Chapter 6: The Alleged Homestead Deduction Fraud Investigation

Beyond the legal controversies directly tied to her conduct in office, Commissioner Gramarossa’s husband, Richard Gramarossa, and other members of her immediate family are the subjects of a detailed independent investigation into what the investigator characterizes as a systematic, multi-year homestead deduction fraud scheme spanning two states. The investigation was conducted by a Concerned Citizen of La Porte, Indiana, and submitted as a formal criminal complaint to the Indiana State Police (ISP) in July 2025 [1].

The Alleged Scheme

The investigation centers on four properties and five individuals. The alleged scheme involves Richard and Connie Gramarossa claiming a homestead deduction on a farm property at 8444 N 500 E, Rolling Prairie, Indiana — while monitoring evidence indicates they actually reside at 321 Lake Hills Road, Michigan City, Indiana, a property deeded to their son Nicholas. Two additional properties — 414 N Pleasant Ave, Michigan City (deeded to daughter Alexandrea) and 335 Lake Hills Rd, Michigan City (Richard and Connie’s own property, which they reportedly refer to as the “party house”) — are also implicated in the scheme [1].

Richard Gramarossa: Dual Homestead Exemption Fraud

The most documentarily straightforward allegation involves Richard Gramarossa claiming homestead exemptions simultaneously in both Indiana and Illinois for four consecutive years (2019–2022). Property tax records from both LaPorte County, Indiana and Cook County, Illinois confirm that Richard claimed a homestead exemption on properties in both states for those years [1]. Both Indiana and Illinois law prohibit claiming homestead exemptions in multiple states simultaneously.

500 East Traffic Evidence

The evidentiary centerpiece of the investigation is a 45-day continuous trail camera monitoring operation from the public right of way near (8444 N 500 E, Rolling Prairie) conducted from May 8 to June 22, 2024. The camera captured tens of thousands of motion-activated traffic photographs and documented a property abandonment rate of 96.586%. During the 45-day period, Richard Gramarossa was documented visiting the property only three times for a total of approximately 2.2 hours. No overnight stays were documented [1, 2].

Simultaneously, citizen drive-by monitoring of the Lake Hills Road address (321 Lake Hills Rd) documented Connie’s vehicles present in 53 of 71 observations (74.6%), and Richard’s vehicle present in 48 of 71 observations (67.6%) [1, 3].

References

[1] Citizen, Concerned (2025, July 15). FINAL INVESTIGATION REPORT: Gramarossa Family Homestead Deduction Investigation. (Uploaded document — ISP Criminal Investigation Division submission)

[2] Citizen, Concerned (2025, July 15). Public Right of Way, Trail Camera Analysis: Continuous Monitoring Evidence — May 8 to June 22, 2024. (Uploaded document)

[3] Citizen, Concerned (2024). May Trailcam Timelapse Observations & June Trailcam Timelapse Observations. (Uploaded documents)