Hannity-linked Georgia properties asked for court-ordered evictions at double statewide rate: report

A Washington Post investigation published Thursday found that properties in low-income Georgia neighborhoods linked to Fox News host Sean Hannity requested court-ordered evictions at double the statewide rate.

The newspaper reported that the property managers of the four largest apartment buildings linked to Hannity often requested the court orders less than two weeks after a tenant missed a payment.

Records reviewed by the Post found that the managers of the properties moved to evict tenants more than 230 times in 2017, with one complex alone filing 94 eviction actions. 

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Those tenants often avoided eviction by paying the rent they owed on top of late fess and other costs. And property mangers were found to repeatedly take legal action against the same tenants.

Three experts interviewed by the Post said the pattern suggested an effort to raise revenue through the threat of eviction.

The Post reported that Hannity is a part owner of Henssler Property Management, which owns the four Georgia complexes.

Hannity’s attorney Christopher Reeves, however, told the Post that the Fox News host wasn’t involved in management of the properties. He also said the evictions were appropriate.

“Mr. Hannity is not and has never been involved in the management of these properties,” the lawyer told the Post. “Evictions only occur after a material breach of the lease terms, which under Georgia law includes the failure to pay rent when due.”

Reeves also responded on behalf of the property management firms contacted by the Post, saying that they had “no further comment.”

The Guardian first reported last month that Hannity was tied to a group of shell companies that spent $90 million buying homes across the U.S with the assistance of foreclosures and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

The newspaper also reported that Hannity had purchased some homes in Georgia through a dealer who pleaded guilty to criminal charges in a scheme to fraudulently purchase foreclosed homes.

Hannity’s attorney told The Guardian at the time that the Fox News host was unaware of the dealer’s fraud charges and that he wasn’t involved in selecting the purchased properties.

Hannity defended himself after the initial reports about his ties to the properties, saying that he was “being attacked for investing my personal money in communities that badly need such investment and in which, I am sure, those attacking me have not invested their money.”

“The fact is, these are investments that I do not individually select, control or know the details about; except that obviously I believe in putting my money to work in communities that otherwise struggle to receive such support,” he said at the time.