Clarence Thomas in hot waters over alleged income from defunct real estate firm

He is in the spotlight for figures relating to a company that no longer exists.

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is in the spotlight for allegedly reporting significant sums from a defunct real estate company, The Washington Post reported Monday.

In his financial disclosure forms, Thomas reported that he received rental income of between $50,000 and $100,000 annually from a Nebraska real estate firm called Ginger, Ltd., Partnership. The firm, founded in 1982 by Ginni Thomas and her family, was dissolved in 2006. That year, a separate company, Ginger Holdings LLC, was created and took over the closed firm’s land leasing business, according to The Post, citing state incorporation and property records.

However, Thomas has continued to report income from the defunct company. The Post acknowledged that the most recent misstatement might be a simple “paperwork error.”

“But it is among a series of errors and omissions that Thomas has made on required annual financial disclosure forms over the past several decades, a review of those records show,” The Washington Post wrote. “Together, they have raised questions about how seriously Thomas views his responsibility to accurately report details about his finances to the public.”

Thomas faced scrutiny after ProPublica revealed early this month that he accepted lavish annual vacation trips from Texas billionaire Harlan Crow for several years. Thomas did not disclose those trips on the forms, as well as the $133,363 Georgia home Crow bought him, which could be in violation of federal law. Federal Justice disclosure law requires justices to report real estate sales over $1,000 to the public.

Thomas said in statements through the years that he has always tried to comply with disclosure guidelines, though he has not commented on the property transactions and vacations.