Sean Hannity linked to shell companies that have spent $90M on property

[Mrs. Overall]

Source: The Hill

Fox News host Sean Hannity is linked to a group of shell companies that have spent $90 million buying hundreds of homes across the U.S through the help of foreclosures and the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Guardian reported Sunday.

Several of the properties Hannity purchase were obtained with funding help from HUD, according to the newspaper.

Hannity did not disclose his cooperation with HUD when he had the agency's current secretary, Ben Carson, on his show last June, the Guardian noted.

During that segment, Hannity praised Carson, telling him, “you’ve done a good job.”

Hannity also railed against the state of public housing and made the false claim that home ownership was at a 51-year-low, the Guardian reported.

Read more: http://thehill.com/homenews/media/384366-sean-hannity-linked-to-shell-companies-that-have-spent-90m-on-property-report?__twitter_impression=true&__twitter_impression=true&__twitter_impression=true&__twitter_impression=true&__twitter_impression=true&__twitter_impression=true&__twitter_impression=true&__twitter_impression=true

[dalton99a]

1. Kick

[DesertRat]

2. I expect this to be the subject of another tweet storm

45 has been rage tweeting all weekend.

[Dawson Leery]

3. HUD homes?

Taking advantage of programs meant for poor people.

Typical Conservative.

[Honeycombe8]

4. Well,now. Isn't that special.

I wonder who leaked that. (I haven't read the article yet, so maybe it says.)

[DeminPennswoods]

5. So that was the real estate Hannity getting advice from Cohen

about. How much do we want to bet that some of the money used by those shell companies came from Russians wanting to launder it via Cohen?

[Loki Liesmith]

6. Money laundering most likely

[lagomorph777]

32. Yup.

[bucolic_frolic]

7. Wait - is Hannity behind any of those "I want to buy your home!" postcards?

At a "fair" price, always a "fair price" says the ad copy

[7962]

15. I get those all the time. Always wondered how they pick the houses.

I have rentals and its always the same property.

[bronxiteforever]

8. It is now a fact that he truly lives off of the misery of others

What a pos.

[ffr]

9. Get this, Each company uses a variation of the same name mixed with the initials of Hannitys...

children.



That's original.

[WhoWoodaKnew]

10. We get burned on stuff like this a lot. What does "linked to a group of shell companies" mean?

I've started examining every friggin letter in articles lately and trying to tear them apart myself before I get my hopes up.

So, what exactly does "linked to a group of shell companies" mean? If he somehow kept his distance, this news will fade. If he was directly involved, then he's got some 'splaining to do.

[wishstar]

12. This information is in original Guardian report:

"Paperwork relating to the agreements with Hud, which was filed to county authorities, named Hannity as the principal of the shell companies used to buy the apartment complexes and to borrow the funds. Hannity personally signed several of the documents. A Hud source said Hannity was identified in non-public filings as the 100% owner of the apartment complexes.

Late last month, Hannity’s mortgages were replaced with loans for $22.9m that were rewritten with Carson’s Hud and a new bank. There was no indication that Carson was personally involved in the process. Carson does, however, have the authority to allow Hannity from 2019 to convert the rental complexes into condominiums for sale, which could be lucrative for the television host.

The shell companies used to buy the properties are limited liability companies (LLCs). Like in most states, they are not required to disclose their owners to Georgia regulators. LLCs are popular among well-known figures such as Hannity who wish to keep their business arrangements private.

But the Guardian obtained records in which Hannity signed deeds and other documents on behalf of four of the LLCs, sometimes being named as principal or manager. Four more of the shell companies have owned properties in which public records say Hannity or members of his family have lived."

[WhoWoodaKnew]

22. that is very interesting

[LeftInTX]

25. I don't think it is a big deal

Hannity is a slum lord.

He can legally hide by creating "property management" corporations without his name publicly known. Just call it, "A to Z properties".

[Sherman A1]

11. Interesting

To see how this plays out.

[riversedge]

13. Guardian: Michael Cohen case shines light on Sean Hannity's property empire

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2018/apr/22/michael-cohen-sean-hannity-property-real-estate-ben-carson-hud?CMP=share_btn_tw



Michael Cohen case shines light on Sean Hannity's property empire

Fox News host who said Trump’s fixer ‘knows real estate’ has a portfolio that includes support from Department of Housing and Urban Development, a fact he did not mention when interviewing secretary Ben Carson last year

Jon Swaine in New York @jonswaine

Sun 22 Apr 2018 18.31 EDT
Last modified on Sun 22 Apr 2018 19.37 EDT





...................Among the most valuable are two large apartment complexes in Georgia that Hannity bought in 2014 for $22.7m. The developments are in the cities of Perry and Brunswick, which have higher poverty rates and lower median incomes than the US averages. One- and two-bedroom units in Hannity???’s apartment complexes are available to rent for $735 to $1,065 per month, according to brochures.
Sign up for Guardian Today US edition: the day's must-reads sent directly to you
Read more

The Georgia purchases were funded with mortgages for $17.9m that Hannity obtained with help from Hud, which insured the loans under a program created as part of the National Housing Act. The loans, first guaranteed under the Obama administration, were recently increased by $5m with renewed support from Carson’s department.

Hannity, who is reportedly paid $36m per year for his television and radio shows, was criticised this week following Cohen’s court hearing, after it became clear he had defended Cohen and Trump on the air without disclosing that he also consulted Cohen for legal services.

He also declined to note his financial interest when he hosted Carson on Fox News last June for a discussion about Hud and housing. Hannity praised privatisation plans pushed by Trump and Carson......................

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

14. He needs a good lawyer

Unfortunately his current one has his own legal problems.

[Lucinda]

16. Well, well, well.....

[7962]

17. But is any of it ILLEGAL? nt

[LeftInTX]

26. Not from what I understand

There may be more to it, but I think powerful people do this stuff alot. They create a property management company and call it something like, "A-Z properties". That way if the place is full of rats, no one will go TV and say, "Sean Hannity owns my building and it is full of rats". Instead A-Z Properties gets the bad publicity instead of Sean Hannity.

[UpInArms]

30. It depends ...

How the companies are set up and used.

If they are abusing the minority owned and have a woman in as the principal (so you get the gender preferenced) rates from loans and government lending ...

It is a thin line

[BadGimp]

18. After all this time...

Is it finally Sean Hannity's "Time in the Barrel"?

[groundloop]

19. Ehhhh..... so far this story doesn't sound like a big deal

After reading through this it seems that the worst he's done is not disclose his participation in the HUD program when he interviewed Carson. The use of 'shell companies' seems a bit fishy, but high rollers do that all the time and it could be simply so people he's buying these properties from don't know he's involved and jack up the price.

HOWEVER, IMO this should be thoroughly vetted for the possibility of money laundering.

[BobTheSubgenius]

20. I totally agree with all the invective ever hurled at Hannity.

He is an awful person, and what he does to societal norms in America is shameful.

All that said, I wouldn't get my hopes up too much about this story. He's a public figure, but not a public employee, so until something is revealed to be criminal, this isn't that much of a story.

We expect "them", especially the standard-bearers like Hannity, to be slimy and devoid of ethics or shame. It's hardly something to be surprised by.

[Pepsidog]

21. I despise Hannity and just hope really hope something illegal happened. Otherwise looks like he made

some pretty savy investments in real estate.

[efhmc]

23. Did you perhaps mean to use the word slimy?

firehannity.org

[Pepsidog]

27. No savy cause he probably bought a lot of foreclosed homes of his listeners. Poetic justice

[Initech]

24. The sad thing is these guys are fucking untouchable.

Limbaugh is a serial sexual harasser - he gets a slap on the wrist. O'Reilly is a serial sexual harasser - he gets a slap on the wrist. Hannity is a fraudster - he'll barely get any jail time. Trump is a womanizer and a business fraud - and he's elected president! The real criminals are the ones with an (R) next to their name!

[Pepsidog]

28. Yea Limbaugh has been a sexual predator for decades.

[efhmc]

31. Maybe they will get their

due some day, but sadly not this week.

[Qutzupalotl]

29. ...and he went to Cohen for advice on real estate.

And Cohen's been mobbed up for decades. And Russia loves to launder money through real estate. And Hannity has been freaking out ever since he found out he showed up on intelligence intercepts.

I think this does not bode well for the Toe Head.

[lagomorph777]

33. Yep - the Cohen raid is a gift that keeps on giving.

Hannity's up to his eyeballs in dirty Roubles; I'd bet a million Roubles on it.