Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and United States v. Colony Ridge Development, LLC (S.D. Tex.)

The Division is litigating a Fair Housing Act (“FHA”) and Equal Credit Opportunity Act (“ECOA”) case against a Texas-based land developer and lending operation, Colony Ridge Land, LLC, and its corporate affiliates (“Colony Ridge”). The United States’ complaint, filed in December 2023, alleges that Colony Ridge engages in a predatory bait-and-switch land sales scheme in Liberty County, Texas, roughly 30 miles northeast of Houston. Despite promising the American Dream to the Hispanic community, Colony Ridge allegedly sells flood-prone land without water, sewer, or electrical infrastructure on seller-financed loan terms that are designed to fail. The complaint also alleges that Colony Ridge purposefully fails to verify potential borrowers’ income, assets, or credit scores, leading to extraordinarily high foreclosure rates. After consumers enter foreclosure, Colony Ridge allegedly flips the lots at higher costs to new, unwitting victims.