President Donald Trump checked another name off his political enemies list on Thursday when federal prosecutors indicted New York Attorney General Letitia James for mortgage fraud .

But an indictment is a long way from a conviction. And according to one Boston University expert, the crime is seldom prosecuted and rarely results in prison for those who are successfully prosecuted.

In an analysis for the public policy site The Conversation , BU business professor Jay L. Zagorsky said he reviewed more than a decade’s worth of data to reach that conclusion.

Just 38 people in the country were sentenced for such crimes in 2024, and among that small group, four of the convicted got no prison time, Zagorsky wrote. The year before, in 2023, only 34 people were convicted and seven avoided pri

See Full Page