The Justice Department has announced that the owners and property managers of residential rental properties in Lexington, Kentucky, have agreed to pay $850,000 to resolve a lawsuit alleging that two property managers sexually harassed female tenants in violation of the Fair Housing Act.
The Department’s lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky in November 2024 and amended in June 2025, alleges that for decades, property managers Adnan and Mohammed Shalash sexually harassed female tenants at various rental dwellings throughout Lexington, Kentucky.
The suit alleged Adnan and Mohammed Shalash offered housing-related benefits in exchange for sexual contact, made unwelcome sexual comments and advances to female tenants, entered the homes of female tenants without their permission, subjected female tenants to unwelcome touching and groping and took adverse housing-related actions against female tenants who refused their sexual advances.
The department’s lawsuit also named as defendants 17 owners of rental properties managed by Adnan and Mohammed Shalash, including Fox Den Properties LLC and Griffith Market Inc.
The lawsuit alleged that these defendants are vicariously liable for the sexual harassment committed by their agents, Adnan and Mohommed Shalash.
“Women should never feel unsafe in their own homes,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department is committed to vigorously protecting the rights of vulnerable tenants subjected to sexual harassment and holding housing providers and managers accountable when they violate the law.”
“The harm caused by decades of the defendants’ alleged sexual harassment, which often targeted female tenants perceived as vulnerable because of their need for housing, is difficult to quantify,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul C. McCaffrey for the Eastern District of Kentucky. “This settlement provides some measure of justice for those victims, and aims to eliminate future harassment perpetrated by these defendants against their tenants.”
“Adnan and Mohommed Shalash exploited tenants’ fundamental need for housing to commit serious abuses of power. Today’s settlement sends a clear message: those who abuse vulnerable tenants will be held accountable,” said Special Agent in Charge Shawn Rice of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General (OIG), Northeast Region. “HUD OIG will not tolerate property managers or anyone in positions of authority using housing as leverage to engage in sexual harassment or abuse and will continue to work with the U.S. Attorney’s Office to hold housing providers accountable for these actions.”
