MAGA Billionaire’s Bitter Housing Battle Ends in Tragedy

Photo Illustration by Eric Faison/The Daily Beast/Getty MAGA billionaire Rick Jackson is running to be Georgia’s next governor, vowing to tackle housing affordability and bring “the same type of business solutions that President Trump is bringing to our country.” But the Daily Beast can reveal that one of his companies spent more than four years trying to take a Georgia couple’s home in a legal battle so brutal that court filings describe a cascade of devastating health problems for both spouses—and ultimately their deaths.

The saga began in 2007, when Jackson’s JIG Real Estate paid $239,500 for the home of Tammi and James Garland in a foreclosure sale that wasn’t supposed to take place.

The Garlands had already reached an agreement with their lender to cure their mortgage default, but a notification failure—or what a judge later described as an “email snafu”—meant the sale went ahead anyway.

Countrywide Home Loans rescinded the purchase two days later and returned JIG’s money with interest.

But the company refused to accept it and demanded to keep the house, eventually suing the lender and the Garlands all the way to the Georgia Supreme Court.

Court filings describe a confrontation so ugly that a company representative allegedly threatened to “kick the hell” out of the couple if they did not leave.

According to a statement of material facts filed by the Garland’s attorneys, Tammi Garland suffered a seizure and collapsed during the confrontation.

She died in 2008 from an accidental overdose of prescription medications after experiencing worsening pain, anxiety, and seizures that she attributed to the ordeal.

Her husband James, who was previously a “very healthy middle aged man” according to the same court filing, was so stressed by the threats that he experienced a “major heart attack.” Months later, he attempted suicide, spent a month in a coma, and was unable to return to his job as a pharmacist.

He died in 2012.

The Garland’s deaths were not attributed to Jackson or JIG personally.

The company disputed the legal basis for rescinding the foreclosure sale and continued arguing it was entitled to the property.

The Georgia Supreme Court also did not discuss the Garland’s health allegations, the alleged confrontation, or the suicide attempt or death when it ultimately ruled against JIG, confirming that the sale had been properly rescinded.

The Daily Beast has reached out to Jackson’s campaign about the latest revelations, which could be sensitive for the GOP candidate, who has campaigned on his business acumen and vowed to tackle housing and affordability if he becomes Georgia’s next governor.