Owner of manufactured home community to pay $135,000 to settle False Claims Act and other state law violations

Sun Communities sought to evict tenants after promising not to in order to receive RentHelp funds

June 12, 2025 (SAINT PAUL) — Today, Attorney General Keith Ellison announced that Sun Communities, Inc., the former owner and operator of a manufactured home park community located in Stewartville, Minnesota, has agreed to pay $135,000 to resolve allegations that it violated the Minnesota False Claims Act by submitting false and fraudulent claims to the Minnesota Housing and Finance Agency (“MHFA”) in connection with the RentHelpMN program between 2021 and 2022. As part of the settlement, Sun Communities has also agreed to permanent injunctive terms requiring Sun to provide its residents with a 30-day notice prior to filing any eviction action.

RentHelpMN was created during the COVID-19 pandemic to prevent evictions by paying rent and utility expenses for families struggling financially. In order to receive RentHelp payments, property owners were required to certify that they would not evict tenants for nonpayment of rent during the time period covered by the RentHelp payments they received. Property owners were also required to certify that they would not start any new eviction process against a tenant within 30 days of receiving a RentHelp payment on behalf of that tenant.

The State of Minnesota alleges that, in several instances, Sun Communities sought to evict tenants for non-payment when Sun Communities had in fact received payment from RentHelp for those very same months—in violation of Sun Communities’ certifications to the State. In other instances, Sun Communities sought to evict tenants within 30 days of receiving RentHelp payments—once again, in direct violation of Sun Communities’ certifications. As a result of these false certifications, the State of Minnesota alleged that MHFA paid Sun Communities RentHelp funds that it otherwise would not have paid. As part of the resolution of this matter, Sun Communities agreed to permanent injunctive terms which, among other things, require Sun Communities to provide its residents with a 30-day notice prior to filing any eviction action.   In addition, the State alleges that prior to a policy change in 2023, Sun Communities charged excessive pet and late fees in violation of Minnesota law.

“What Sun Communities did was unlawful,” Attorney General Ellison said. “The pandemic created economic hardship, so the government stepped up and helped struggling families make rent payments. It is disappointing that any property owner would accept those payments and then still try to evict their tenants. Today, we are holding one of those property owners accountable. I am grateful to the whistleblower who helped bring this wrongdoing to light, and I encourage other Minnesotans who believe government funds are being misused to contact my office.”

The allegations were brought under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act by Jodi Pugh, a resident and owner of a manufactured home in the manufactured home community, owned and operated by Sun Communities.  Under the False Claims Act, a private party can file a lawsuit on behalf of the government and receive a portion of any recovery.  The qui tam case is captioned State of Minnesota ex rel. Pugh v. Sun Communities, Inc., Court File No. 27-CV-24-3694 (Minn. 4th Dist.).

The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office and the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency.

If you have concerns about the misuse of government funding, please file a complaint with the Attorney General’s Office via its online complaint form. The Office can also be contacted at (651) 296-3353 from within the Twin Cities or (800) 657-3787 from Greater Minnesota.