Indiana Attorney General sues ex-Merrillville landlords, NY real estate financiers

INDIANAPOLIS — Attorney General Todd Rokita and his team filed a lawsuit on Friday against a New York real estate financier that formerly owned apartments in Merrillville for bringing properties into a state that allegedly forced tenants out of their homes.

According to the lawsuit, properties under ROCO Chetrit Entities LLC, the ex-landlords of Merrillville’s Hickory Ridge Apartments, were brought into disarray. Reportedly, the NY-based financier failed to fund necessary maintenance and repairs from 2019 to 2023 at these Merrillville apartments.

Because of this, there were multiple floods, sewage backups into occupied units and unsafe and illegal fire code violations. The lawsuit argues that this led to multiple displacements, a forced evacuation in June 2023 and conditions that left elderly and vulnerable tenants at risk.

“Tenant abuse is unacceptable, and my office fights hard to hold landlords accountable — particularly greedy, out-of-state actors who clearly don’t respect the rent being paid by hardworking Hoosiers,” Attorney General Rokita said. “No one who is spending their money for a place to live should be disregarded or disrespected like these elderly and vulnerable tenants in Merrillville.”

Additionally, Rokita said that the Chetrit Group defaulted on nearly half a billion dollars in a loan that financed several multifamily properties across the US. This includes an array of Indiana properties, which contain almost 1,500 units.

If any Hoosiers believe they have information about scams or scam attempts, they are encouraged to contact the Office of the Indiana Attorney General. Consumers can file a complaint by visiting indianaconsumer.com or calling 1-800-382-5516.

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