Arkansas attorney general details landlord fraud, tenant harms at Big Country Chateau

Amanda Wentz, senior assistant attorney general in Arkansas, told a House Financial Services subcommittee that the state’s consumer protection office pursued litigation over Big Country Chateau after joint inspections in July 2022 found widespread code violations and the property’s owners failed to pay central utility bills that were bundled into tenant rent.

Wentz said the inspection uncovered about 1,000 code violations and that at the time the owners owed approximately $71,000 for electric service and about $223,000 for water service. The owners had accepted Housing Choice Vouchers tied to vulnerable tenants but allegedly diverted rent and other funds rather than maintaining the property, she said. The state sued under the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act; after the defendants failed to comply with court orders, the court struck their joint answer and entered default judgment, and a receiver was appointed to protect residents and wind down operations.

Wentz said the complex was later sold under foreclosure and is no longer owned or operated by the entities that previously ran it. She testified the owner of Apex Equity Group was convicted and imprisoned on mortgage-fraud charges connected to the purchase of Big Country Chateau and other properties. The AG’s office coordinated with the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) and other stakeholders to arrange a receivership and relocation assistance; she described a city-run two-day event that helped some tenants access relocation resources but noted many residents still faced barriers to rehousing, including depleted voucher resources after a recent tornado.

Wentz urged stronger enforcement tools and better communication between PHAs, HUD and local code and enforcement agencies to identify problematic owners earlier. Committee members pressed witnesses about whether HUD’s local field office had been engaged on the matter; Wentz said her office coordinated with HUD but she was not aware of specific enforcement steps HUD had taken prior to foreclosure.

Provenance: testimony appears starting SEG 586 (introduction) and the Big Country Chateau account runs through about SEG 731 (end of attorney general testimony).