Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison has filed a lawsuit accusing realtor Chadwick Banken of violating state and federal laws by reportedly selling houses via predatory and illegal contracts for deed and for allegedly discriminating against Muslim homebuyers.
The lawsuit, filed in Minnesota’s Hennepin County, claimed that Banken and his companies offered contracts for deed with “egregiously unfair terms” that were designed to fail, forcing buyers to walk away from their homes with no assets while Banken profited and marketed the property to new buyers.
The lawsuit also claimed Banken and his companies intentionally failed to provide disclosures of the contract terms as required by federal law while hiding the loan terms to fool borrowers into believing the loans were reasonable.
Furthermore, Ellison accused Banken of targeting Minnesota’s Muslim community for these endeavors, adding that he offered “significantly worse terms” for Muslim customers compared to other purchasers.
“My office launched this investigation and filed this lawsuit because we will not stand by when investor sellers deceive purchasers into accepting fundamentally unfair terms,” said Ellison in a statement. “My job is to help Minnesotans afford their lives and live with dignity, safety, and respect, and these illegal practices do exactly the opposite: they rob Minnesotans of their savings and their dignity.”
Banken has not publicly commented on Ellison’s lawsuit.
