Overview

• Filmore Brown says he was unaware of a roughly $5,000 arrears that had been sold to an investor lien trust, which then foreclosed and auctioned his three-unit home.
• Reporting indicates the overdue balance was removed from the city’s online portal after the sale to the trust, so later statements did not show the old debt.
• City officials say required notices were sent and that court papers were served to someone at the address in November 2020, a claim Brown disputes.
• Brown, who bought the house in 1996 and says he paid off his mortgage by 2019, has hired attorneys to contest the foreclosure after contractors arrived at night to gain entry.
• The Department of Finance cites recent outreach reforms as lawmakers demand an investigation, and advocates note more than 6,800 water-debt liens skew toward communities of color.