US charges Texas developer with allegedly targeting Hispanics in land sale scheme By Reuters

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Kristen Clarke, assistant lawyer common for civil rights, speaks throughout a information convention in 2021. REUTERS/Ken Cedeno/File Picture

(Reuters) -Federal prosecutors and the highest U.S. company for shopper monetary safety are suing a Texas actual property developer they accused of concentrating on hundreds of Hispanic debtors in a fraudulent land sale scheme, they introduced on Wednesday.

Based on federal officers, Colony Ridge, an actual property developer situated in Liberty County, Texas, about 30 miles (48 km) northeast of Houston, offered unaffordable loans so unsuspecting households might buy flood-prone land that had no connections to sewage strains or different utilities. After foreclosures, the corporate allegedly resold plots to new patrons.

“Colony Ridge promised the American dream, however we allege that in actuality, it has delivered a nightmare for hundreds of hardworking Hispanic households who hoped to construct their houses within the Terrenos Houston group,” Kristen Clarke, assistant lawyer common for civil rights within the Division of Justice, mentioned in an announcement.

The case was introduced collectively by the Justice Division and the U.S. Client Monetary Safety Bureau.

Colony Ridge mentioned in an announcement that the lawsuit was “baseless.”

It’s the first-ever predatory mortgage lending case introduced by the Justice Division below the Truthful Housing Act and Equal Credit score Alternative Act, Clarke informed reporters in Washington.

The Client Monetary Safety Bureau mentioned it was the company’s first federal lawsuit charging violations of the Interstate Land Gross sales Full Disclosure Act.

Colony Ridge CEO John Harris in an announcement mentioned the corporate appeared ahead to defending itself.

“The lawsuit is baseless and each outrageous and inflammatory. Our enterprise thrives off buyer referrals as a result of landowners are comfortable and in a position to expertise the American Dream of proudly owning property,” Harris mentioned.