Former Chattanooga Police Chief Celeste Murphy was accused of residency fraud, and now, similar allegations are being made against officials across the country. There have been repeated subsequent examples of those in positions of power facing criminal, civil and social penalties for allegedly misrepresenting where they sleep at night.
Murphy is charged with 17 crimes stemming from a Tennessee voter registration that conflicted with a primary residence tax exemption that she still claimed in Fulton County, Georgia. Former City Council member Demetrus Coonrod’s residency was challenged last year, too.
On the national level, New York Attorney General Letitia James was indicted on a mortgage fraud case in connection with a 2020 home purchase in Norfolk, Virginia, according to Associated Press reporting. Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook was similarly accused of mortgage fraud because she allegedly claimed two primary residences before joining the reserve board.
It so happens that Cook, Coonrod, James and Murphy are all Black women, but it’s likely more significant that people who oppose the norms are visible in their community and to their rivals, according to political science professor Alexandra Filindra.
There are all kinds of laws people violate, from jaywalking to illegally downloading software, books, music or movies, said Filindra, of the University of Illinois Chicago, by phone, but those crimes are rarely prosecuted.