Congressman Robert Garcia Named Me in Congress. I Challenged Him. He Went Silent.

An Open Letter in Response to Congressman Robert Garcia’s November 19, 2025 Letter to FHFA Director William Pulte

Congressman Garcia, you put my name in an official letter entered into the Congressional Record. Letitia James put my name in her motion to dismiss a federal indictment.

I responded yesterday morning with a direct challenge: invite me to testify publicly, under oath, with full documentation.

Your silence speaks volumes.

So let’s be clear about what’s happening here. You named me. You deal with me directly.

What You Said About Me in Your Letter

In your November 19, 2025 letter to FHFA Director William Pulte, you wrote:

“These charges seem to stem from a tip from Sam Antar — a convicted felon who engaged in a large-scale securities scam…”

Your letter demanded FHFA provide “all communications and documents relating to” Attorney General James and other Trump critics, “including but not limited to any communications with Sam Antar” — treating my use of public records as if it requires congressional investigation.

So if you want answers about my investigation, my methods, my sources, or my independence — here’s my response:

Invite me to testify.

I’ll clear my Monday schedule to appear before Congress — voluntarily, publicly, under oath, with cameras rolling and the American people watching.

I have the documents. I have the timeline. I have the facts. And I have nothing to hide.

But I don’t deal with staff. You named me. Contact me directly.

Do you have the courage to put me under oath?

Yes, I’m a Convicted Felon — And That Makes Me More Qualified, Not Less

You’re right about one thing, Congressman: I am a convicted felon.

I’m Sam E. Antar — former CFO of Crazy Eddie and a lifelong Democrat. I have no connection to Donald Trump or his campaign.

In 1993, I pled guilty to securities fraud in the Crazy Eddie case and served six months of house arrest. Because of my cooperation, every victim in the case relieved me of liability.

For the next 31 years, I’ve worked with federal law enforcement as any whistleblower would — providing cooperation, training, and expertise to help catch fraud.

Why?

Because I know fraud patterns the way surgeons know anatomy — from the inside.

That makes me more qualified to spot mortgage fraud, not less.

You cite my conviction as if it discredits my analysis. But federal prosecutors, the FBI, the SEC, the IRS, state auditors, law firms, accounting firms, and fraud examination organizations have relied on my expertise for three decades precisely because of that background.

So when you dismiss my investigation as “a convicted felon’s tip,” you’re not discrediting me.

You’re discrediting the fraud professionals in and out of government that have trusted my forensic accounting work since 1994.

When Defendants Attack the Reader Instead of Addressing What They Signed

Congressman, both you and Attorney General James devote substantial space to attacking me personally.

In her motion to dismiss, James calls me a “fringe right-wing blogger.”

In your letter, you call me a “convicted felon who engaged in a large-scale securities scam.”

You both appear to believe that if you insult the person who uncovered the contradictions, the contradictions themselves somehow disappear.

That’s not how evidence works.

When a defendant begins attacking the politics or criminal record of the person who read her public filings rather than addressing the filings themselves, it’s usually because the documents cannot defend her.

Your political name-calling does not erase:

Over 40 years of falsified mortgages and insurance policies spanning four decades
Sworn declarations signed under penalty of perjury
Title reports showing actual ownership and occupancy
IRS Schedule E tax forms showing zero personal use
Mathematical impossibilities in loan-to-value ratios
Contradictory statements signed 15 days apart
Financial disclosures listing phantom mortgages
Financial disclosures concealing real mortgages

It only reveals how little you have to say about the actual evidence.

Let Me Be Forensically Precise About What Fraud Applies to Which Property

Congressman, your letter conflates three separate properties and three separate fraud schemes. Let me clarify what James is actually accused of — using her own signed documents.

Property #1: Peronne Avenue, Norfolk, Virginia (Current Federal Indictment)

The Charges (from October 9, 2025 Indictment):

Count 1: Bank Fraud (18 U.S.C. § 1344) — Maximum 30 years
Count 2: False Statements to Financial Institution (18 U.S.C. § 1014) — Maximum 30 years

What James Signed (documented in government’s response, Exhibits 2-7):

July 2020 Uniform Residential Loan Application: Checked box for “Secondary Residence”
August 2020 Uniform Residential Loan Application: Again represented “Secondary Residence”
August 17, 2020 Sworn Affidavit of Occupancy: Swore under penalty of perjury she would “occupy the property as a second home (vacation, etc.) while maintaining a principal residence elsewhere”
August 17, 2020 Second Home Rider: Contractually committed to “occupy and use the Property as [her] second home” and maintain “exclusive control over the occupancy of the Property” and keep it “available primarily as a residence for Borrower’s personal use and enjoyment for at least one year”
August 25, 2020 Insurance Application: Represented “Occupancy: Owner. Residence Usage: Non-Seasonal”
October 17, 2020 Insurance Application: Listed “Adult Occupants, Occ. No. 1; Occupant Name Letitia A. James”

What Actually Happened (according to government’s response, pages 5-6, Exhibits 8-11):

Her grandniece moved in September 2020 and lives there still
Utilities registered in grandniece’s name (September 2020)
Grandniece attempted to register to vote at address (October 2020)
James stayed in Norfolk hotels during visits
James collected rent (Schedule E showing rental income)
James filed tax returns claiming “zero personal use days”
James listed property as investment property on NY financial disclosure (not secondary residence)

The Phantom Mortgage Fraud (documented through independent title search and public financial disclosures):

Actual Mortgage: OVM Financial $109,600 (recorded August 17, 2020 in Norfolk property records) — NEVER disclosed on any financial disclosure 2020-2024
2023-2024 Financial Disclosures Listed TWO MORTGAGES THAT DON’T EXIST:
- “Freedom Mortgage”: $150,000-$250,000 (no record in Norfolk County property files)
- “National Mortgage”: $100,000-$150,000 (no record in Norfolk County property files)
Mathematical Impossibility: Disclosed mortgages totaled $250,000-$400,000 on property valued at $100,000-$150,000 = 167%-400% loan-to-value ratio (physically impossible under standard lending)
Independent Title Search (February 2025): Confirmed only OVM Financial mortgage exists; Freedom and National mortgages do not exist in property records

The Benefit (from October 9, 2025 Indictment): Got second home interest rate (3.000%) instead of investment property rate (3.815%) — saving $18,933 according to indictment

Consciousness of Guilt (from government’s response, page 5): March 28, 2024 text to accountant: “I do not want to take deduction. It looks suspicious and I need to do everything according to the tax code.” That was four years AFTER she purchased the subject property.

Property #2: Sterling Street, Norfolk, Virginia (FHFA Referral, Not Currently Charged)

This property is not charged in the current indictment. It was the focus of FHFA’s April 2025 criminal referral.

The Fraud Pattern (documented through public records and Abbe Lowell’s own filings):

August 2, 2023 Email (disclosed in Lowell’s response to FHFA): James wrote to her broker “This property WILL NOT be my primary residence”
August 3, 2023: Broker confirmed the loan was locked as a “primary residence product”
August 17, 2023 Power of Attorney (Norfolk property records, 15 days after the email): James swore under oath “I HEREBY DECLARE that I intend to occupy this property as my principal residence”
AnnieMac Mortgage (Norfolk property records): $219,780 (91.6% loan-to-value) obtained based on principal residence declaration
Co-Ownership (Norfolk property records): With niece Shamice Thompson-Hairston as “joint tenants with right of survivorship”
Principal Residence Fraud: Declared Virginia property as “principal residence” while serving as New York Attorney General (impossible — she must reside in NY)
October 2, 2023: James launched Trump fraud trial in Manhattan — never moved to Virginia
Financial Disclosure Fraud (NY Ethics Commission public records): Completely omitted Sterling Street property AND $219,780 mortgage from 2023 and 2024 ethics disclosures
Abbe Lowell’s Admission (April 24, 2025 letter to AG Bondi): Stated James was “non-occupying co-borrower” with no intent to occupy — directly contradicting the sworn Power of Attorney

Property #3: Brooklyn (296 Lafayette Avenue, Brooklyn, NY – Not Currently Charged)

This property is also not charged in the current indictment. It’s part of the broader pattern documented through NYC records.

The Fraud Pattern (documented through NYC public records and on-site verification):

Certificate of Occupancy (NYC Building Records, January 26, 2001): Officially designated as 5-unit dwelling (Certificate #3PO010437)
Physical Evidence (verified April 29, 2025): 6 electric meters (5 residential + 1 common area per Con Edison records), 5 doorbells, 5 separate units verified by on-site inspection with photographic documentation
10+ Mortgage Applications (NYC ACRIS records, 2001-2023): Falsely represented property as “4 units” to qualify for residential financing and avoid commercial property requirements
2011 Federal HAMP Fraud: Obtained federal mortgage modification assistance through false 4-unit representation — HAMP program explicitly excludes buildings with 5 or more units (Originally reported by Joel Gilbert)
Handwritten Modifications: HAMP agreement shows “4 fam” hastily written with contradictory note stating “…not more than 6 residential units…”
Building Permits (NYC Department of Buildings, 2020): Filed false permit applications claiming 4 units instead of 5
Financial Disclosure Irregularities (NY Ethics Commission records): Citibank HELOC $100,000 (recorded August 2019 in NYC ACRIS) — not disclosed 2019-2021, misclassified as mortgage in 2022, vanished in 2023-2024 with no satisfaction recorded
Citizens Bank Mortgage: Changed identity across multiple disclosure years with no corresponding property record changes
Mr. Cooper Internal Classification: Lender flagged file as “FRAUD | Origination Fraud | Occupancy Fraud” (Letitia James Motion to Dismiss filed November 7, 2025 Exhibit F)
20+ Year Pattern: Systematic misrepresentation spanning from 2001 to at least 2023

Congressman, these are three separate fraud schemes on three separate properties spanning over 40 years.

What Your Letter Actually Proves

Congressman, your November 19 letter attacks this prosecution as politically motivated—claiming it stems from “a tip from Sam Antar, a convicted felon” and demanding investigations into my communications with FHFA officials.

Your argument is simple: if the case originated from a politicized source (me + Pulte), then it’s vindictive prosecution that should be dismissed.

There’s one problem with that theory.

One day after you sent your letter, federal prosecutors filed their response to James’s motion to dismiss (United States’ Response to Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss Indictment, Document 134, filed November 20, 2025).

And they revealed something that destroys your political coordination theory:

The current charges have “nothing to do with” the properties Pulte referred.

Here’s the exact language from the government’s November 20, 2025 response (page 21):

“The facts that are the basis for probable cause of the commission of two federal crimes are not those which Pulte referred; in fact, while it remains to be seen whether those facts constitute Rule 404(b) evidence, the facts on which the United States Attorney based the charges have nothing to do with the Sterling property in Norfolk, Virginia, or property in Brooklyn, New York.“

Read that again, Congressman.

Pulte’s April 2025 referral focused on: Sterling Street (Norfolk) + Brooklyn properties

The October 2025 indictment charges: Peronne Avenue (Norfolk)—a property NOT in Pulte’s referral

But here’s the critical fact: I documented Peronne Avenue FIRST—in my February and March 2025 investigations.

Pulte had access to my Peronne investigation when he made his April referral. He chose not to include it.

Prosecutors had access to the same published evidence. They chose to charge Peronne instead of the properties Pulte referred.

Same source. Different decisions. That’s prosecutorial independence.

Your “Political Coordination” Theory Just Collapsed

Congressman, here’s what this means for your argument:

You claim the prosecution is politically motivated because it came from a politicized source—my investigation feeding Pulte’s referral feeding the indictment.

But the prosecution didn’t charge what Pulte referred.

Yes, my investigation was the original source for documenting fraud on multiple properties. But what happened next proves prosecutorial independence, not coordination:

Pulte reviewed my published investigations and referred Sterling Street + Brooklyn
Prosecutors reviewed my published investigations and charged Peronne Avenue—a different property
Both had access to the same public information I published
Both made different charging decisions

This isn’t rubber-stamping. This is independent prosecutorial judgment.

If prosecutors were simply following Pulte’s lead, they would have charged Sterling and Brooklyn in October.

They didn’t.

They independently chose to charge different conduct on a different property—one that I had also documented, but that Pulte hadn’t referred.

You thought you were proving vindictive prosecution. You accidentally proved prosecutors exercise independent judgment even when reviewing the same public evidence.

And By The Way, Congressman — All Three Properties Are Documented Fraud

Now let me address the substance, since you’re so concerned about my investigation:

You’re right that my investigation covered multiple properties. I documented fraud on Peronne Avenue, Sterling Street, AND Brooklyn—all using public records starting in February 2025.

Pulte chose to refer some of those properties. Prosecutors chose to charge a different one. That’s not political coordination—that’s multiple parties independently evaluating public evidence and reaching their own conclusions about what to charge and when.

Notice the careful language in the government’s response: “it remains to be seen whether those facts constitute Rule 404(b) evidence.”

Rule 404(b) of the Federal Rules of Evidence allows “evidence of other crimes, wrongs, or acts” to prove “motive, opportunity, intent, preparation, plan, knowledge, identity, absence of mistake, or lack of accident.”

Translation: Sterling and Brooklyn aren’t going away, Congressman.

According to federal prosecutors, the Sterling and Brooklyn properties may be used as:

Pattern evidence (Rule 404(b)) if the Peronne case goes to trial — showing decades-long scheme, intent, knowledge, absence of mistake
Separate charges in a superseding indictment — different properties, different fraud schemes, different time periods
Independent prosecutions filed later — nothing prevents charging these properties separately

Your letter attacked the investigation as politically motivated.

But prosecutors just demonstrated they’re conducting an independent prosecution—charging different properties than Pulte referred, based on evidence they independently developed.

That’s not political coordination. That’s prosecutorial discretion working exactly as it should.

Here’s What I Actually Did — Since You’re So Concerned

Congressman, you demand documents about my “communications” with FHFA — as if I’m running a covert operation instead of a Google search bar.

Let me be completely transparent about my investigative process:

What I Did:

Ordered publicly available title searches from county clerk offices
Reviewed property records anyone with internet access can obtain
Read financial disclosures posted on New York State’s public website
Examined mortgages recorded in public databases
Pulled Certificates of Occupancy from city records
Compared sworn mortgage statements to recorded property documents
Cross-checked tax filings (Schedule E) with sworn occupancy declarations
Calculated loan-to-value ratios using public assessment data
Documented contradictions using basic arithmetic

What I Did Not Do:

Hack any databases
Obtain privileged documents
Receive confidential information
Coordinate with federal officials before publication
Receive compensation from any political entity
Act on behalf of any party or campaign

Everything I uncovered came from public records.

I opened a browser, Congressman.

You’ve officially reinvented “reading” as a federal offense worthy of congressional investigation.

The Documents You Can’t Make Disappear

Congressman, what exactly do you think you’re discrediting with your investigation into my “communications”?

Peronne Avenue:

Sworn Affidavit of Occupancy declaring “second home”
IRS Schedule E showing “zero personal use”
Two phantom mortgages (Freedom, National) that don’t exist
Concealed real mortgage ($109,600 OVM Financial)
Text to accountant: “It looks suspicious”

Sterling Street:

August 2 email “WILL NOT be my primary residence”
August 17 sworn Power of Attorney “I intend to occupy this property as my principal residence” (15 days later)
Property and $219,780 mortgage completely omitted from 2023-2024 financial disclosures
Abbe Lowell’s admission she was “non-occupying co-borrower”

Brooklyn:

Certificate of Occupancy showing 5 units
10+ mortgage applications falsely claiming 4 units
2011 federal HAMP fraud (program excludes 5+ unit buildings)
Physical evidence: 6 electric meters, 5 doorbells
Mr. Cooper internal flag: “FRAUD | Origination Fraud | Occupancy Fraud”

These are not leaks, Congressman. Not confidential files. Not inside information.

They are public records.

I just bothered to look. And apparently, that terrifies you.

The Theory That Fraud Becomes Lawful If the First Person Who Notices It Has a Blog

Congressman, your argument with James reduces to a bizarre legal theory: that fraud becomes lawful if the first person who notices it has a Twitter account or a blog.

That theory is as novel as it is absurd.

Nothing in the Constitution, the Due Process Clause, or any federal statute erases documented false statements because the defendant dislikes the citizen who identified them.

James is not being prosecuted because Sam Antar posted about her.

She is being prosecuted because:

Her own sworn statements contradict her own public filings
Her numbers cannot be reconciled with mathematical reality
Multiple agencies independently confirmed the inconsistencies
A federal grand jury reviewed the evidence and found probable cause

Neither your letter nor James’s motion rebuts a single fact.

Instead, you attack the person who exposed the facts.

That is not a legal defense, Congressman. It is an admission she has no defense.

Meanwhile, the Actual Scandal You’re Not Investigating

While you investigate me for the grave crime of literacy, here’s what you’re not investigating:

Peronne Avenue Fraud:

Second home rider fraud (sworn false statements to obtain mortgage)
Insurance fraud (owner-occupancy misrepresentation)
Tax fraud (zero personal use while claiming second home mortgage)
Bank fraud ($18,933 benefit from false rate classification)
Phantom mortgage fraud (reporting two mortgages that don’t exist on financial disclosures)
Concealed mortgage fraud (hiding $109,600 OVM mortgage from all disclosures 2020-2024)

Sterling Street Fraud:

August 2, 2023 email: “This property WILL NOT be my primary residence”
August 3, 2023: Broker confirms loan locked as “primary residence product”
August 17, 2023 sworn Power of Attorney: “I intend to occupy this property as my principal residence” (15 days after the email)
Principal residence fraud while serving as NY Attorney General (must reside in NY)
Financial disclosure violations (completely omitting property AND $219,780 mortgage from 2023-2024 disclosures)
Never moved to Virginia despite sworn declaration
Abbe Lowell’s admission she was “non-occupying co-borrower” contradicts sworn POA

Brooklyn Fraud:

Certificate of Occupancy: 5 dwelling units (since 2001)
10+ mortgage applications falsely claiming 4 units (2001-2023)
2011 Federal HAMP fraud: obtained mortgage relief through false unit count (program excludes 5+ unit buildings)
Building permits filed with false 4-unit representation (2020)
Physical evidence: 6 electric meters, 5 doorbells, 5 units confirmed by on-site inspection
Mr. Cooper internal classification: “FRAUD | Origination Fraud | Occupancy Fraud”
20+ year pattern of systematic misrepresentation

That’s not “a convicted felon’s tip,” Congressman.

That’s systematic mortgage fraud across multiple properties spanning four decades, documented entirely through public records and James’s own signed statements.

When the evidence is devastating, you don’t investigate it — you criminalize the person holding the flashlight.

What Your Letter Really Is

1. Looks a Lot Like Obstruction of Justice

You’re demanding investigative materials during an active federal prosecution and applying political pressure to influence federal investigators.

2. Classic Witness Intimidation Playbook

You publicly attack the whistleblower who uncovered the misconduct — creating a classic chilling effect on future whistleblowers.

3. Political Coordination

Your letter arrived perfectly timed with James’s defense motions — one day after her Motion to Dismiss for Outrageous Government Conduct, two days before the government’s response.

That’s not coincidence.

That’s choreography.

And it backfired spectacularly when prosecutors revealed they’re prosecuting different conduct than what you implied was the basis of the case.

The Problem Was Never Sam Antar

The problem, Congressman, is that every time Letitia James signed her name, she created another piece of evidence.

Every mortgage application. Every sworn affidavit. Every insurance form. Every tax return. Every financial disclosure.

All of them contradict her.

None of them contradict me.

A prosecution built on her own paperwork cannot be “vindictive.”

It is accountability.

And her hostility — and yours — toward the person who uncovered the pattern is not a constitutional violation.

It’s proof you both know exactly what those documents say.

My Challenge to You, Congressman Garcia — And Your Silence

You named me in an official letter entered into the Congressional Record.

You questioned my credibility.

You dismissed my evidence as “a convicted felon’s tip.”

You demanded an investigation into my “communications.”

So yesterday morning I gave you a direct opportunity:

Invite me to testify before Congress.

I said I’d show up:

Publicly
On camera
Under oath
With every document, timestamp, and record citation
With my complete timeline of discovery
With proof of my independence

I said I’d answer every question you have:

My investigative methods
My sources (all public records)
My independence from political entities
My lack of coordination with federal officials
My timeline of discovery and publication
My complete documentation trail
Why I chose to investigate this case
How I identified the contradictions

Your response: Silence.

More than 24 hours have passed. You haven’t responded.

When you attack someone’s credibility in an official government letter entered into the Congressional Record but won’t face them under oath when given the chance, that tells everyone what they need to know about who’s actually telling the truth.

And I invite you to call Letitia James too — to explain, under oath:

Peronne Avenue: Why mortgage documents say “second home” but tax returns say “zero personal use days”
Peronne Avenue: Why she reported two phantom mortgages (Freedom, National) that don’t exist in property records
Peronne Avenue: Why she concealed the actual $109,600 OVM mortgage from all financial disclosures 2020-2024
Sterling Street: Why her August 2 email says “WILL NOT be my primary residence” but August 17 sworn POA says “I intend to occupy this property as my principal residence”
Sterling Street: Why she completely omitted the property and $219,780 mortgage from 2023-2024 financial disclosures
Sterling Street: Why she declared a Virginia property as her principal residence while serving as NY Attorney General
Brooklyn: Why Certificate of Occupancy says “5 units” but 10+ mortgage applications over 20 years say “4 units”
Brooklyn: How she qualified for 2011 federal HAMP relief when the program excludes 5+ unit buildings
Brooklyn: Why physical evidence shows 6 electric meters and 5 doorbells if it’s a 4-unit building
All Properties: Why her March 28, 2024 text says “It looks suspicious”
All Properties: Why Mr. Cooper’s system flagged Brooklyn as “FRAUD | Origination Fraud | Occupancy Fraud”

If you truly believe this case is “weaponization” based on “a convicted felon’s tip,” this should be easy.

Let’s put the truth on record — publicly, under oath, on camera.

I have nothing to hide.

Do you?

Does Letitia James?

The Bottom Line

Congressman Garcia, you attacked me because I exposed fraud using public records and basic arithmetic.

You call it “weaponization.”

I call it journalism with forensic accounting.

You wanted an investigation into “communications with Sam Antar.”

I offered to testify publicly, under oath, with full documentation.

You went silent.

You named me in an official letter entered into the Congressional Record.

I challenged you to face me under oath.

Silence.

When you attack someone’s credibility in an official government document but refuse to face them under oath when challenged, everyone understands what that means.

The offer stands, Congressman. Anytime you want to stop hiding behind congressional immunity and actually face the evidence, I’ll clear my Monday schedule.

Meanwhile, the documents remain.

The evidence stands.

And accountability will follow — regardless of how many letters you write, how many times you invoke my 1993 conviction, or how long you stay silent when challenged to put your accusations to the test.

Your November 19 letter was supposed to prove political coordination.

The November 20 government response proved prosecutorial independence.

You thought attacking the source would discredit the case. You accidentally proved prosecutors are making independent charging decisions.

I’ve been cooperating with federal law enforcement for 31 years.

How long has Letitia James been filing false mortgage documents?

And how long are you going to hide from answering that question under oath?

Follow @SamAntar on X for updates on this investigation

Written by Sam Antar | Forensic Accountant & Fraud Investigator