FL-25: Florida Congressman illegally claimed Miami, DC homes as primary residences in same year.

[RandySF]

An eight-term Florida congressman, Mario Diaz-Balart, claimed both his Miami and District of Columbia homes as primary residences on mortgages inside the same calendar year, which strongly appears to be in violation of federal criminal law.

The 2012 loan on the Republican lawmaker’s condo near the Capitol raises questions about his eligibility to serve in the House of Representatives since members of Congress must reside in the states they represent.

Mortgage fraud happens when a borrower provides knowingly incorrect or false information or documents in order to qualify for a loan he or she could otherwise not qualify to borrow.

Borrowers get the best terms and lowest interest rates on their primary residences. They pay more interest for rental units and it’s tougher to get mortgages against second homes. In addition, the amount that can be borrowed, the loan-to-value ratio, is highest for owner-occupied primary residences.

I uncovered the mortgage and related documents about Diaz-Balart in public files. Because I work in mortgage lending I immediately grasped the significance of the false statements made to obtain these mortgages.

Neither the congressman nor his representatives would comment on this matter. The congressman’s office advised that I should put all questions in writing to spokeswoman Katrina Bishop, so I did, along with a request for direct comment from the congressman’s spouse. I sent an identical email to his re-election campaign after my telephone call went straight to a voicemail account that was already full and not accepting new messages.


https://www.dcreport.org/2018/10/10/mario-diaz-balart-dupes-banks/


JENNY BARZEE FLORES





https://marybarzeeflores.com

[Hermit-The-Prog]

1. oops

Maybe Beery Brett will rule on this.

[Edit to add this juicy tidbit:]

Among those who have been charged under this statute is Paul Manafort, the former Trump presidential campaign manager. Manafort was recently convicted at his Virginia jury trial for occupancy fraud. He falsely claimed a property as his primary residence to get a larger loan amount and better rate. The $3.4 million loan was made by Citizens Bank.

Also, check out the credentials of the author.

[Cha]

2. Of course the Crook did.

[dixiegrrrrl]

3. Fla has a homestead law, bet he broke it.

Some states, like Alabama and Fla. allow you to avoid ANY property taxes on your primary residence.

another fraud charge if he did not live in his primary residence most of any given year.

[Stonepounder]

4. Your next step should be to get hold of your local newspaper,

you big regional newspaper, then WaPo NYT, and the networks. Somebody will pick up the story.

[RandySF]

5. The Miami Herald is already looking at it.

[Stonepounder]

8. Excellent! Thank you.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

6. There are situations where a person can mortgage two primary residences.

A far away job is one of those exceptions. I’m sure that is not the only congressperson financing two residences as primary.

The author, being a mortgage lender, should know this.

[Hortensis]

10. Yes and good point. Why assume the author would not, tho?

I didn't realize the author was a mortgage lender, but for me that immediately gave what initially seemed a possibly questionable claim more credibility, not less. I read Grant Stern's article in DCReport but still don't understand just why the two primary exception wouldn't apply.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

11. If the author at least mentioned the possible dual residences exception available to people...

...in the congressperson’s situation he might have more credibility.

Instead, the goes on to list a litany of violations that are irrelevant once you apply the glaringly obvious exemption to the primary residence rueles that people in that situation can apply.

Then he goes on to conflate completely different violations - like Manafort renting out a supposedly primary residence. Obviously securing a primary residence mortgage loan on a property occupied by a renter is prima facie evidence of fraud.

[Hortensis]

12. Yes, I noticed that and agree about the comparisons

with irrelevancies.

[Judi Lynn]

7. Wonderful news, but I wonder if it will matter... Diaz-Balarts are powerful in Miami.

Their father, Rafael, was a corporate attorney for the United Fruit Company in Cuba, then became a close friend of bloody dictator, Fulgencio Batista, who made him a Cabinet member, after he had served as Speaker of the House in Havana, etc., etc., etc.

When he fled to Miami with his family, they became extremely prominent there, and his sons, Lincoln Diaz-Balart, and Mario Diaz-Balart became members of the US Congress, both serving at the same time for years before Lincoln retired. Their brother Mario has been a persistant major personality on Telemundo, and a weekend anchorman on NBC.

His Wikipedia:

Early life, education, and early political career
Díaz-Balart was born in 1961 in Fort Lauderdale, to Cuban parents, the late Cuban politician Rafael Díaz-Balart, and his wife, Hilda Caballero Brunet. His aunt, Mirta Díaz-Balart, was the first wife of Fidel Castro. Her son, and his cousin, was Fidel Ángel "Fidelito" Castro Díaz-Balart. His uncle is the Cuban-Spanish painter, Waldo Díaz-Balart. His brother, Lincoln Díaz-Balart, represented Florida's 21st District from 1993 to 2011. He has two other brothers, José Díaz-Balart, a journalist, and Rafael Díaz-Balart, a banker.

He studied political science at the University of South Florida before beginning his public service career as an aide to then-Miami Mayor Xavier Suárez in 1985. In the same year, he changed his political party affiliation from Democratic to Republican.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mario_D%C3%ADaz-Balart



He just may be too big to fall in a place like Miami, but I surely hope there will be a serious response to the information on fraud, tax evasion, etc., etc., etc.

Thank you, RandySF. It's time one of the big Cuban-American wheeler/dealers in Florida had to answer for his pathetic transgressions.

[Scurrilous]

9. K&R