Millennia Housing Management Lawsuit: Debarment, $97.5M Foreclosures

Millennia Housing Management, the Cleveland-based operator of more than 200 multifamily properties, is tangled in a Millennia Housing Management lawsuit docket that now spans federal debarment proceedings, a $5 billion class action over a deadly Arkansas apartment explosion, three downtown Cleveland foreclosures totaling $97.5 million, and a federal criminal investigation of founder Frank Sinito. HUD barred Sinito and the company from federal contracts through December 2028 after finding nearly $4.9 million had been improperly moved out of subsidized housing accounts, and by mid-2025 Sinito had stepped down as CEO.

The HUD Debarment and the Missing $4.9 Million

In December 2023, HUD proposed to debar Sinito and Millennia Housing Management for five years and suspended them from federal procurement and nonprocurement transactions.¹ HUD accused Sinito’s companies of making 115 unauthorized distributions from HUD-insured properties, at least 75 of them routed into Sinito’s personal bank account.² In total, the agency identified nearly $4.9 million in missing or improperly moved funds across 19 HUD-insured or subsidized properties, including underfunded tenant security deposit accounts.³

Millennia and Sinito received several extensions to settle or request a hearing. They did neither by the March 11, 2024 deadline, waiving their right to contest. Two days later, HUD finalized the debarment, which runs through December 13, 2028.¹

A separate HUD civil penalty proceeding consolidated sixteen complaints into one case. On May 22, 2025, the administrative tribunal ruled on summary judgment, finding the record on the unauthorized transfers undisputed and confirming that 115 of 119 alleged violations had occurred, involving more than $3.1 million diverted from HUD-insured multifamily housing accounts. The tribunal rejected Millennia’s constitutional challenges but has not yet set a final penalty.⁴

Millennia’s Countersuit Against HUD

In November 2024, Millennia and its affiliates sued HUD in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, arguing the agency’s administrative process violated Article II, Article III, and the Seventh Amendment by denying them a jury trial.⁵

On April 28, 2025, Judge Dan Aaron Polster granted summary judgment for the government on every claim and denied Millennia’s requests for injunctive and declaratory relief. The company appealed to the Sixth Circuit (Case No. 25-3373), which on May 30, 2025 denied an emergency motion for an injunction pending appeal. The appeal was still awaiting an oral argument date in late 2025.⁵

The $5 Billion Arkansas Class Action

On October 4, 2023, an explosion and fire at the Millennia-owned Shorter College Garden Apartments in North Little Rock, Arkansas, killed three residents. Tenants said they had reported smelling gas before the blast; the company said it had received no such complaints.⁶

A class action seeking $5 billion in damages was filed on behalf of residents, with attorney Terris C. Harris of The Cochran Firm announcing the suit at a September 7, 2023 press conference. The complaint alleges Millennia knowingly rented units in unsafe conditions.⁷ Millennia called the suit “frivolous” and said the claim that every project was subpar and every resident had suffered damages was “simply not believable.”⁸

Tenant Conditions and Property-Level Actions

The federal enforcement followed years of documented habitability failures across the portfolio. Advocacy groups and HUD inspection records catalogued gas leaks, mold, bed bugs, rodent infestations, broken elevators, sewage backups, and prolonged failures of heating, air conditioning, and hot water at Millennia buildings in Memphis, Atlanta, Kansas City, Galveston, New Orleans, and South Florida.⁹

Several properties became their own legal flashpoints:

Forest Cove Apartments in Atlanta was condemned by a municipal judge in December 2021 after hundreds of code violations, triggering relocation of more than 800 residents in a federal effort of roughly $9 million. The City of Atlanta alleges Millennia owes at least $10 million in relocation costs, which Millennia disputes as a “blatantly self-serving fabrication.” As of April 2025, the city had not yet filed the class action Mayor Andre Dickens announced in October 2023.¹⁰¹¹
Serenity Towers in Memphis, a high-rise for elderly and disabled residents, was declared a “chronic nuisance” by the Shelby County Environmental Court in October 2024 after years of malfunctioning elevators, HVAC failures, bed bug infestations, and more than 2,000 police calls. Memphis took over management through the Memphis Housing Authority in December 2024 and relocated 145 residents. The city estimated it spent about $893,000 on emergency repairs.¹²¹³¹⁴
Sandpiper Cove in Galveston drew a 2019 HUD Notice of Default citing sewer backups, damaged roofs, and inoperative smoke detectors.⁹
Cordoba Courts in Opa-Locka, Florida drew 41 health and safety violations in a 2018 inspection; by 2020 the city had issued 89 warnings and fined Millennia $200,000.⁹

When properties lost their HUD contracts, tenants also lost subsidized housing. HUD provided emergency vouchers and moving assistance, with the agency estimating about four months to relocate each property.¹⁵

Three Cleveland Foreclosures Totaling $97.5 Million

While the federal case advanced, Millennia’s downtown Cleveland commercial holdings came apart. Three foreclosure lawsuits totaling $97.5 million in defaulted debt have been filed against Millennia affiliates:¹⁶

Deutsche Bank filed a federal foreclosure action against The Centennial Building at 925 Euclid Avenue over a $35.4 million loan, with $33.4 million in unpaid principal. In January 2026, U.S. District Judge Charles Fleming appointed John K. Lane of Inglewood Associates as receiver over the nearly 1.4-million-square-foot vacant building. By March 2026, the receiver had hired Gordon Brothers Group to sell it.¹⁷¹⁸¹⁹
Union Labor Life Insurance Company filed a foreclosure suit in September 2025 against The Statler at 1127 Euclid Avenue over a $52 million mortgage, with $60.7 million owed including interest and fees. The building contains 295 apartments.²⁰
The Ohio Water Development Authority filed a November 2025 foreclosure suit against 75 Public Square over a 2020 loan that Millennia stopped paying in July 2023. More than $3.4 million is owed, and the suit names Frank Sinito and his wife, Malisse Sinito, personally as guarantors.²¹

The Federal Criminal Investigation

In October 2024, federal agents executed a search warrant at Sinito’s home in Waite Hill, Ohio. The search was initiated by HUD’s Office of Inspector General and appeared tied to the alleged misconduct at the 19 federally subsidized properties.³ No arrests were made and no charges have been filed. A spokesperson for Sinito’s legal counsel said Sinito and Millennia were cooperating.²² Separately, Tennessee State Representative G.A. Hardaway called for the Shelby County District Attorney, the Tennessee Attorney General, and HUD’s Inspector General to open a criminal investigation into the treatment of Serenity Towers residents, though no formal investigation from those offices has been publicly confirmed.¹³

Where Things Stand

On June 18, 2025, Sinito stepped down as CEO, saying he wanted to focus on “other diversified business ventures.” He remains the owner of the company and its portfolio.²³ Company officials denied the move was connected to the legal troubles, though it came months after the federal raid on his home.⁶ A March 2026 report noted that while conditions crumbled at Serenity Towers, Sinito had purchased an 8,000-square-foot oceanfront estate in Sailfish Point, Florida for $6.9 million in March 2021.¹⁴

The debarment runs through December 2028. The Sixth Circuit appeal is pending. The HUD civil penalty amount has not yet been set. All three Cleveland foreclosures remain active, with the Centennial being marketed for sale by its court-appointed receiver and Millennia contesting the receivership on appeal.¹⁸

1
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Notice of Final Determination, Sinito and Millennia Housing Management
2
The United States Constitution. Millennia Housing Management v. Department of Housing and Urban Development
3
News 5 Cleveland. Federal Agents Search the Home of Frank Sinito, CEO of Cleveland-Based Millennia
4
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Order on Motions for Summary Judgment
5
PACER Monitor. Millennia Housing Management, Ltd. et al v. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development et al
6
NEO Trans. Sinito Walks Away From Running Millennia
7
Arkansas Online. NLR Residents Sue Apartment Owner for $5 Billion
8
WREG. Problems at Millennia Properties Extend Beyond Memphis
9
American Friends Service Committee. HUD Millennia Letter
10
Atlanta News First. Mayor Dickens Discusses Ongoing Issues at Forest Cove Apartments
11
Civic Atlanta. No Forest Cove Class Action Lawsuit Yet
12
Action News 5. City of Memphis Files Petition To Declare Serenity Towers Chronic Nuisance
13
Action News 5. City of Memphis Takes Over Serenity Towers
14
WREG. Ex-Millennia CEO Bought $6.9M Florida Mansion as Conditions Crumbled at Serenity
15
The Journal Record. Residents Forced to Leave After End of Section 8 Housing
16
The Fostoria Free Press. The Crash and Burn of Millennia Housing Management: $97.5 Million in Debt
17
Cleveland.com. Another Millennia Property Faces Foreclosure as the Centennial Building’s $35M Loan Goes Unpaid
18
News 5 Cleveland. Court Puts Receiver in Charge of the Massive Centennial Project in Downtown Cleveland
19
NEO Trans. 925 Euclid Heads to Sale Offering
20
Cleveland.com. Downtown Cleveland’s Statler Building Faces Foreclosure After $52M Default
21
Cleveland.com. Millennia Faces Third Foreclosure Lawsuit Over Downtown Cleveland Building
22
Newsday. Affordable Housing Raid Cleveland
23
Yahoo Finance. Millennia Housing Management Announces Leadership Changes