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West Philadelphia Congressman Amen Brown, one of nine Democrats running for mayor, pitched himself as a self-made entrepreneur who pulled himself out of poverty.
A charismatic and relatable Mr. Brown has used his success story to build relationships with voters in Philadelphia’s most underserved neighborhoods, and his role in overcoming hardship and systemic inequality. He says his abilities make him a good candidate for mayor.
But Brown’s business and real estate transactions over the past decade have been plagued by repeated accusations of legal and financial impropriety, according to Inquirer’s review of financial documents, asset records and court filings. I understand this.
Former business partners say he broke the deal and pulled them out of their investment. He has lost multiple lawsuits filed by angry creditors.
In one instance, an associate said he lent Brown $50,000 for a real estate investment, but when it came time to pay, Brown didn’t respond. He said he hasn’t been paid to this day.
In another case, Brown faced felony charges after buying a home from a man who was dead at the time of sale in 2014. The charges were dropped, but a judge ruled that the sale was fraudulent.
Brown, 35, has earned over $100,000 in other liens and judgments.
Debt is not uncommon, but the scope of Brown’s obligations is wide and ongoing. We sued over $30,000 in taxes and fines.
Last spring he legally failed to disclose creditors and business interests The judge infuriated him, writing that Brown had shown “ignorance of incumbents in the Pennsylvania Legislature and lack of regard for shocking legislation.”
Mr. Brown did not respond to a request for comment. After the Inquirer sent questions to his campaign, the attorney representing Mr. ‘, wrote that he was working to pay off his debts and unpaid taxes.
Raimondi also said Brown was the victim of a deed fraud case in which his client was tricked into buying a home from someone with the same name as the true owner. Raimondi has admitted that the sale was fraudulent.
Brown has acknowledged failures before, saying in December that he “made a few mistakes along the way as an entrepreneur.”
Still, he and his supporters see their way into the mayor’s office as follows, given the wide field and his tough stance on crime. The city is in the midst of a gun violence crisis.
He’s also attracted financial interest suggesting he’ll pour millions into Super PAC to make him mayor of Philadelphia. In December, at a preeminent event for the Pennsylvania political class, he made headlines when his donors hosted a stylish fundraiser for him at his Cigar bar in New York City.
Brown said he was committed to doing “what it takes to take back our city.”
“My message is simple,” he said. “I am proving that no matter what your situation is, you can break down barriers and achieve what you want in life.”
A compelling story pulls Brown up to Harrisburg
Brown’s first victory in the election was a bit of a stir.
In 2020, he ran to represent what was then the 190th Congressional District, a stretch of West Philadelphia where two congressmen resigned for over a year after being charged with a crime.
Democrat Loni Green, who replaced them, was expected to win. But just a few months after she took office, Brown was voted number one in her four-way competition.
As the COVID-19 pandemic raged, Brown traveled to and from the district for weeks, delivering masks and sanitizers to residents. Then, despite raising less than his $10,000, Brown won the primary by 600 votes ahead of him. He went on to win the generals decisively.
Brown told his story to voters. He says he can empathize with people in need because he grew up in a single-parent home and sometimes didn’t know where his next meal would come from.
He speaks of gun violence as a victim, saying he was shot in the back when he was young.
And Brown said he has a unique perspective on prison reform. Records obtained by The Inquirer show that Brown faced felony drug trafficking charges, but his charges were dropped after his charges were delayed about five months. The records did not state why the case was dismissed, and the District Attorney’s Office said it could not comment on the deleted records.
Over the next decade, Brown undertook several real estate ventures and opened three day care centers, but he says he is no longer involved in everyday life.
In March, the city ruled that the business partners who operate the Brown and Frankford day care owed more than $30,000 for failing to pay wages, profits, and taxes on business income. The state also filed a lien over $14,000 against Brown for unpaid personal income taxes and unemployment compensation incurred at another daycare.
He was responsible for these while on duty at the State Capitol, finding allies on both sides of the aisle.
Since taking office in 2021, Brown has championed several Democratic priorities. He also antagonized members of his own party, and his approach to crime and charter school position endeared him to some Republicans. When Brown ran for re-election, he drew challengers from the left.
He raised over $250,000 ahead of the primary. That’s a good amount. About a quarter came from a group that promoted charter schools and had ties to the state’s richest man, Jeffrey Yas. Another important part comes from the developers.
What proved to be difficult was staying on the ballot.
“His problems are handled poorly”
In early 2022, Brown had over 20 liens and judgments against him. However, he did not have a single creditor, according to a statement of his financial interests that elected officials were required to file.
In April, voters in the 10th Ward petitioned federal court to get Brown to open the ballot for failing to disclose his creditors.
He did not list any liens filed by the city or state.
He didn’t name Eugene Zlotnikov, who sued Brown in 2015. When he was a developer, he paid Brown to restore a tenement in North Philadelphia. No. A default judgment of $26,500 was entered in favor of Mr. Zlotnikov, who has not yet been paid in full.
Nor does it name J. Lynn Enterprises, the limited liability company used by one of Brown’s former business associates, Jeffrey Brooks Jr.
Brooks said in an interview that he issued Brown a $50,000 loan in 2018 that he intended to use for his real estate venture, but Brown only paid back $23,000 and stopped responding to messages.Brooks, 2020 sued Brown and successfully claimed more than $64,000 in total, plus interest and fines. Brooks said he hadn’t heard from Brown for months.
That is, until April 4 — the day after a petition was filed to remove Brown from the vote. Brooks kept text messages from that time and confirmed the date of the call.
According to Brooks, Brown told him he had a problem and asked Brooks to tell the court he was paid, even though he wasn’t.
“I was like, ‘You owe me 64 grand,'” recalls Brooks. “He said if you give me 15 grands now, 15 grands next week, I can sign something. And I said, ‘That’s not going to work.'”
The next day, Brown testified in Commonwealth Court that he had only recently learned of the extent of his liability, which totaled over $144,000.
According to the filing, Brown testified that he did not include debt in the disclosure form — which should have included more than $6,500 in debt from the previous year — because he misunderstood the language. a creditor on the form.
He testified that he believed it referred to credit cards and mortgages, but he didn’t have one.
Records show that Brown had mortgaged a West Philadelphia home the previous year. Three days after he filed his disclosure form, the city’s Department of Records received his home deed dated August 2021. In lieu of foreclosure he was sold to a mortgage lender for $1.
Neither Brown nor his attorney responded to questions from The Inquirer about the timing of the sale.
Following Brown’s testimony, federal judge Stacey Wallace ruled that Brown’s disclosure could be amended to stay on the ballot, but she chastised him.
In his opinion, Wallace wrote that Brown’s mistakes stemmed “from the indolent attitude he routinely displays toward serious problems.” She wrote that the failure was consistent with Brown’s “general irresponsibility and poor handling of his problems.”
Brown refiled his disclosure, listing creditors including the city, state, Zlotnikov’s firm and Brooks’ firm.
He won the primary by 200 votes.
Brown and Raimondi did not respond to questions about the form. Raimondi wrote that Brown was “working to satisfy” the civil judgment.
Brooks said he hadn’t been paid yet, and the loss of funds, combined with his own pandemic-related financial difficulties, had tied him up.
“He had every chance of solving this, but he didn’t,” Brooks said. “For $64,000, I could change my life right now in terms of giving me an instant reset button.”
And Zlotnikov said he had to hire another contractor to complete the work Brown was supposed to do, and then sold the property at a loss. He said Brown never responded to attempts to settle out of court.
“Despite repeated attempts over the years to reach out to make repayment arrangements, I have not been paid or recouped for my losses,” he said.
deed fraud case
One of Brown’s first forays into real estate resulted in a criminal investigation and a fraud judgment in a civil court.
In January 2014, Brown purchased a row house at 2300 blocks of Reed Street in the upscale Point Breeze neighborhood for $15,000. The deed transfer was signed by owner Norman Johnson, who died in 2003.
Questionable real estate transactions are rife in Philadelphia, and perpetrators typically seek out vacant homes in neighborhoods where real estate values are rising. They forge the deed, transfer it to themselves, and sell the house for profit.
brown was arrested Six months after the sale, he was indicted on four felony counts of theft and counterfeiting.
Over five months, the case was repeatedly postponed. The judge then dismissed it. Prosecutors were unprepared and were looking for additional witnesses, according to court records obtained by the Inquirer. Records of the lawsuit were not available, and the district attorney’s office declined to comment.
Brown claims he is the victim of fraud. Raimondi said Brown was tricked into buying the house by someone with the same name as the owner who signed the deed. He said he lost $15,000 that Brown spent on his estate.
Johnson’s daughter sued Brown and the notary who signed the transfer of the deed, telling the Commons Court that her father’s signature was a forgery and that the deed was a fraud. ruled and the assignment was declared void.
According to court documents, Brown was “forever barred from making any claims” about the house.
Johnson’s daughter declined an interview request. Her attorney, James Ladmore, said Brown’s explanation that he had been deceived doesn’t add up. After that, I did not return home until September 2016. Brown said he didn’t try to get his $15,000 back.
Raimondi said plaintiffs’ procedural errors protracted the case, and Brown did not contest the decision.
Radmore said Johnson’s daughter wasn’t ready. He said the ordeal polluted her family’s home.
“She’s really afraid to go back home,” said Ladmore.
Staff writers Ryan Briggs, Jake Blumgart, and Sean Collins Walsh contributed to this article.
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