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Colony Ridge, a vast land development northeast of Houston that attracts undocumented immigrants, continued to change its marketing strategy after the department’s announcement to target Spanish speakers who lack credentials for land offers. Apparently not. The Department of Justice accused the developer of “predatory” conduct.
The disputed development, which spans approximately 60 square miles and is estimated to be home to 50,000 to 75,000 people, was announced by the Department of Justice and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) when they jointly announced a joint agreement. received criticism from. Lawsuit against Colony Ridge.
But despite lawsuits from two federal agencies that specifically claim the development “cycles one borrower after another in a cycle of foreclosures,” Colony Ridge is marketing itself to potential buyers in Spanish. He continued to tell me that I could make the purchase without a credit check to meet the terms. My dream is to own real estate in America.
Colony Ridge has been adamant about informing potential buyers that their creditworthiness will not be checked, and has written “no necesita crédito” (translated to “no credit required”) on their Instagram account profile. ).
The “Land Without Credit” Instagram ad was posted less than a month after the Justice Department and CFPB ruling. The caption is accompanied by a video of one of Colony Ridge’s employees dancing and saying in Spanish, “When our clients realized it wasn’t a lie that we weren’t asking for credit to buy their land… “it is written like this. The post has the hashtag “Estados Unidos.”
Coupled with Spanish-only ads encouraging buyers to “own land in the United States,” Colony Ridge “enables illegal alien settlement” in the United States and “despairs people with low-income promises.” The government has been harshly criticized by public officials for attracting foreign nationals to the United States. -Property without costly problems. ”
The ad echoes what was highlighted in an initial investigation into Colony Ridge by the Daily Wire, which found that the development’s financing operations relied primarily on Personal Taxpayer Identification Numbers. The Individual Taxpayer Identification Number is an identification card touted by illegal immigration advocacy groups as a “powerful tool” for illegal immigration. Immigrants without social security numbers.
The Department of Justice and CFPB lawsuit alleges that Colony Ridge developer William “Trey” Harris and his brother John Harris “operated an illegal land sales scheme that netted tens of thousands of Hispanic people through false statements and predatory loans.” They specifically claim that they are targeting affiliated borrowers and even buying and selling land. Land that lacks electricity, water, and sewage infrastructure and is prone to flooding.
The Department of Justice also said at the press conference that it would warn potential buyers not to buy the Colony Ridge property. However, the marketing campaign continues unchanged.
“Your dream of ownership starts with us,” says another recent Instagram ad for Colony Ridge, also named “Terenos Houston,” which makes potential buyers “guilty.” It states that you can qualify for “credit” or “no credit.” The ad was released after a federal lawsuit.
“Why not own your own home? At Terenos Houston it’s so easy and no credit required,” says another ad, translated from Spanish, while another ad reads, “No credit required. “Unwanted land” is written.
Other social media ads feature the hashtag “EstadosUnidos” and emphasize that buyers can “realize their dreams of ownership in the United States.”
Although Colony Ridge frequently advertises that it does not check people’s credit, the development has been heavily criticized for its foreclosure rate, and the Houston Landing reports that Colony Ridge has sold Of the nearly 35,000 properties, it is said that they ultimately went to buyers. The interest rate was 12.9%.
The revelations come as illegal immigration is at an all-time high, with Customs and Border Protection apprehending more than 5.8 million illegal immigrants since President Joe Biden took office, and apprehending 1.7 million more. There are also presumed fugitives who enter the United States without being apprehended.
The development has been the subject of two special calls of the Texas Legislature by Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who previously secured a combined $1.5 million from developer Trey Harris and his wife. I had received it. As a result of a special session, he ultimately allocated $40 million to the Texas Department of Public Safety for developmental patrols.
But now Colony Ridge also faces increased federal scrutiny. The Daily Wire confirms that Colony Ridge is under investigation by the Environmental Protection Agency, and the New York Post reports that the development is also under investigation by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Army Corps of Engineers, and Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. It was reported that .
The nature of the investigation is unclear, but the Daily Wire published its findings in December, finding that a government commission connected to Colony Ridge awarded more than $16 million in taxpayer funds to a paving company connected to the developer. It revealed that.
Colony Ridge representatives did not respond to requests for comment.
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