Chicago Property Owner Loses Bid to Stop Housing Fraud Claims

Pangea Equity Partners will continue to face a whistleblower suit alleging that the company made false certifications about rent prices under a Chicago Housing Authority voucher program funded by the US government.

There are conflicts of fact in Antoni Muhawi’s False Claims Act suit as to whether Pangea’s alleged misconduct was material to government payment decisions, Judge Manish S. Shaw of the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois said in Thursday order.

Materiality looks at the effect on the behavior of the recipient of the alleged misrepresentations, the court said.

Muhawai says Pangea owned apartment buildings in ...