Federal prosecutors have opened a new probe into New York State Attorney General Letitia James, connected to past campaign payments to her longtime hairdresser, who was indicted in Louisiana last month on bank fraud charges.
Investigators are looking into a total of $36,000 that James’ campaign paid Iyesata Marsh, owner of a Brooklyn hair salon and an event manager, between May 2018 and February 2019 during the AG’s successful reelection bid, according to sources and reports.
Roughly $22,000 of the payments were for using Marsh’s studio as a campaign office for the last four months of James’s campaign, according to a past Wall Street Journal report.
People familiar with the probe told the New York Times — which first reported the new investigation, along with CBS News — that prosecutors want to talk with Marsh about past financial transactions involving James and her campaign.
The probe, which is in its early stages, according to the Times, comes as other efforts by the Department of Justice to secure an indictment against James for a separate mortgage fraud allegation failed to stick.
Marsh, of Queens, was indicted by Louisiana federal prosecutors last month on charges of bank fraud and aggravated identity theft tied to the purchase of a Land Rover, according to court documents.
She and her nephew allegedly used the identity and personal information of an unidentified woman in Ohio to take out a $48,000 loan to buy the car from a Florida dealership, the filings state.
There is no indication that James, a President Trump foe, is tied to Marsh’s current legal drama.
Prosecutors in October hit James with an indictment in Virginia on two counts of bank fraud and making false statements tied to the mortgage on a home in Norfolk she bought in 2020 – but the case was later tossed by a federal judge.
A grand jury subsequently failed to indict James on new charges another two times, dealing a blow to the DOJ.
James and her legal team have consistently decried the feds’ actions as a vendetta brought by Trump – an assertion that was repeated Thursday.
James’ lawyer, Abbe Lowell, scoffed at the federal government’s latest apparent effort, and said the new probe shows the Trump administration is “clearly frustrated by the string of failures in carrying out President Trump’s political vendetta against Attorney General James.”
“His obedient Justice Department appears to be using its vast resources to try to shake down people based on their association with Ms. James,” he said.
“Like their earlier attempts, this attack on Ms. James is doomed to fail. The desperation of those working for Trump is palpable and makes indelible the stain already put on this Justice Department.”
A legal rep for Marsh declined comment.
Attempts to reach Marsh were not successful.
The hairdresser, who runs Studio Phenomenon-Luxury Salon in Prospect Heights, was celebrated in 2022 at a “Power Women of the Bronx” event, where James spoke and was also honored, according to the Bronx Times.
After she was arrested in early December, the feds requested Marsh be detained pending trial, but a judge granted $50,000 bail, which she posted.
Marsh is facing federal charges in Louisiana because the loan she allegedly took out for the car purchase was processed in the Bayou State.
Trump and James have long been political rivals dating back to his first term in the Oval Office.
James successfully sued Trump and his business, the Trump Organization, for committing fraud by inflating his net worth for decades.
He was initially slapped with a nearly $500 million fine, but an appeals court later tossed it, though still upheld the fraud ruling.
Trump denied wrongdoing in the case and has repeatedly bashed James, calling her a variety of insults and urging authorities to bring her to justice.
A New York judge on Thursday tossed subpoenas the DOJ had sent to James as part of a separate grand jury probe into the civil case against the president.
John Sarcone, the acting US attorney for the Northern District of New York helming that probe, has been serving in the post unlawfully, Manhattan federal Judge Lorna Schofield ruled when tossing the subpoenas.
He should have left his post in July when the district’s judges declined to extend his 120-day temporary term, she found.
Schofield’s ruling disqualifies Sarcone from participating further in the James probe, though it was not immediately clear if he would appeal.
