Texas AG claimed three homes as primary residence. Democrats are being probed for similar issue

WASHINGTON AP Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and his wife Angela are longtime owners of a million house in a gated group outside Dallas In they snapped up a second home in Austin Then another The dilemma Mortgages signed by the Paxtons contained inaccurate statements declaring that each of those three houses was their primary residence enabling the now-estranged couple to improperly lock in low interest rates according to an Associated Press review The lower rates will save the Paxtons tens of thousands of dollars in payments over the life of the loan legal experts say The records also revealed that the Paxtons collected an impermissible homestead tax break on two of those homes and they have routinely flouted lending agreements on certain of their other properties It is a federal and state crime to knowingly make false statements on mortgage documents It s also against the law in Texas to collect a homestead tax break on two separate properties Violating the terms of a mortgage could allow lenders recourse to seek full payment of a loan according to legal experts Mortgages have become political fodder The mortgage revelations are likely to become fodder in the Republican primary for a U S Senate seat in which Paxton is seeking to topple the incumbent John Cornyn The situation is further complicated by the Trump administration s criminal pursuit of Democrats over similar issues President Donald Trump has accused two of his political foes Sen Adam Schiff of California and New York Attorney General Letitia James of committing mortgage fraud though legal experts say the circumstances are less serious The Democrats have long been objects of Trump s ire for having led various investigations into his conduct as president and as a business executive Paxton himself has weighed in on the research of James saying he hoped officials would look into her conduct I hope that if she s done something wrong I hope that she s certainly held accountable he recounted supporters last month The Justice Department has launched a criminal inquiry of James FBI director Kash Patel reported Fox News in May The department received a criminal referral for Schiff last week from the Federal Housing Finance Agency its director William Pulte endorsed in a social media post Neither the Justice Department nor the FHFA responded to an inquiry about whether they may investigate Paxton too James attorney Abbe Lowell urged the Trump administration to investigate Paxton instead If this administration was genuinely interested in rooting out fraud it appears they should stop wasting their time on the baseless and discredited accusations against the New York Attorney General James and turn their attention to Texas reported Lowell a prominent Washington attorney whose past clients include Hunter Biden Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner In a report Marisol Samayoa a Schiff spokeswoman blasted the criminal referral as a transparent attempt by Trump to punish a perceived political foe who is committed to holding him to account She added that Schiff disclosed to his lenders that he owned another home that was a principal residence and sought guidance from an attorney It is unlikely that Paxton a staunch Trump ally will face the same federal scrutiny as James and Schiff It s equally doubtful that Paxton will face much legal trouble in Texas His office is one of the primary agencies tasked with researching statements of mortgage fraud Ken Paxton and his spokesman did not respond to multiple requests for comment Angela Paxton who is a state senator in Texas did not respond to requests made through her office Three of the Paxtons homes are each listed as a primary residence Documents reviewed by the AP show the Paxtons hold mortgages on three homes one in suburban Dallas two in Austin that are each listed as their primary residence The designation comes with a considerable financial upside Interest rates on primary homes are significantly lower than those for mortgages on secondary homes or financing properties saving buyers tens of thousands of dollars if not more over the life of a loan Making a incident against Paxton would require establishing both that Paxton was aware of the contents of the mortgage document and also that he was actively aware at the time that he signed it that this was not going to be a primary residence stated Jennifer E Laurin a professor at the University of Texas Law School in Austin Legal experts say it is workable that the Paxtons lenders prepared the documents and that the couple did not precisely review them before signing Even if that were the matter specific legal experts say that Paxton as an attorney and Texas top law enforcement officer ought to have known better If he filled out lender documents knowing that they were false then that is a false report to obtain a mortgage on favorable terms That would be actionable reported Arif Lawji a veteran Texas real estate attorney He s the chief enforcement officer You have to be accountable for stuff you do that s wrong Paxton collected two homestead tax breaks Low interest rates are not the only perk the Paxtons secured records show In they simultaneously collected homestead property tax breaks on their family s home in suburban Dallas as well as on a million home in Austin property records and tax statements show A homestead tax break is a property tax reduction that a homeowner is only eligible to collect on one property that is also their primary home The suburban Dallas home is where the Paxtons family has long resided It s where Ken and Angela Paxton are registered to vote It is located in the state Senate district that Angela Paxton represents in the Legislature which Ken Paxton held before his referendum in to be attorney general It s also where Ken Paxton s Senate campaign website until of late explained he lived Lawji revealed the Paxtons simultaneous collection of two homestead tax breaks appears to be a more clearcut violation That is because one must obtain a form and submit it to taxing leadership to receive such a tax break making it an intentional act he reported The tax break was worth several thousand dollars a fact that confounded real estate lawyers Why would you try to do all of this Lawji noted when you are the attorney general That s a bigger question to me than the money when you are AG and have to enforce this law Paxton may have violated mortgage terms by renting properties Separately land records indicate the Paxtons may have violated the terms of at least two mortgages on other houses they own The mortgage on a home in College Station Texas says the property is for the Paxtons specific use and cannot be rented out Doing so would be grounds for terminating the mortgage the document states The home has been listed for rent on real estate websites on-and-off since at least Ken Paxton also holds a million mortgage on a bedroom luxury cabin in Broken Bow Oklahoma that is for rent on Airbnb and other short-term rental sites records show The property s mortgage stipulates that it cannot be rented out Representatives for Stifel Bank Cornerstone Home Lending and Benchmark Mortgage which issued the mortgages in question did not respond to requests for comment Schiff and James come under fire from GOP Paxton s real estate dealings are in countless means distinct from those of James and Schiff the Democrats targeted by the Trump administration The scrutiny of James centers on forms she signed in while helping a niece buy a home in Virginia One form stated that James intended to occupy the home as her principal residence But in other documents the New York attorney general made clear she had no intention of living there An email to the mortgage loan broker two weeks before she signed the documents stated the property WILL NOT be my primary residence As I ve noted from the beginning if prosecutors want to know that truth about Attorney General James mortgage applications we are ready and waiting with the facts revealed Lowell James attorney For over a decade Schiff owned homes in Maryland and California the state he represents that were both designated as his primary residence In then a congressman Schiff designated his Maryland property as a second home a step Paxton has not taken Paxton has faced legal and political challenges Paxton s real estate dealings are not the first time he has drawn scrutiny for his conduct while in office Before his voting process as attorney general Paxton then a state senator admitted in to violating Texas securities law and paid a fine He spent roughly years under state indictment on securities charges while serving as attorney general The charges were eventually dropped in Other alleged misdeeds in office led to his impeachment by Texas GOP-controlled House in He was acquitted in a trial by the Senate Angela Paxton did not cast a vote in his impeachment trial and in recent weeks filed for divorce citing Ken Paxton s infidelity and other modern discoveries She did not elaborate What ultimately unleashed the impeachment push was Paxton s relationship with Austin real estate developer Nate Paul who pleaded guilty this year to one count of making a false comment to a financial institution In eight top aides in Paxton s office notified the FBI they were concerned the state s top law enforcement official was misusing his office to help Paul over the developer s unproven indicates about an elaborate conspiracy to steal million of his properties The House impeachment managers accused Paxton of attempting to interfere in foreclosure lawsuits and issuing legal opinions to benefit Paul They also alleged that Paul employed a woman with whom Paxton had an affair in exchange for legal help and that the developer paid for expensive renovations to the attorney general s home in Austin That would be the same house that he declared in mortgage documents was his third primary residence Source