$750,000 Settlement Reached in Disability Bias Case Over Denied Housing for Child with Mobility Impairment
The Justice Department announced a $750,000 settlement resolving allegations that multiple property management companies violated federal housing law by denying a reasonable accommodation to a family with a disabled child.
The agreement settles claims against Indian Oaks Apartments LTD, Russell Management Services LLC, H.J. Russell & Company, and The Russell Realty LP, which were accused of violating the Fair Housing Act by refusing to move a mother and her son to a ground-floor apartment. According to the complaint, the child had been diagnosed with a genetic disorder causing permanent mobility impairment.
Federal officials said the settlement is the second largest ever obtained by the department in an individual housing discrimination case.
The lawsuit, filed Oct. 23, 2024, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia, alleged that the defendants denied repeated requests over a 14-month period for a ground-floor unit, despite multiple units being available at an apartment complex in Fort Valley, Georgia.
According to the complaint, the denial made it impossible for the mother to carry her son in and out of the apartment without assistance from her older children. Authorities said the situation resulted in significant physical, psychological and emotional harm to the child, as well as lost academic and social opportunities for the older siblings.
Justice Department officials said the settlement requires the defendants to pay $750,000 to the family, adopt new policies, undergo training, and report future reasonable accommodation requests across properties they own or operate.
Officials emphasized that federal law requires housing providers to grant reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities.
Read agreement here.
Maryland Man Ordered to Pay $562K After Alleged Fake Affordable Housing Investment Scheme Defrauds 17 Investors
The Maryland Attorney General’s Office announced a $562,000 settlement with a Davidson, Maryland man and his companies in connection with an alleged fraudulent investment scheme tied to affordable housing.
Attorney General Anthony G. Brown said the settlement, reached by the office’s Securities Division, resolves allegations against Otis H. Jackson and his two companies, Social Solutions LLC and SITO Capital LLC, involving the unregistered offer and sale of securities between 2019 and 2024. Under the agreement, Jackson must pay $562,000 in restitution to 17 investors who purchased promissory notes tied to the scheme.
According to the consent order, Jackson solicited investors for what he described as a “Social and Economic Development Program,” which he claimed would support affordable housing development in the Park Heights neighborhood of Baltimore. Promotional materials asserted that the program involved partnerships with nonprofit organizations, private equity lenders and local government entities.
“Marylanders deserve to invest with confidence, free from fraud and deception,” said Attorney General Brown. “My Office will continue to pursue unregistered securities schemes and ensure that those harmed receive the restitution they are owed.
Investigators found that Jackson issued promissory notes guaranteeing return of principal and high rates of return, with stated uses of funds ranging from property renovations to administrative expenses and housing acquisition.
Authorities said investor funds were deposited into accounts controlled by Social Solutions and SITO Capital but were not used for the purposes described. Instead, Jackson allegedly used the money for personal expenses, including mortgage payments on his home, dining, transportation and large transfers to his personal accounts.
The consent order also states that while some earlier investors were repaid using funds from newer investors, most investors did not receive returns or repayment of their principal. Officials said Jackson failed to disclose risks associated with the investments and did not inform investors that some properties he claimed to own carried significant tax and mortgage debt. In at least one case, a property had been sold at auction after taxes were not paid.
As part of the settlement, Jackson and his companies are barred from the securities and investment advisory business in Maryland. The $562,000 civil penalty will be distributed as restitution to affected investors.
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