The Trump administration has begun to scrutinize the real estate transactions of New York’s attorney general, Letitia James, in what could be the opening move of President Trump’s first investigation into one of his foremost adversaries.

The head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency sent a criminal referral letter to the Department of Justice this week, saying that Ms. James “appeared to have falsified records” related to properties she owns in Virginia and New York in order to receive favorable loan terms.

The letter was dated April 14, one day after Mr. Trump posted a story involving the claims against Ms. James on Truth Social and called her a “crook.”

It is unclear whether the allegations against Ms. James, which have been touted online for weeks by Mr. Trump’s allies, are substantive enough to merit criminal charges. Ms. James has been one of Mr. Trump’s primary opponents since her office filed a lawsuit against him in 2022, accusing him of overvaluing his assets by billions in order to receive favorable loan terms. The president has promised retribution against his political enemies.

During the first several months of his second term, Mr. Trump mostly avoided the use of the justice system to target his enemies. But last week, he signed presidential memos singling out officials who opposed him during his first term and directing his agencies to scrutinize their actions. And the U.S. attorney in New Jersey, Alina Habba, said she was opening an investigation into the state’s governor.

The letter concerning Ms. James — who along with other state attorneys general has sued Mr. Trump’s administration a dozen times since January — goes still further in the specificity of its allegations. It cites documents concerning two properties: a house in Norfolk, Va., that she bought with a niece in 2023, and a Brooklyn house she has owned for two dozen years.

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