DOJ Files Lawsuit Against Colony Ridge for Predatory Loans and False Statements

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed a lawsuit against Houston-area developer Colony Ridge, accusing them of using fraudulent lending practices to target Latino buyers with false statements and predatory loans in rural Liberty County. The lawsuit alleges that Colony Ridge misled borrowers about infrastructure and exploited language barriers by conducting most of its marketing in Spanish while providing important transaction documents only in English. The federal government is seeking to halt these practices, provide relief for those harmed, and impose a civil penalty on the developers. Colony Ridge's CEO denies the allegations, stating that the lawsuit is baseless. The lawsuit highlights an unusually high foreclosure rate and the loss of the American Dream for many homeowners.