Texas Scorecard By Valerie Muñoz September 23, 2024
An effort to dismiss the case involving a land development that is housing illegal aliens north of Houston was denied.
A federal judge has rejected Colony Ridge’s attempt to dismiss a lawsuit against the Houston-area development, which immigration experts say is using Spanish advertizing to lure in illegal aliens.
The original civil suit against Colony Ridge by the U.S. Department of Justice and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau alleges the development targeted financially vulnerable buyers from Latin countries through marketing almost exclusively in Spanish.
In addition, the suit accused Colony Ridge of predatory lending practices by “fail[ing] to assess borrowers’ ability to repay,” consequently charging late fees and preparing contracts, deeds, or other documents in English without attaching an accurate Spanish translation.
According to the suit, Colony Ridge is operated by brothers John and William “Trey” Harris, who offer loans on land sales.
Also alleging deceptive trade practices, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a similar lawsuit against Colony Ridge.
Paxton’s lawsuit alleges that marketing implies houses are “move-in” ready, in reality, they are in poor condition. An anonymous employee mentioned in the suit that she was told to target Hispanic social media users by using fake accounts to avoid being recognized as Colony Ridge.
More:
https://texasscorecard.com/state/doj-lawsuit-against-colony-ridge-set-to-continue/
