LEXINGTON, Ky. — Two Lexington property managers who federal prosecutors say sexually harassed female tenants for more than two decades will pay $850,000 and are permanently barred from managing rental properties or having any contact with tenants under a sweeping settlement agreement filed in federal court this week.
The U.S. Department of Justice announced Wednesday that Adnan Shalash and Mohammed Shalash, along with 17 co-defendants including family members and limited liability companies, agreed to resolve the Fair Housing Act lawsuit without admitting wrongdoing. The settlement, signed by all parties and filed Feb. 17 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky, is among the largest the department has secured under its Sexual Harassment in Housing Initiative.
The agreement requires the defendants to pay $845,000 into a fund to compensate women the government has identified as victims of the alleged harassment, plus a $5,000 civil penalty to the U.S. Treasury.
“The harm caused by decades of the defendants’ alleged sexual harassment, which often targeted female tenants perceived as vulnerable because of their need for housing, is difficult to quantify,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul C. McCaffrey for the Eastern District of Kentucky. “This settlement provides some measure of justice for those victims, and aims to eliminate future harassment perpetrated by these defendants against their tenants.”
Allegations span two decades
The Justice Department’s lawsuit, originally filed in November 2024 and amended in June 2025, painted a disturbing picture of abuse at residential rental properties scattered across Lexington. According to the government’s complaint, Adnan and Mohammed Shalash used their positions as property managers to exploit female tenants over a period spanning at least 20 years.
The alleged conduct included making sexually explicit comments to female tenants, propositioning them for sexual favors in exchange for reduced rent, entering their homes without consent, and subjecting them to unwelcome touching. Prosecutors also alleged the men retaliated against women who refused their advances or complained about the behavior — including by terminating their leases and evicting them.
Both Adnan and Mohammed Shalash deny the allegations, according to the settlement agreement.
The case originated from a joint investigation by the Justice Department and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Inspector General.
The Kentucky Fair Housing Council said it had received complaints about the Shalash properties as far back as 2016 and worked with the Justice Department to gather evidence. Arthur Crosby, the council’s executive director, said at the time the suit was filed that the problem of landlord sexual harassment was more widespread than many people realized.
19 defendants, including family members and LLCs
The settlement names 19 defendants in total. Beyond Adnan and Mohammed Shalash, the agreement covers Abla Shalash, Fox Den Properties LLC, Griffith Market Inc., Eitaf Alia Shalash, Ghassan Shalash, Happy Tenants LLC, Amna Shalash, Elham Shalash, Haneen Shalash, Samia Abdel Jaber, Issa Shalash, Alia Properties LLC, K & H Enterprises of Lexington LLC, Mariam Shalash, Ibrahim Suleiman, Mohamad Mouchli and Mazin Hawazli.
Prosecutors alleged these additional defendants — many of them family members — are liable as property owners because the harassment occurred while Adnan and Mohammed Shalash were acting as their agents. Each of the owner defendants denied any knowledge of or liability for the alleged conduct.
Signatures on the settlement agreement show defendants spread across Lexington addresses, with some in Nicholasville and one as far away as Westlake, Ohio.
Extraordinary restrictions imposed
The settlement imposes some of the most restrictive terms seen in a Fair Housing Act case. Under the agreement:
Adnan and Mohammed Shalash are permanently banned from managing any residential rental property. They may not show apartments, process applications, collect rent, communicate with tenants, handle maintenance requests, or carry out eviction proceedings.
Both men are permanently prohibited from coming within 50 feet of any occupied rental property they own — including dwelling units, common areas, yards, parking lots, garages and leasing offices.
They are permanently barred from any contact with individuals the government has identified as victims or witnesses, as well as those individuals’ family members. Even inadvertent contact must be reported to the Justice Department within 48 hours.
The defendants are also permanently prohibited from disclosing the names of any person the government has identified as harmed.
Independent management required
Under the five-year agreement, Fox Den Properties LLC, Adnan Shalash and Mohammed Shalash must hire independent property managers — approved by the United States — to handle all day-to-day management of any rental properties they continue to own.
The independent managers must have no current or past employment, financial, contractual, personal or familial relationship with either Adnan or Mohammed Shalash.
According to a detailed appendix attached to the settlement, the independent managers will be responsible for all tenant-facing operations: showing and advertising units, processing rental applications, performing repairs, collecting rent, determining eligibility for fee waivers, entering or inspecting units, handling evictions and managing post-tenancy matters such as security deposit returns and references.
The owners retain only limited authority — setting general rent amounts, establishing qualification standards for prospective tenants, and setting broad eviction and move-out policies.
Training, reporting and oversight
The agreement mandates live Fair Housing Act training, with an emphasis on sexual harassment, for all independent managers and any employees involved in managing the properties. New employees must complete online training within 30 days and attend live training within a year.
The defendants must also implement a nondiscrimination policy and complaint procedure approved by the Justice Department, distribute it to all tenants, and attach it to every new lease.
Every six months, defendants are required to submit detailed compliance reports to the government, including tenant lists with contact information, copies of all rental applications and leases, copies of advertisements, photographs of required Equal Housing Opportunity signs, and sworn statements verifying compliance.
Any complaints of discrimination or harassment must be reported to the Justice Department within 10 days.
The agreement also prohibits the defendants from raising rents or fees to offset the costs of the settlement.
Compensation process
The $845,000 settlement fund will be distributed entirely to individuals the government determines were harmed by the alleged conduct. The Justice Department has sole authority to identify eligible victims, determine compensation amounts and distribute funds. The defendants agreed not to contest those determinations.
Checks will be mailed to the Justice Department’s Housing and Civil Enforcement Section in Washington, D.C., which will then distribute them to victims after they sign a release of claims.
The settlement classifies the compensation as a nondischargeable debt, meaning the defendants cannot eliminate the obligation through bankruptcy.
If the government determines that any eviction or tenancy-related proceeding against a victim was retaliatory, the defendants must send a letter — using a template included in the settlement — directing courts and future landlords to disregard any negative rental history associated with that tenant.
Part of a broader federal initiative
The case falls under the Justice Department’s Sexual Harassment in Housing Initiative, launched in October 2017. Since its inception, the department has filed 52 lawsuits alleging sexual harassment in housing and recovered close to $18 million for victims nationwide.
“Adnan and Mohammed Shalash exploited tenants’ fundamental need for housing to commit serious abuses of power,” said Shawn Rice, special agent in charge of HUD’s Office of Inspector General for the Northeast Region. “Today’s settlement sends a clear message: those who abuse vulnerable tenants will be held accountable.”
The agreement will remain in effect for five years. The case will be formally dismissed, but the court will retain jurisdiction to enforce the settlement terms. If the government believes any defendant has materially breached the agreement, it can move to reinstate the lawsuit and seek additional penalties, damages and attorneys’ fees.
Anyone who believes they may have been a victim of sexual harassment at properties owned or managed by the defendants, or who has information about housing discrimination, is encouraged to call the Justice Department’s Housing Discrimination Tip Line at 1-800-896-7743 or submit a report online at www.justice.gov/crt.
