What was pitched as an affordable housing lifeline for Park Heights has ended with a six-figure payout for investors who say they got burned.
Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown announced Thursday that his office has secured a $562,000 settlement to reimburse 17 investors who bought promissory notes tied to a supposed affordable-housing program in Park Heights. According to a consent order, Otis H. Jackson and his companies, Social Solutions LLC and SITO Capital LLC, offered unregistered securities between 2019 and 2024 and raised money by promising guaranteed returns tied to neighborhood redevelopment.
Prosecutors allege that instead of renovating properties, Jackson steered investor money into company accounts and personal expenses. The consent order describes a pattern in which funds earmarked for affordable housing were diverted away from the project and used for other purposes.
In a press release, the Maryland Attorney General's Office said the $562,000 will be distributed to the 17 investors as restitution and noted that Jackson “neither admitted nor denied” the facts in the consent order. The Attorney General's Office quoted Brown as saying, “Marylanders deserve to invest with confidence, free from fraud and deception.” The release identifies the office’s Securities Division as the unit that investigated the matter.
As reported by FOX45 Baltimore, Jackson executed promissory notes that guaranteed repayment and high rates of return, then deposited investor funds into accounts for Social Solutions and SITO Capital rather than using them for the Park Heights project. FOX45 reported that investor money went toward mortgage payments, dining, transportation, and large transfers to personal accounts, and that at least one property Jackson claimed to own had already been sold at auction after unpaid taxes. Those details track with the conduct described in the consent order.
Order Bars Jackson From Securities Business
Under the consent order, Jackson, Social Solutions, and SITO Capital are barred from engaging in the securities and investment advisory business in Maryland. They must also pay the $562,000 civil penalty, which the Attorney General's Office says will be distributed as restitution to investors. The order covers alleged unregistered offers and sales of securities between 2019 and 2024 and says Jackson did not disclose the risks to investors or the liens and debts on properties he promoted.
Investors who believe they may have been affected can contact the Maryland Securities Division at 410-576-6300 or submit complaints through the Attorney General’s website. Community groups and would-be local partners are urged to treat pitches for neighborhood development like any other business deal: ask for registration documents, proof of title, and independent verification of lenders and nonprofit partnerships before putting money on the table.
