An apartment management company owned by President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner is being sued by Maryland’s attorney general for using “unfair or deceptive” rental practices and committing “hundreds of thousands of violations.”
The Kushner-owned Westminster Management, which also manages 25 buildings owned by other companies in the Baltimore area, was accused by attorneys working in the Consumer Protection Division of the Attorney General’s office of having “victimized consumers, many of whom are financially vulnerable, at all stages of offering and leasing.”
Kushner Cos. CEO Laurent Morali flatly denied any wrongdoing by Westminster Management, suggesting that Attorney General Brian Frosh was targeting Kushner for political reasons. “We refuse to be extorted by an ambitious Attorney General who clearly cares more about scoring political points than fighting real crime and improving the lives of the people of Maryland,” Morali said. “We look forward to defending ourselves against these bogus allegations.”
In addition to being the husband of Ivanka Trump, the president’s eldest daughter, Kushner, 38, also serves as a senior White House adviser. He removed himself as CEO of Kushner Cos. when he took the position with his father-in-law in 2017. He has not, however, divested himself fully from Westminster Management.
The management company has been at the center of ongoing disputes over alleged violations of the Consumer Protection Act since 2017. Frosh specifically cited tenant complaints about leaks, rodent infestations, and sightings of mold in the various Westminster properties that have not been addressed by building management. Frosh, a Democrat who has served as the Maryland attorney general since 2015, rejected the idea that the lawsuit was politically motivated. “They were cheating tenants before, during and after their tenancy, and when I tell you there were hundreds of thousands of violations of the Consumer Protection Act, it just begins to convey the seriousness of the charges,” he said in a statement. “They caused serious harm and suffering to the people who lived in their units.”
The lawsuit covers 17 properties under control of Westminster Management, which house more than 9,000 units in total. Frosh acknowledged that similar lawsuits had been filed against other apartment management companies, but no others of “this magnitude.” Any decision made in the lawsuit would be subject to appeal in Maryland court. While Frosh estimated that the damage to the buildings controlled by Westminster could amount to millions of dollars, the lawsuit does not specify a monetary penalty should they be successful in their endeavor.
“It has nothing to do with the administration,” Frosh said, reaffirming his position that Kushner was not a political target. “This is purely a Maryland issue: a Maryland management company and landlords that we feel have repeatedly and consistently violated our Consumer Protection Act. It doesn’t make any difference who owns it.”
