Adam Schiff’s conflicting 'principal' residences in mortgage, election papers raise fraud concerns

In the two decades before he became the Democrats' U.S. Senate nominee in California, former House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff repeatedly declared in mortgage and election filings that both of his homes – one in California and the other in Maryland – were his "principal residence." The claims have now prompted an ethics complaint and could be prosecutable as fraud, experts said.

Americans are allowed to claim just one home as their primary residence: the one they live in the majority of the year, according to the federally backed lender Freddie Mac. But Schiff alternately declared both of his properties in the two different states as “principal” on multiple mortgage and election forms dating to 2003 and reviewed by Just the News.

Those declarations over the years won him financial and political benefits like lower mortgage interest rates, tax advantages and the ability to run for election in a California House district.

Schiff and his office did not respond to multiple requests seeking comment by phone or email.

"Principal" residences in two states

In at least three instances, documents show that in 2009 and again in 2011 and 2013, Schiff refinanced his Maryland home and declared it was his “principal residence” at the same time he had declared his principal residence was in the California, according to 2009 and 2011 financing docs for his Burbank condo.

The pattern was first detected by Sacramento-based real estate investigator Christine Bish, who also is running for Congress as a Republican this year. She filed an ethics complaint against Schiff in Congress. The accompanying documents were then confirmed independently by Just the News.

The conflicting declarations were not resolved until 2020 when Schiff suddenly changed the notations on his Maryland mortgage to be a secondary residence. Bish alleges this change constitutes an admission by Schiff that the prior conflicting declarations may amount to a pattern and practice of mortgage fraud.

Law enforcement experts said the documents could form the basis for prosecution. “These are serious, documented allegations which carry significant criminal penalties if substantiated,” retired FBI supervisory special agent Jeff Danik said after reviewing the documents at Just the News’ request.

The FBI veteran noted the Justice Department “maintains a robust fraud enforcement section that routinely investigates similar allegations” and “the 10-year statute of limitations available in bank fraud investigations would allow for an expansive inquiry.”

Pushed debunked Russian conspiracy theories

Schiff has long been a target of Republican critics, who seethed over his efforts to portray Donald Trump and his supporters as compromised by Vladimir Putin in the now widely debunked Russia collusion case and to pursue two impeachments against the former president.

Schiff’s insistent claims of a Trump-Russia conspiracy – fueled by debunked Hillary Clinton campaign research during the 2016 election – were rebuked by DOJ Special Counsel John Durham, who concluded there was no evidence to support such allegations or the FBI probe that ensued. 

Schiff's record of credibility on such big issues could be a factor if the FBI began examining his mortgage claims, a former federal prosecutor told Just the News.

Schiff “has lied to the American people more times than I can count, so it would come as no surprise to learn he misled his bank,” retired Little Rock, Ark., U.S. Attorney Bud Cummins said. Cummins, who prosecuted many financial fraud cases during his tenure, said Schiff's mortgage claims merit “a fair and neutral investigation by both Congress and DOJ, but fair and neutral investigations seem nearly extinct.” 

Statute of Limitations

While some of the mortgage and election declarations are more than 10 years old, experts said prosecutors could still pursue charges on an ongoing pattern and practice of fraud because the behavior continued until at least 2020. Also, Maryland starts its statute of limitations on mortgage fraud upon date of discovery and not necessarily when the fraud began, according to Bish.

“Depending on tax history and statements or misstatements made,” Bish alleges in her complaint, “Adam Schiff may also be guilty of tax fraud” including federal crimes stemming from his residency discrepancies. Congressional subpoenas are needed, Bish says, to determine the extent of Schiff’s alleged criminal behavior.

With assistance from Bish and conservative talk show host John Stubbins, Just the News gathered Schiff’s certified California voter records and sworn affidavits from Schiff’s mortgage company dating to when the Democrat was first elected to the U.S House in November 2000. 

At the time, Schiff and his wife Eva owned a home in Burbank, Calif., that they purchased several years prior. In May 2003, the Schiffs sold their Burbank home and purchased a home in Potomac, Maryland, a wealthy suburb of Washington, D.C., shortly after the Burbank sale.

According to their mortgage documents, the Schiffs affirmed in writing that the Potomac home would be their “principal residence.” Yet, the following month, in July 2003 (and again in July 2004 and September 2006), Schiff registered to vote as an eligible Californian, according to his voter registration. He used a furnished Burbank rental apartment address for these voter registrations.

In February 2009, the Schiffs refinanced their Maryland home and reaffirmed in writing that it would remain their “principal residence.” That same year, the Schiffs purchased a new Burbank condo and claimed it was their residence, according to a July 2009 voter registration. Both of these statements from the Schiffs can't be accurate at the same time, leading legal experts to query whether mortgage fraud is in play. 

Precedents for investigation

One month after the Schiffs bought the Burbank condo, the U.S. House Ethics Committee investigated multiple other representatives for taking the homestead exemption in Maryland while claiming residence in their home districts, including California’s Rep. Doris Matsui who, the committee noted, faced allegations that she “received a Maryland homestead tax credit…and as a result violated Maryland state law and House Rule 23.” 

At the time of the Matsui investigation, Schiff’s office was asked about his similar situation and his staff confirmed that the Maryland property “was incorrectly listed” but downplayed it as a clerical error.

Bish alleges that was a coverup and demonstrates “the appearance of possible mortgage fraud,” according to the ethics complaint she filed with the House Ethics, Oversight, & Judiciary Committees. When Schiff was recently asked by television station KCRA about the discrepancy, he replied “our principal residence, our primary residence, has always been in California and always will be.”

The Schiffs refinanced the Burbank condo in 2011 and swore in writing that it would be their principal residence for at least one year. The Schiffs proceeded to refinance their Maryland home two additional times, both in 2011 and in 2013, identifying that home as the “principal residence” in the official mortgage affidavits.

While fudging mortgage and voter registration documents may seem a relatively minor clerical issue (at least two other Democratic representatives from California have claimed residency in Maryland), several public officials have been charged and convicted for similar issues. 

Earlier this year, former State Attorney Marilyn Mosby in Baltimore pled guilty to mortgage fraud, among other crimes, involving false declarations on official mortgage documents and financial disclosures. Mosby is a Democrat and now a convicted felon. While she served no jail time and was put on probation for perjury and false claims convictions, she has vowed to appeal the convictions to the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. 

Republicans have been convicted for similar white-collar fraud crimes too. 

Last year, then-Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., was charged with numerous crimes that relied upon “repeated dishonesty and deception to ascend to the halls of Congress and enrich himself.” Santos allegedly used “political contributions to line his pockets, unlawfully applied for unemployment benefits that should have gone to New Yorkers who had lost their jobs due to the pandemic and lied to the House of Representatives.” Evidence against Santos was found in his mortgage documents.

In 2020, Oklahoma state representative Steven Watkins was charged with multiple felonies including unlawful advance voting, providing false information, and voting without being qualified after he registered to vote at an address that was not his primary residence. Watkins was also charged with failing to notify the DMV of change of address, a misdemeanor, and was swiftly unseated before taking a deal to avoid prosecution.

Last month, the New York Supreme Court ruled that presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. must be struck from the ballot after a lower court found that Kennedy was guilty of using a “sham” residential address in Westchester County to gather petitions. A principal residence discrepancy like Schiff’s disqualified Kennedy from appearing on ballots in New York state. 

“Using a friend’s address for political and voting purposes, while barely stepping foot on the premises, does not equate to residency under the Election Law,” the New York judge declared. “To hold otherwise would establish a dangerous precedent and open the door to the fraud and political mischief that the Election Law residency rules were designed to prevent.” Kennedy sought a direct appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court on September 27. The court denied his appeal. 

The issue has also come up in recent weeks against another Democrat, U.S. Senate nominee Angela Alsobrooks in Maryland.

CNN reported – and her GOP rival Larry Hogan has blasted on the airwaves – that Alsobrooks improperly took advantage of tax breaks, including one meant for low-income senior citizens. CNN reported her claims of primary residences saved thousands of dollars in taxes on two properties she owned in Washington, D.C., and in Maryland.

Seamus Bruner is the author of Controligarchs: Exposing the Billionaire Class, Their Secret Deals, and the Globalist Plot to Dominate Your Life and Peter Schweizer’s Head of Research at the Government Accountability Institute. Follow him @SeamusBruner.