Judge Rules Tenants at Apartment Properties Co-Owned By Jared Kushner Were Misled By Company

A Maryland judge issued a 252-page decision Thursday that tenants at a Baltimore-area apartment properties co-owned by Jared Kushner, former President Donald Trump's son-in-law, were misled by Westminster Management and the company JK2 about the conditions of the apartments and were often unable to see them until they moved in, the Baltimore Sun reported.

The legal filing showed Kushner and his brother, Joshua, each held 50% interest in JK2, and Westminster is the successor of JK2. Administrative Law Judge Emily Daneker found that the company also violated consumer protection laws by unjustly collecting debts and charging tenants with improper fees.

"Kushner respects the thoughtful depth of the Judge's decision, which vindicates Westminster with respect to many of the Attorney General's overreaching allegations," the Kushner Company's general counsel, Christopher W. Smith, told the Baltimore Sun.

Maryland Democratic Attorney General Brian Frosh sued Westminster and 25 companies associated with it in 2019 under allegations that consumers in Maryland were financially being taken advantage of.

Westminster said that Frosh's allegations were politically motivated, but Daneker did not agree.

Responses to Daneker's ruling from both sides have up to 30 days to be filed, the Associated Press reported.

For more reporting from the Associated Press, see below.

Daneker said in her decision that violations by Westminster Management and the company JK2 were "widespread and numerous," the Baltimore Sun reported.

Daneker found that Westminster charged illegal fees thousands of times over the course of more than two years, such as wrongly charging more than $332,000 in agent fees.

"These circumstances do not support a finding that this was the result of isolated or inadvertent mistakes," the judge wrote.

The judge also concluded that Frosh's office did not establish that the companies illegally misrepresented their ability to provide maintenance services and were not violating consumer protection laws during the entire period alleged by the attorney general.

The Kushner Cos., which owns Westminster, characterized the judge's decision as a victory for the company.

Frosh's office declined to comment on the ruling, citing the ongoing litigation.

Most of the properties involved in the case are in Baltimore County, but some are in Baltimore City and Prince George's County.