A group of U.S. nonprofit housing advocates filed a bias complaint against Wells Fargo, accusing the nation's largest mortgage lender of failing to maintain and market foreclosed properties in black and Hispanic neighborhoods.
The National Fair Housing Alliance filed the complaint with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Bank-owned homes in white communities have been treated in a "far superior manner," the complaint alleges. Those homes were 33% more likely to be marketed with a professional "For Sale" sign than homes in black or Hispanic communities, the group said.
Wells Fargo, which services one of every six U.S. home loans, said in a statement that it conducts lending practices fairly and without regard to race. Nationwide, about 2.7 million homeowners faced foreclosure last year.
Jury selected in Hudson family deaths
Jury selection wrapped up for the Chicago trial of the man accused of killing the mother, brother and 7-year-old nephew of actress and singer Jennifer Hudson. Before the jurors were allowed to go home, Judge Charles Burns warned them not to watch American Idol this Thursday because Hudson may appear on the show, on which she first rose to fame as a contestant in 2004.
William Balfour, 30, is charged with murder for the 2008 slayings and faces a life prison sentence if convicted of murdering at least two victims.
Hudson is on a list of potential witnesses and is likely to attend the trial when it begins April 23.
Prosecutor: Bride faked terminal illness
A New York woman pretended she was dying of leukemia so she could have a lavish wedding reception and honeymoon, prosecutors said.
Jessica Vega, 25, is charged with grand larceny and scheme to defraud. Vega is accused of accepting thousands of dollars in donated services and other gifts after claiming in 2010 that she was terminally ill. She married Michael O'Connell in 2010 and the couple spent their honeymoon in Aruba. The couple later divorced. "Vega inexcusably took advantage of the community's hearts and minds, and profited off of their generosity," state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said.
Activists target D.C. voter fraud in video
The District of Columbia Board of Elections opened an investigation after an undercover video posted online showed an activist against voter fraud going into a Washington polling station and asking about the name Eric Holder, which led to the activist being offered a ballot to vote under the name of the U.S. attorney general.
The city does not require ID to vote. The elections board said it is investigating multiple incidents that occurred April 3. The investigation stems from the undercover video posted online by activist James O'Keefe's Project Veritas, whose associate didn't actually vote. The group also has made undercover videos targeting Medicaid, NPR and community organizing group ACORN.
Census chief moving on into academia
Census Bureau Director Robert Groves said he is stepping down in August to become provost of Georgetown University.
Groves has been director since 2009, leading the agency's once-a-decade count of the nation's population about $1.9 billion under its original budget of about $15 billion. He urged greater use of the Internet for future surveys. No Internet option existed in the 2010 count.
Nude maid service draws scrutiny
Police in Lubbock, Texas, say they are keeping close tabs on a young entrepreneur's recently opened cleaning service that offers nude maids.
Lubbock Police Sgt. Jonathan Stewart said the owner of Fantasy Maid Service of Lubbock doesn't have a permit to operate a sexually oriented business and officers are watching for any violation, which would bring a $2,000 fine. Customers pay $100 an hour for one maid or $150 an hour for two maids, and no touching is allowed, she said. "I run a maid service," said entrepreneur Melissa Borrett, 26. "We really just clean houses."
