A swing-district Pennsylvania Democrat collected tens of thousands of dollars in rental income through an unlicensed corporation, an apparent violation of local law.
Rep. Susan Wild collected up to $110,000 in rental income through Casa Stimus, a corporation that lost its LLC status in 2016, according to Washington, D.C., business records. The city revoked the LLC's entity status just one year after Wild and her sister established the corporation, as it failed to file the "periodic reports" required by local law.
Under D.C. law, a revoked entity "shall be void and all powers conferred upon such entity are declared inoperative," meaning "entities in revoked status may not operate in the District until they are reinstated." Wild's congressional financial disclosures, however, show that she raked in substantial cash through the defunct company. Wild, who is listed as the registered agent of the defunct LLC, did not respond to a request for comment.
Wild pushed for taxpayer-funded relief for landlords as she benefited from the lucrative rental business. In March, the Democrat called federal assistance for landlords "a key part of our state recovery," but failed to acknowledge her status as a landlord in public remarks. She is not the only House Democrat to conceal such a conflict of interest amid a pandemic movement to cancel rent payments. Reps. Ayanna Pressley (D., Mass.) and Rashida Tlaib (D., Mich.) reported up to $65,000 in combined 2020 rental income at the same time they backed legislation that would eliminate rent and establish a "landlord relief fund."
Washington, D.C., law says "civil fines and penalties" may be imposed on an LLC that "does business in the District of Columbia," but "does not have a certificate of organization filed." The city did not return a request for comment about Wild's financial dealings.
According to local records, Wild inherited her D.C. property from her late mother in October 2015, one month before she established the LLC, which uses the property as its business address. Wild owns a 50 percent ownership stake in the real estate—which is valued at between $250,001 and $500,000 according to her latest financial disclosure. The home's appraised value is nearly $760,000, D.C. real estate records show.
Wild is expected to face a competitive reelection battle in the midterms after winning the state's Seventh Congressional District by just 3 points in November. Local business owner Lisa Scheller, who lost to Wild in 2020, has announced that she will seek the GOP's 2022 nomination.