The Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) under the Biden administration have initiated a lawsuit against Colony Ridge, a significant real estate development located north of Houston, Texas. The lawsuit alleges that the development engaged in deceptive sales practices and predatory financing, particularly targeting the Hispanic community.
Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, the lawsuit claims that Colony Ridge sold parcels of land prone to flooding and lacking essential services like water, sewer, and electrical infrastructure. These sales were allegedly made through exploitative practices, including a language barrier where marketing was conducted in Spanish, but critical transaction documents were provided only in English.
United States Attorney General Merrick Garland highlighted the allegations, stating that Colony Ridge preyed on Hispanic consumers with predatory loans and misled them regarding the infrastructure of the lots. The suit further alleges that the development engaged in a scheme of illegal land sales, exploiting thousands of Hispanic buyers with false statements and predatory loans.
A September investigation by The Daily Wire suggested that Colony Ridge’s marketing strategies were particularly aimed at undocumented immigrants, offering them land at inflated interest rates, given their ineligibility for traditional loans. The developers, brothers William “Trey” Harris and John Harris, have been identified as key figures in this operation. Trey Harris is noted as a significant political donor in Texas, having contributed over $1 million to Republican Governor Greg Abbott.
The lawsuit accuses Colony Ridge of perpetuating a cycle of foreclosure, enabling the company to reclaim and resell foreclosed properties, often at increased prices. Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division described the situation as a nightmare for many Hispanic families who sought to realize their dream of homeownership in the Terrenos Houston community.
CFPB Director Rohit Chopra labeled the operation as a “set-up-to-fail scheme,” leading numerous families to lose their homeownership aspirations. U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani for the Southern District of Texas condemned the development’s tactics as an exploitation of the immigrant dream of home ownership, using modern social-media tools for targeting and misleading consumers.
The legal complaint seeks to halt Colony Ridge’s alleged illegal activities, provide compensation to affected consumers, and impose a civil penalty to benefit victims via the CFPB relief fund.
This lawsuit against Colony Ridge follows multiple investigations by The Daily Wire into the development’s marketing practices, which seem to target undocumented immigrants in the U.S.