Attorney General Ellison sues landlords for defrauding State, charging tenants illegal fees

Monarch Investment and Management Group, LLC and related companies received over $259K from State to protect Minnesota tenants from eviction during COVID-19 pandemic, then filed 44 eviction actions against tenants

AG’s investigation also revealed defendants charged tenants numerous illegal, deceptive, and excessive fees

August 14, 2025 (SAINT PAUL) — Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison today filed a complaint against landlord and property-management company Monarch Investment and Management Group, LLC and 17 of its affiliated companies that own and operate more than a dozen rental properties in Minnesota, primarily in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metro area and Rochester. In the complaint, Attorney General Ellison alleges that the defendants violated the Minnesota False Claims Act by submitting $259,000 worth of false and fraudulent claims to the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency in connection with the RentHelpMN program between 2021 and 2022. Attorney General Ellison is seeking treble damages under the Minnesota False Claims Act, meaning three times the $259,000 that the defendants collected through their fraudulent claims, as well as civil penalties, costs, and fees.

“It’s reprehensible that Monarch Investments and related companies profiteered during the COVID-19 pandemic on the backs of vulnerable tenants,” Attorney General Ellison said. “They broke their promise to the people of Minnesota, harmed the people they tried to evict, and defrauded the State of Minnesota. On top of that, they also charged tenants fees that were excessive, deceptive, and downright illegal. I’m taking them to court to hold them accountable for this rampant illegality — and let this complaint be a warning to any landlord or property manager who thinks of doing something similar that we will hold them accountable, too.”

RentHelpMN was created during the COVID-19 pandemic to prevent evictions by paying rent and utility expenses for families struggling financially: it was administered by the Minnesota Housing Finance Authority and provided $428 million in assistance to 58,600 households across Minnesota during the course of the program. 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.

As Attorney General Ellison alleges in the complaint, however, the defendants repeatedly submitted claims to the State of Minnesota falsely certifying that they would not (1) file an eviction within 30 days of receiving a RentHelpMN payment or (2) file eviction for non-payment of rent for a time period covered by RentHelpMN, while knowingly filing such eviction actions against tenants in violation of the RentHelpMN certification. In exchange for these certifications, the defendant companies received $259,000 in RentHelpMN funds that were meant to prevent evictions of struggling Minnesotans during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Despite these certifications, the Attorney General’s Office identified at least a dozen times that the defendants sought to evict tenants within 30 days of receiving corresponding RentHelpMN payments — in direct violation of their certification to the State. The Attorney General’s Office has also identified dozens of other instances in which the defendants sought to evict tenants for non-payment of rent when they had in fact already received payment from RentHelpMN for those months— once again, in violation of their certifications. As a result of these false certifications identified to date, the State of Minnesota paid the defendants over $259,000 in RentHelpMN funds that it otherwise would not have paid.  

In addition to defrauding the State, Attorney General Ellison also alleges that Monarch Investments and its related companies charged Minnesota tenants numerous illegal, deceptive, confusing, and excessive fees in violation of Minnesota’s consumer protection laws. These fees were:

1. Eviction-related fees, often several hundred dollars, related to defendants’ filing unlawful eviction actions against tenants for whom defendants had already received RentHelpMN payments;
2. Confusing and deceptive $50 monthly fees for administering billing for utility services; 
3. $25 garage late fees which were never disclosed in Defendants’ leases;
4. Confusing and excessive renter’s insurance non-compliance fees between $30 and $75 a month.

For the illegal fees, Attorney General Ellison is further seeking restitution for tenants, a court-ordered end to the illegal fees, civil penalties, and costs and fees.

Attorney General Ellison filed his complaint today as part of a lawsuit originally brought under the whistleblower provisions of the Minnesota False Claims Act by Kiona Adams and Corey Dahl, former tenants of the defendants. Under the False Claims Act, a private party can file a lawsuit on behalf of the government and receive a portion of any recovery. This lawsuit is captioned State of Minnesota ex rel. Dahl and Adams v. Monarch Investment and Management Group, LLC, et al., Court File No. 27-CV-24-3727 (Minn. 4th Dist.).

If you have concerns that your landlord is violating the law or charging you illegal fees, please file a Minnesota Tenant Report Form with the Attorney General’s Office. You may also reach the Office by calling (651) 296-3353 (Metro area) or (800) 657-3787 (Greater Minnesota).