Husband Of State Representative Charged With Not Following Housing Contract

The husband of a state representative was charged Tuesday with allegedly violating a housing contract through the federal Housing Choice Voucher Program.

James Foster Davis, 60, of Bristol Township’s Croydon section, was arraigned Tuesday afternoon by District Judge Frank Peranteau on charges of theft by deception, theft by failure to make required disposition of funds received, and securing execution of documents by deception. He was released on $30,000 unsecured bail.

In court papers filed by Bucks County Detectives, it is alleged that James Davis, the husband of Democratic State Rep. Tina Davis, accepted housing assistance funds that were paid through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Housing Choice Voucher Program, more commonly called Section 8, but did not follow the agreement to pay utility bills for a tenant living at a home he owned in the 400 block of Grant Avenue in Croydon.

Tina Davis has not been charged in relation to the case. She represents the 141st Legislative District and is running against incumbent Republican State Sen. Tommy Tomlinson for the Sixth District.

James Davis, according to court papers, had a contract that stated he would pay utilities for the home. The agreement between James Davis and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development was filed through the Bucks County Housing Authority.

Despite the contract, the woman living in Davis’ Grant Avenue property reportedly made payments with help from her family for her PECO bill but fell into arrears on the account. In June, she received a shut-off notice, according to court papers.

The issue came to light in late June when a Bucks County Housing Authority official learned the woman was having trouble paying her PECO bill. The employee knew James Davis was supposed to be paying the utility bills, according to court papers.

The matter was sent to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Inspector General. The federal investigators kicked the case to county authorities in July.

Detectives wrote that the woman told them she only dealt with Tina Davis in 2015 when the lawmaker offered to add her to their PECO account. Instead, the woman turned down the offer and said she planned to take part in the utility company’s customer assistance program. After 2015, the woman said she had no further discussions about utility payments with James or Tina Davis.

Investigators learned in late August that the state Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program paid $1,866 for heating oil deliveries between February 2017 and early 2018 on the woman’s behalf, detectives said.

The funds received by James Davis totaled $30,744 over several years and were supposed to cover the utility costs, authorities said.

In court papers, authorities noted that James Davis received more money from the housing assistance program if he agreed to cover utility costs.

James Davis met with detectives last Thursday and said he did lie on the agreements. He further added that made the decision to have the woman pay for utilities prior to signing the documents stating he would pay the utilities, authorities said.

James Davis said he wished at the time to “get it done and get her in” as soon as possible, detectives said.

“Jim Davis is proud to have cooperated with the District Attorney’s office during their investigation. He is happy to have been told by the District Attorney’s office that this case will be resolved by way of a civil settlement,” Paul Lang, James Davis’ attorney, said in a statement to LevittownNow.com.

Lang said they are looking forward to a “swift resolution.”

Editor’s Note: All individuals arrested or charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty. The story was compiled using information from police and public court documents.