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Wednesday, January 3, 2024
Hate Bias Reporting Forum on January 31st
Saturday, December 30, 2023
Signs Again Vandalized at Baltimore Hebrew Congregation
The noxious hate crime of antisemitism has surfaced yet again in Baltimore. Two signs at the front of the Baltimore Hebrew Congregation on Park Heights Avenue in Pikesville were destroyed by being slashed multiple times on December 24th. The signs were replacements for the original ones that were vandalized on December 10th. The Baltimore Hebrew Congregation has displayed the two signs – "We Stand with the People of Israel" and "Bring the Hostages Home" at the corner of Park Heights and Slade avenues for just over two months.
"I am simultaneously deeply disturbed and not surprised at all," Rabbi Andrew Busch said. "Deeply disturbed that someone would impinge on our right to speak our mind. Deeply disturbed that anyone would object to a statement of bringing hostages home. Deeply disturbed that the property of a synagogue would be vandalized."
Congregation leaders said another nearby religious institution reported an Israeli flag was slashed Thursday. "Suburban Orthodox congregation right behind us had an Israeli flag that was also slashed with a knife or some kind of sharp object," Busch said. He also commented that they are not letting hate stop them from expressing their beliefs.
The congregation plans to launch a campaign to encourage people to report antisemitism. "We have new signs. They're going to be going up in schools and synagogues and across the community, telling (people) to go to our websites to report when acts occur to stand against hate," Busch said.
A camera was installed at the site after the first vandalism case, and Congregation leaders hope it captured the person or people who are responsible.
BHC filed a police report about the incident. Busch noted that the police responded quickly, as they did when the signs were vandalized the first time. According to Howard Libit, executive director of the Baltimore Jewish Council, Baltimore County Police have said that they are going to increase patrols around the area and review camera footage, especially from neighbors in the community who may have captured something about this crime. “It is gratifying to know how seriously Baltimore County Police are taking this,” Libit said.
BHC plans on replacing the signs again.
If you know anything about what happened, call Baltimore County Police at 410-307-2020.
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Read the December 29, 2023 WBALTV story.
Above photo of sign taken from cited WBALTV article.
Read the December 29, 2023 Baltimore Jewish Times article.
Baltimore City police said they are investigating.
Wednesday, December 20, 2023
CFPB and Justice Department Sue Developer and Lender for Bait-and-Switch Land Sales and Predatory Financing
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the U.S. Department of Justice have sued Colony Ridge, a Texas-based developer and lender, for operating an illegal land sales scheme and targeting thousands of Hispanic borrowers with false statements and predatory loans. Colony Ridge allegedly sells unsuspecting families flood-prone land without water, sewer, or electrical infrastructure, and that the company sets borrowers up to fail with loans they cannot afford. Roughly 1-in-4 Colony Ridge loans ends in foreclosure, after which the company repurchases the properties and sells them to new borrowers. The CFPB and Justice Department are seeking redress for borrowers harmed by Colony Ridge and an immediate end to its illegal practices. This is the CFPB’s first federal court lawsuit charging a defendant with violations of the Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act.
The lawsuit names as defendants three Texas-based Colony Ridge affiliate companies, as well as Loan Originator Services, a nonbank mortgage company licensed to originate loans in Texas. Colony Ridge has developed more than 40,000 lots spread across an unincorporated area of Liberty County, Texas, approximately 30 miles northeast of Houston. Colony Ridge markets these subdivisions using the names “Terrenos Houston” and “Terrenos Santa Fe.”
Colony Ridge targets Spanish-speaking borrowers: it advertises almost exclusively in Spanish, often in social media posts featuring, for example, national flags and regional music from Latin America. In these advertisements, Colony Ridge promises consumers the dream of home ownership with its own seller financing: an easy-to-obtain loan product that requires no credit check and only a small deposit. The complaint alleges that Colony Ridge has lured thousands of Hispanic consumers into their predatory loan products. Foreclosure and property deed records from September 2019 through September 2022 show that Colony Ridge initiated foreclosures on at least 30% of seller-financed lots within just three years of the purchase date, with most loan failures occurring even sooner. Records also confirm that Colony Ridge accounted for more than 92% of all foreclosures recorded in Liberty County between 2017 and 2022.
Specifically, the complaint filed today alleges that Colony Ridge:
- Misleads borrowers about infrastructure on the lots it sells: Colony Ridge has falsely represented that lots in the Terrenos Houston subdivisions were sold with water, sewer, and electrical infrastructure already in place. The complaint cites numerous advertisements, including TikTok videos where the company makes claims like “Terrenos Houston tiene todos los servicios de ciudad por cada terreno” (“Terrenos Houston has all city services for each lot.”). After applicants pay a non-refundable deposit, Colony Ridge discloses the properties may not provide those services and says it only in English.
- Sells lots that flood with rain and raw sewage: The complaint alleges that Colony Ridge employees fail to inform borrowers of flood risk when lots have repeatedly flooded in the past, or falsely tells them the lots have not flooded. In fact, in parts of the Terrenos Houston subdivision, rain causes significant flooding, causing raw sewage to run through or around borrowers’ property, and damaging their personal belongings.
- Churns through borrowers in a cycle of foreclosure: When families fall behind on payments and enter foreclosure, it allows Colony Ridge to “flip” the properties by repurchasing and reselling them, often at higher prices. Foreclosure and property deed records show that Colony Ridge flipped at least 40% of all the properties it sold between September 2019 and September 2022, selling approximately 8,237 properties twice, 3,267 properties three times, and 2,067 properties four or more times in three years.
- Targets Hispanic consumers with predatory loans: Through direct-to-consumer marketing on websites, social media engagement, and telemarketing, Colony Ridge targets Hispanic consumers. Colony Ridge then exploits language barriers during its sales process and uses high-pressure sales tactics to push borrowers to obtain their loan products quickly. The loans have exorbitant interest rates. Between 2017 and 2021, interest rates on Colony Ridge’s loans ranged from between 10.9% to 12.9%, while a standard 20-year fixed rate loan averaged 2.35% to 4.05% during the same timeframe. And in extending the loan, Colony Ridge and Loan Originator Services did not collect information needed to determine if applicants can afford the loan.
- Exploits language barriers at borrowers’ expense: While Colony Ridge conducts most of its marketing activities in Spanish, when it comes to the actual transaction, it offers important documents only in English. Failing to offer borrowers accurate translations of contracts, deeds, and other documents in the language in which it conducts the sales and exploiting borrowers’ limited English proficiency violates federal law.
The CFPB alleges that defendants unlawfully discriminated against applicants on the basis of their race or national origin in violation of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act and its implementing regulation. The CFPB separately alleges that Colony Ridge engaged in unlawful deception and violated the Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act and its implementing regulations. The Justice Department joined the CFPB’s claim of a violation of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act and its implementing regulation, and separately alleges that Colony Ridge violated the Fair Housing Act. The complaint seeks to stop Colony Ridge’s alleged unlawful conduct, provide redress for affected consumers, and impose a civil penalty payable to the CFPB victims relief fund. If the defendants are found liable, the amount of any restitution will be determined in the litigation in federal court.
The CFPB’s website has resources about credit discrimination and mortgages. Consumers can submit complaints about financial products or services by visiting the CFPB’s website or by calling (855) 411-CFPB (2372).
Employees of companies who believe their company has violated federal consumer financial protection laws are encouraged to send information about what they know to whistleblower@cfpb.gov.
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Free Implicit Bias Training on January 10th
Source: Maryland Commission on Civil Rights email, December 20, 2023. |
HUD Charges Hawaii Condominium Association with Disability Discrimination
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is charging individuals and entities associated with a Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, condominium complex, including the condominium association, employees of the condominium association, the property management company, an employee of the property management company, the condominium unit’s owners, and the owners’ real estate broker with discriminating against a resident because of disability. Read HUD’s Charge. HUD’s Charge of Discrimination alleges that the property’s condominium association and its employees, the property’s management company and its employees, and the condominium unit’s owners and their real estate agent, prevented the resident from using a temporary ramp to safely access his unit, from accessing a parking space that would allow him to load and unload his wheelchair, and from replacing a toilet at the resident’s own expense to allow him complete use of his unit. Because they failed to do so, the resident was often unable to access or use his unit and forced to sleep in his vehicle. Ultimately, their actions resulted in the resident’s decision to revoke his offer to purchase the unit and move out of the unit, which he was renting while the sale was in escrow. A U.S. Administrative Law Judge will hear HUD’s charge unless any party elects to have the case heard in Federal district court. If the Administrative Law Judge finds, after a hearing, that discrimination has occurred, the judge may award damages to the resident for his losses as a result of the discrimination, order injunctive relief and other equitable relief to deter further discrimination, and payment of attorney fees. In addition, the judge may impose civil penalties to vindicate the public interest. If the Federal court hears the case, the Judge may also award punitive damages to the resident. In related news, the Pacific ADA Center recently noted that the U. S. Department of Justice just settled with some Hawaii apartment builders over disability discrimination. The developer and others were accused of not designing and building five multifamily housing complexes with the required accessible features. The agreement requires the companies to pay a fine and make changes to their properties, such as adding ramps, accessible parking, and making apartments easier for people with disabilities to enter and use. Read more about the lawsuit that is making these rental properties accessible. |
Hate Bias Reporting Forum on January 31st
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Tuesday, December 19, 2023
Public Comment Period Extended for Proposal to Remove Criminal Conviction Restrictions for Fair Housing Testers
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has extended the public comment date for its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would remove criminal conviction restrictions for fair housing testers by 9 days, to January 11, 2024. To do this, HUD has submitted a notice to the Federal Register, which can be found here.
This is part of the Biden administration’s government-wide initiative to give criminals a second chance. Besides making HUD programs as inclusive as possible for criminals, HUD says the proposed rule will ensure that it can “fully investigate criminal background screening policies that are potentially discriminatory under federal civil rights laws by using testers with actual criminal backgrounds.”
HUD published its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the Federal Register on October 31, 2023, and provided for a 60-day public comment period. The proposed rule aims to eliminate the agency’s restrictions on the use of fair housing testers with prior felony convictions or certain other convictions - such as prior felony, fraud, or perjury convictions - by nonprofit Fair Housing agencies. Fair housing testers provide invaluable support to HUD and HUD’s fair housing partners by taking part in housing transactions to screen for discrimination. The original announcement of the proposed rule can be found here.
HUD has received feedback from multiple interested persons requesting additional time to review the rule and provide comments. For example, Judicial Watch has summarized "Even those who agree with second chances may reasonably question if convicted felons should participate in federal investigations. " In response to these requests, HUD has extended the public comment period for 9 days, to January 11, 2024. HUD continues to invite all interested parties and members of the public to submit their views, comments, and recommendations for improvement in HUD’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.
Comments may be submitted electronically through https://www.regulations.gov/document/HUD-2023-0091-0001 or through the methods described in the proposed rule.
Read the December 7, 2023 HUD press release.
Read the November 6, 2023 Judicial Watch article.
Photo Credit: Photo by Tia Cunningham on Unsplash.
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