The Justice Department filed its first predatory mortgage lending case Wednesday against a Texas developer accused of luring tens of thousands of Hispanic homebuyers into “bait and switch” sales through platforms like TikTok.
The lawsuit focuses on a massive development northeast of Houston, Colony Ridge, that promises homeownership with advertisements in Spanish, but then steers applicants into buying properties without basic utilities by taking out loans they can’t always repay, the Justice Department alleged. The suit said the developer uses high-pressure sales tactics that exploit limited English proficiency.
