The U.S. Department of Justice and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) have sued a Texas developer they say targeted Hispanic Americans with false advertising and subpar housing as part of an illegal predatory lending scheme.
The communities, known as Colony Ridge Development, LLC, Colony Ridge Land LLC, and Colony Ridge BV are accused of working with Loan Originator Services LLC as part of a scheme to manipulate Latino homebuyers with false advertising by promising flood prone houses equipped with basic utilities.
U.S. officials say Hispanics were targeted through the China sponsored social media platform TikTok, and other social media sites by advertising with national flags from their home countries and popular Latin American music.