New York Attorney General's Office
New York's chief legal office, heading the Department of Law. The state constitution says almost nothing about it — real power comes from statutes like the 1921 Martin Act. Under Letitia James it pursued the Trump civil fraud case and, in September 2026, prediction markets.
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- Country
- United States
- Role
- Chief legal officer of New York State and head of the state's Department of Law
- Constitutional basis
- Minimal — the AG is elected at the same general election as the governor for the same term; enforcement power derives from statutes and common law
- Signature statute
- The Martin Act of 1921, among the toughest state securities laws in the country
- Landmark enforcement
- 2022 civil fraud suit against Donald Trump: $464.6 million judgment in February 2024, monetary penalty vacated on appeal in August 2025 with the fraud finding preserved
- Newest front
- September 2026 suits against prediction-market operators Polymarket and Kalshi over alleged unlicensed gambling
- Current officeholder
- Letitia James
Overview
The New York Attorney General’s Office is the state’s chief legal office, headed by the attorney general as head of the Department of Law (Gotham Gazette). What makes it unusual is how little of its power is written down: the state constitution says almost nothing about the office, noting only that the attorney general is elected “at the same general election as the governor and hold[s] office for the same term” and heads the Law Department (Gotham Gazette). The office’s real authority comes from statutes and common law — and in recent decades, from attorneys general who chose to act as high-profile prosecutors rather than the state’s chief lawyer (Gotham Gazette).
The modern Department of Law was created in 1926, and by FY 2002–03 it had grown to 1,869 authorized positions with a $186.9 million budget (New York State Division of the Budget). The current officeholder is Letitia James, who has made the office a national force — and a national target (Reuters).
The statute that made the office
The single most important tool in the office’s arsenal is the Martin Act of 1921, which gives the attorney general vastly greater latitude in prosecuting financial crimes against shareholders than peer states’ laws allow (Gotham Gazette). Among “blue sky” laws — statutes designed to protect investors from securities fraud — it is largely considered the toughest in the nation (Gotham Gazette).
The act sat mostly unused for big cases until Eliot Spitzer’s 2002 settlement with Merrill Lynch, totaling $100 million over conflict-of-interest allegations — a deal seen as the pivotal point on the road to what the office has become (Gotham Gazette). Spitzer’s successors kept expanding its reach: Eric Schneiderman’s office filed the initial lawsuit against Trump University, cracked down on daily fantasy sports operators like DraftKings, and opened a Martin Act probe into ExxonMobil over its climate disclosures (Gotham Gazette). The visibility of these pursuits has turned the office into a springboard for higher office — both Spitzer and Andrew Cuomo jumped from attorney general to governor after tenures marked by major prosecutorial victories (Gotham Gazette).
The Trump fraud case
The office’s most consequential recent action is the civil fraud case against Donald Trump. In September 2022, James sued Trump, Trump Organization companies, and senior executives over years of alleged financial fraud; in September 2023, Justice Arthur Engoron granted her motion for partial summary judgment, finding the defendants had committed fraud by falsely inflating asset values (Office of the New York Attorney General). After an 11-week trial, Engoron ordered the defendants to pay more than $450 million in total — $363.8 million in disgorgement plus pre-judgment interest — barred Trump from serving as an officer or director of any New York company for three years, banned him from borrowing from New York banks for three years, and installed an independent compliance role at the Trump Organization (Office of the New York Attorney General).
The penalty did not survive appeal intact. On August 21, 2025, a deeply divided Appellate Division threw out the half-billion-dollar penalty while preserving the fraud case: four judges voted to let the fraud finding stand, though all found problems in the trial judge’s handling of the case, and there was no majority opinion (Reuters). The original judgment had totaled $464.6 million — $454.2 million against Trump personally — growing with interest to about $527 million, and James said she would ask the Court of Appeals, the state’s highest court, to review (Reuters).
The prediction-market front
The office’s newest enforcement front is prediction markets. On September 24, 2026, James and Governor Kathy Hochul sued Polymarket US (QCX LLC) in Manhattan state court under Executive Law 63(12), alleging it ran an unlicensed gambling operation in New York, marketed to 18-to-20-year-olds despite the state’s 21-and-over rule for mobile sports betting, and avoided the taxes licensed operators pay (Reuters; TechSpot). The suit expanded similar 2026 cases the office had already brought against Kalshi, Coinbase Financial Markets, and Gemini Titan (Reuters).
Polymarket fought back the same day, moving the case to federal court and suing state officials — arguing the federal Commodity Futures Trading Commission has exclusive authority to regulate prediction markets and calling New York’s move “an extraordinary assertion of state power squarely foreclosed by federal law” (Reuters). New York is seeking penalties of three times the company’s gains, forfeiture of allegedly illegal profits, and restitution to users (TechSpot).
What this profile does not claim
This profile does not date the office’s formation to 1777 or name a first holder — those appear only in sources not read in full. It does not report the claimed September 2026 dismissal of the 19-state DOGE/Treasury lawsuit as moot, which rests on a single partisan-aggregator snippet. It gives no employee headcount or division roster, and it does not describe the reported 2026 fight over a DOJ subpoena for James’s communications, for which no citable full read exists.
Timeline
- 1921
- The Martin Act is enacted, giving the attorney general sweeping latitude to prosecute financial crimes against shareholders.
- 1926
- The modern Department of Law, which the attorney general heads, is created, according to the state Division of the Budget.
- 2002
- Eliot Spitzer's $100 million settlement with Merrill Lynch over conflict-of-interest allegations becomes the pivotal moment in the office's transformation into a high-profile prosecutor.
- 2022
- Attorney General Letitia James files a civil fraud lawsuit against Donald Trump, Trump Organization companies, and senior executives.
- 2024
- Justice Arthur Engoron orders the Trump defendants to pay more than $450 million and imposes multi-year bans on Trump serving as a corporate officer or borrowing from New York banks.
- 2025
- The Appellate Division throws out the half-billion-dollar fraud penalty while preserving the fraud finding; James says she will seek Court of Appeals review.
- 2026
- James and Governor Kathy Hochul sue Polymarket US in Manhattan state court over alleged unlicensed gambling; Polymarket countersues the same day in federal court, arguing the CFTC has exclusive authority over prediction markets.
What we could not verify
These claims came up in research and could not be confirmed. They are recorded here rather than published as fact or quietly dropped. If you hold a source that settles one, please tell us.
- The office's 1777 formation date and Egbert Benson as first holder — Wikipedia-level only, never fully read.
- The reported September 2026 dismissal of the 19-state DOGE/Treasury lawsuit as moot — only a partisan aggregator snippet.
- Employee headcount and the exact five-division roster — only an official-LinkedIn search snippet, not fully read.
- The reported 2026 DOJ subpoena fight over James's communications — no fully-read citable source.
Sources
6 sources (3 tier 1, 2 tier 2, 1 first-party), each opened and read against the claim it supports. Statements the subject makes about itself are marked as such and are not treated as independent evidence. See the source policy.
- Supports: Department of Law created in 1926; 1,869 authorized positions and $186.9 million budget in FY 2002–03 Open original source
- Supports: Appellate Division threw out half-billion-dollar penalty while preserving fraud case; original judgment $464.6M ($454.2M against Trump), growing to $527M/$515.2M with interest; 4-1 vote to preserve fraud finding, no majority opinion; James to seek Court of Appeals review Open original source
- Supports: September 24, 2026: James and Hochul sued Polymarket US (QCX LLC) in Manhattan state court over alleged unlicensed gambling; expansion of earlier 2026 cases against Kalshi, Coinbase Financial Markets, Gemini Titan; Polymarket countersued same day in federal court claiming CFTC exclusive authority Open original source
- Supports: AG as head of the Law Department and chief lawyer for the state; constitution says little, power from statutes and common law; AG elected at same general election as governor for same term; Martin Act 1921 as toughest blue-sky law; Spitzer's 2002 $100M Merrill Lynch settlement; Schneiderman's Trump University suit, DraftKings crackdown, Exxon probe; Spitzer and Cuomo as gubernatorial springboards; governor can empower AG for criminal investigations Open original source
- Supports: Suit filed under Executive Law 63(12); state seeks penalties of three times gains, forfeiture of illegal gains, restitution; allegations of marketing to 18-to-20-year-olds despite 21+ requirement; suit came less than two months after the Kalshi suit Open original source
- Supports: September 2022 fraud suit filing; September 2023 partial summary judgment; February 2024 Engoron ruling of $450M+ total ($363.8M disgorgement plus interest); three-year officer/director bans, three-year NY bank loan ban, independent compliance role and continued monitor Open original source
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