Police say James Davis, of Croydon, Bristol Township, deceived the Bucks County Housing Authority.

A Bristol Township man has been charged with stealing housing assistance funds intended to pay the utilities of a low-income tenant at a Bristol Township rental property he and his lawmaker wife co-own.

James Foster Davis, 60, of the 400 block of Harris Avenue, in the township's Croydon section, was arraigned Tuesday on two felony theft counts and a misdemeanor charge of securing execution of documents by deception, according to court records. Davis is married to state Rep. Tina Davis, who has not been charged in the case.

County detectives allege James Davis deceived the Bucks County Housing Authority when he agreed in a written contract to pay all the utilities of a tenant on housing assistance, but instead required the woman to pay her own electric bill at the Croydon residence in the 400 block of Grant Avenue.

The larger portion a tenant's utilities a landlord agrees to pay, the greater subsidy the landlord receives toward a tenant's rent and utilities, according to the criminal complaint. Police say James Davis received more than $30,000 in housing assistance payments from the county housing authority.

In addition to dealing with James Davis, the woman said that upon first moving into the property in 2015, she also dealt with Tina Davis, the complaint says. She told authorities Tina Davis had offered to add her to their existing PECO account, but the woman said she intended to enlist in the energy's Customer Assistance Program, according to court documents. After that discussion, the woman said she had no further conversation about her utility bill with either Tina or James Davis.

The complaint only indicates James Davis signed the contract and lease agreement for the property and does not assign any criminal liability to Tina Davis, who is the Democratic state representative for the 141st District.

Tina Davis is running to unseat state Sen. Tommy Tomlinson, a Republican, in the 6th District. Her campaign did not respond Tuesday evening to requests for comment.

The investigation into the alleged fraud came about after a housing authority representative visited the woman’s home in late June, the complaint says. During the visit, the woman allegedly told the housing authority representative she was having trouble staying current on her PECO bill.

Knowing James Davis was supposed to be paying the utilities, the representative referred the matter to U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which relayed the case to county authorities in July, police say.

According to police, the woman who lived at the Grant Avenue home made more than $1,200 in payments to PECO between October 2015 and May 2018 with the help of her three aunts. The complaint says the woman as of May owed a balance of just more than $450 on her PECO bill and received a shut-off notice in June.

The complaint says further the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, a taxpayer-funded program intended to help people on low incomes pay heating bills, made three payments on the woman's behalf for heating oil deliveries totaling more than $1800 between February 2017 and January 2018.

James Davis also had agreed in the contract with the county housing authority to pay the woman's heating oil costs, the complaint says.

He interviewed with county detectives Sept. 6, telling them he knowingly violated the agreements by not paying his tenant’s utilities, the complaint says. He decided prior to executing the agreements that he would not pay the utilities, police say.

James Davis allegedly told police he wished to “get it done and get her in” as quickly as possible.

Davis's attorney Paul Lang said Tuesday evening he and his client expect the case to come to a swift resolution.

“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,” he said.

The existence of such an agreement could not be verified with prosecutors Tuesday evening, as the deputy district attorney assigned to the case was unavailable. Rules in criminal court, however, do allow for theft charges to be dismissed in certain cases if payment is made.

“It all really depends on full payment of the money, but it is possible,” said District Attorney Matthew Weintraub.

District Judge Frank W. Peranteau arraigned Davis Tuesday afternoon and set bail at $30,000, according to court records. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Sept. 26.



