Warren Buffett's company part of historic deal after claims of racist jokes and redlining
Trident Mortgage, a mortgage company that billionaire Warren Buffett's company owns, was recently the target of a Department of Justice probe into claims of redlining that ended in what officials are calling the second-largest redlining settlement in the Justice Department’s history. It is the first such agreement the Justice Department has secured with a mortgage company, officials said in a news release on Wednesday. Trident Mortgage is a branch of Berkshire Hathaway’s HomeServices of America.
Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke said the Justice Department’s complaint alleges the company’s offices were concentrated in majority-white communities, and loan officers were not directed to serve communities of color. “The complaint also alleges that Trident employees exchanged emails where they referred to neighborhoods of color as ‘ghetto’ and made racists jokes,” Clarke said. “There’s even a photo of a senior Trident manager posing in front of a Confederate flag.”
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