A Minnesota jury finds broker Chad Banken liable in a contract-for-deed scheme targeting Muslim buyers
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison sued real estate broker Chadwick Banken and several of his companies in 2024, alleging he sold roughly 160 homes between 2019 and 2024 through contracts for deed that were marketed as interest-free to Muslim buyers while actually carrying interest, inflated prices and six-figure balloon payments designed to push buyers into default. A Hennepin County jury found Banken and his companies liable on June 22, 2026, after a two-week trial, under the Minnesota Human Rights Act and the Consumer Financial Protection Act; the court had not yet set restitution or penalties as of the most recent reporting reviewed here.
- Year
- 2026
- Where
- United States
- Outcome
- Sanctioned
- Victims
- 160
- Schemes
- Contract-for-deed scams
- Last reviewed
- 2026-10-17
The facts, as recorded
- Attorney General Keith Ellison's office sued Chadwick Banken and several of his companies in 2024 in Hennepin County District Court, following a 2022 investigation into a rise in contract-for-deed sales, particularly in Minnesota's Somali community.
- The complaint alleged Banken sold about 160 homes through contracts for deed between 2019 and 2024, using inflated prices, large down payments and six-figure balloon payments due at the end of short contracts, structured, the state alleged, to push buyers into default so the homes could be reclaimed and resold.
- The state alleged Banken marketed the contracts as interest-free, appealing to Muslim buyers who avoid interest for religious reasons, while the contracts in fact carried real interest; one contract carried a 6.5% rate when market mortgage rates were about 5.3%.
- After a roughly two-week trial that began June 8, 2026, a seven-person jury returned its verdict on June 22, 2026, finding Banken and his companies liable under the Minnesota Human Rights Act (discrimination) and, on two counts, the Consumer Financial Protection Act; related Prevention of Consumer Fraud Act and Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act counts were advisory verdicts for a judge to decide.
- Buyer Abdinoor Igal, a truck driver who bought a Lakeville home from Banken in 2022 through his trucking LLC, testified he paid about $170,000 before abandoning the home in 2023; he had signed a document releasing claims against Banken before leaving, and testified at trial, 'I did not have a choice.'
- Press accounts of the Igal contract differ on some figures: ProPublica reported a $20,000 down payment on a home originally quoted around $638,000 that later contract documents showed cost $727,000, while a separate account put the down payment at $73,000 on the same $727,000 price.
- Banken's attorney, Jack Pierce, argued at trial that buyers received the loan terms in writing, through emails, purchase agreements and a chart of pricing options, and that some real estate agents did not explain those terms clearly to their own clients; Assistant Attorney General Karthik Raman countered that 'the terms of the contract were buried in the paperwork.'
- No penalty had been set at the time of the verdict; the court was left to decide restitution and any civil fines, which the state's underlying consumer-protection statutes can set as high as $25,000 per violation plus surrender of profits. This is a civil case; Banken faces financial liability, not imprisonment.
Why this case matters
This is the first contract-for-deed case on this page decided by a jury rather than settled, and the first built explicitly around religious targeting: the state’s theory was that Banken’s “interest-free” pitch worked precisely because it spoke to a real religious conviction, not despite it.
What the state proved to the jury’s satisfaction
The state’s case turned on the gap between the pitch and the paperwork: contracts marketed as interest-free to buyers who specifically avoid interest on religious grounds, while carrying real interest rates buried in payment schedules and balloon structures few buyers could parse on their own. The jury agreed Banken and his companies were liable for discrimination and for violating the state’s consumer financial protection law.
One buyer’s account
Abdinoor Igal testified he paid roughly $170,000 toward a Lakeville home before abandoning it in 2023, after signing away his right to sue. His own words to the jury, “I did not have a choice,” are the clearest description on this page of what forfeiture actually costs a buyer who has already put years of payments into a home.
The defense
Banken’s attorney argued the terms were disclosed in writing and that buyers, and in some cases their own real estate agents, simply did not read or explain them carefully. The jury heard this argument and still found Banken liable, which is itself part of the record: disclosure existing on paper was not enough to avoid liability once the state showed how the paperwork was structured.
The caveat
This is a civil verdict, not a criminal conviction, and Banken faces financial penalties rather than prison. At the time this page was last reviewed, the court had not yet set the amount of restitution or any fine, and two of the claims against him were advisory findings for a judge still to rule on. The figures reported for the Igal transaction vary between news outlets, as noted above; this page cites each figure to the specific source that reported it rather than resolving the discrepancy itself.
Sources
- In a first-of-its-kind trial, a Minnesota jury finds a predatory home-financing scheme violated anti-discrimination and consumer-protection laws. ProPublica, with reporting from Sahan Journal. Accessed 2026-10-17. Supports: The June 22, 2026 verdict, the liability findings under the Minnesota Human Rights Act and Consumer Financial Protection Act, the advisory verdicts, the 160 homes sold, the Igal example's $20,000 down payment and $170,000 paid, and the quotes from Ellison, Raman and Iris.
- Chad Banken contract-for-deed trial coverage. Sahan Journal. Accessed 2026-10-17. Supports: The June 8, 2026 trial start date, the civil (not criminal) nature of the case, Jack Pierce's defense argument and quotes, the Igal example's $170,000 loss, his release-of-claims document and 'I did not have a choice' testimony, and witness Christopher Willette's and Hassan Salat's quotes.
- Minnesota attorney general sues real estate broker over contract-for-deed scheme targeting Muslim home buyers. Black Enterprise. Accessed 2026-10-17. Supports: The 2024 lawsuit filing against Banken and six LLCs including Slow Flip LLC, the 2022 investigation start, the Igal example's $727,000 price, $73,000 down payment and 6.5% versus 5.3% interest rate comparison, and Ellison's quotes.