences "for loan purposes because they are both occupied throughout the year and to distinguish them from a vacation property."
- 2024: Schiff wins Senate election and Trump wins presidential election.
- May 2025: FHFA Director William Pulte sends the criminal referral over Schiff's mortgages and residence to Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche.
- July 14, 2025: Pulte receives a memo from the Fannie Mae financial crimes investigations concluding that Schiff allegedly engaged in "a sustained pattern of possible occupancy misrepresentation" on five Fannie Mae loans, Fox News Digital learned.
- July 15, 2025: Trump blasts Schiff on Truth Social over the mortgage claims, calling the senator a "scam artist."
- July 15, 2025: Schiff responds to Trump's message on X, saying, "This is just Donald Trump’s latest attempt at political retaliation against his perceived enemies. So it is not a surprise, only how weak this false allegation turns out to be. And much as Trump may hope, this smear will not distract from his Epstein files problem."
President Donald Trump speaks during a lunch with African leaders in the State Dining Room of the White House, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
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The investigation into Schiff's mortgages and homes follows a similar mortgage investigation earlier in 2025 focused on New York Attorney General Letitia James, who is also a longtime political Trump foe. The FHFA sent a criminal referral to the Department of Justice in April arguing the attorney general appeared to have falsified mortgage records to obtain more favorable loans.
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At the heart of that case is a Norfolk, Virginia, home James purchased in 2023, which she identified on mortgage documents and a Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac form as a property that would serve as her primary residence, according to the FHFA letter from April. James is legally required to live in New York as a statewide elected official in the Empire State.
Fox News Digital reached out to Schiff's office for additional comment on the matter, but did not immediately receive a reply.
Fox News Digital's Danielle Wallace and Michael Dorgan contributed to this report.
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