Matt Sepic October 25, 2021

A federal judge on Monday ordered a Minneapolis landlord to pay $750,000 to settle allegations of sexual harassment against his tenants.

Plaintiff's attorneys say property owner Reese Pfeiffer repeatedly made unwanted sexual advances toward his tenants, who are mostly single Black mothers.

In a Fair Housing Act lawsuit, Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid alleged that Pfeiffer filed eviction notices against tenants over phony charges, then told them that they could "work it out" by having sex with him.

According to the civil complaint, Pfeiffer suddenly told Shatara Brown in June 2019 that she owed him $4,000, then tried to evict her after she refused his sexual advances. Brown, who’d been homeless for a time, rented a home from Pfeiffer in Crystal, Minn., even though she had heard about his alleged harassment of female tenants.

Pfeiffer allegedly told Brown, “I know a way you can catch up on your rent, but you just won’t give in.”

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