Saikat Chakrabarti, the progressive candidate running for Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) House seat, could be in hot water after claiming that a Maryland home is his principal residence while actually living across the country in San Francisco.
The tech millionaire, who is also Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s (D-NY) former chief of staff, bought the $1.6 million, 4,555-square-foot home in Gaithersburg, Maryland, in 2018. He claimed the house as his primary residence on a mortgage deed as well as his principal residence in property tax filings.
The 39-year-old told the San Francisco Standard, which first reported the story, that he never intended to live in the house and had bought it for his parents, who currently reside in New Jersey. Chakrabarti said all of the documents and deeds he had signed over the years had mistakenly labeled it as his primary home.
“I visit my family, so, like, I’ve been there,” Chakrabarti told the news outlet. “Probably the longest I was ever there was maybe a couple months at some point, but never lived there.”
Despite never having lived there, the property deed, which he signed under penalty of perjury, notes that it would be used as Chakrabarti’s primary residence. Critics have argued that Chakrabarti should have known what he was signing before he signed it. Real estate experts also said that if Chakrabarti knew the filings were false, it could open him up to allegations of fraud.
Designating the home as his principal residence on loan applications and Maryland property records could have also entitled him to advantages such as lower interest rates or tax breaks. Under Maryland law, intentionally providing false or misleading information to influence a lending process is a criminal offense, punishable by fines of up to $5,000 and/or up to 10 years in prison.
Chakrabarti has characterized the incident as “an honest mistake” and told the news outlet that “if there is any money I owe, I will of course pay it back.”
Chakrabarti’s congressional campaign has gained momentum, and he is considered a front-runner alongside state Sen. Scott Wiener (D-CA). Chakrabarti was able to draw more than 700 people to a rally in San Francisco’s Mission District, where he launched his campaign earlier this year. He has put more than $700,000 of his own money into the race.
Chakrabarti said Democrats are craving a generational change and need a “new kind of leader who is not a part of the establishment, because the establishment has failed us.”
Pelosi, 85, who is in her 18th term in Congress and regarded as one of the most powerful women in U.S. political history, announced in early November she would not seek another term.
Chakrabarti is not the only political figure who has been accused recently of misrepresenting themselves on mortgage, loan, or other property records. President Donald Trump was found civilly liable for engaging in a decadeslong scheme that involved inflating his net worth and asset values to secure better loan and insurance rates.
COMPETITION HEATS UP FOR NANCY PELOSI’S SEAT
A New York appeals court threw out the massive civil fraud penalty against him in August, ruling that the judgment in part was unconstitutional because it violated the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on excessive fines. The panel did not absolve Trump and his business empire of wrongdoing, finding that the president’s eldest sons and another business executive at the Trump Organization had conspired to alter Trump’s net worth to obtain better tax and insurance premiums.
During his second term, Trump has alleged that multiple political foes have committed mortgage fraud. New York Attorney General Letitia James, Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook, and Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) have faced or are currently facing federal inquiries.
