A Somerset landlord who owned and managed 17 residential rental properties across Pulaski County has agreed to pay $150,000 and give up control of his rental business to settle a federal lawsuit accusing him of sexually harassing female tenants for more than a decade. Danny Bell will pay $140,000 in damages to affected tenants and a $10,000 civil penalty to the federal government under a proposed consent order that still needs final approval from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky.
The Department of Justice announced the settlement, which resolves a lawsuit filed in April 2023 alleging Bell violated the Fair Housing Act by conditioning housing benefits on sexual favors from tenants. As reported by the Tampa Free Press, court filings state that Bell entered tenants' homes without notice or permission, made unwanted sexual advances, and threatened eviction against those who rejected him. Bell's holdings included the Somer Place Apartments and Eagle's Landing Apartments, according to the Department of Justice.
Federal prosecutors alleged the harassment stretched back more than ten years. Consent orders like this one resolve federal claims without any judicial finding or admission of liability, meaning the settlement closes the case without Bell conceding wrongdoing.
What the Settlement Requires Going Forward
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon said the case involved sexual harassment of female tenants and threats to evict those who refused Bell's advances. “The Justice Department will continue to hold landlords accountable for using their power to violate vulnerable women's rights,” Dhillon said, adding that tenants should not be forced to choose between safety and keeping a roof over their heads.
The order bars Bell from ever contacting the victims again and permanently prohibits him from directly managing residential properties. The proposed order requires Bell to hire an independent property manager and sell some properties. The settlement also mandates new operational policies and anti-discrimination training for his real estate holdings.
U.S. Attorney Jason Parman said the office will not tolerate sexual harassment in housing and will protect tenants' rights to feel safe in their homes. “Housing should never be used as a tool to exploit vulnerable people in our community,” Parman said.
Part of a Broader Crackdown Across Eastern Kentucky
The Somerset case lands amid an aggressive push by federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of Kentucky against landlord abuse. The same U.S. Attorney's Office secured an $850,000 settlement in February against two Lexington property managers, according to the Lexington Times, and a $510,000 settlement in April against another Lexington landlord over similar allegations. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the agency obtained a settlement on Aug. 25, 2021, from a Kentucky landlord and rental manager over claims of sexual harassment against female tenants.
The Somerset settlement also fits into a much larger national effort. Since the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division launched its Sexual Harassment in Housing Initiative in October 2017, the agency has filed 50 civil lawsuits nationwide and recovered nearly $16.2 million in relief for victims, per the department. The department has also reported civil lawsuits alleging a pattern or practice of sexual harassment in housing since launching its initiative. The federal lawsuit against Bell was brought under Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, known as the Fair Housing Act, which prohibits sex discrimination in housing.
Why Small Landlords Draw Federal Scrutiny
Research suggests cases like Bell's follow a pattern. A nationwide academic study in the Journal of Affordable Housing & Community Development examined 76 DOJ Fair Housing Act cases and found that 93% involved attempts to trade housing benefits or repairs for sexual favors, with most perpetrators being owner-operators of private rental properties who lacked professional management oversight.
Pulaski County's rental market may have compounded that vulnerability. U.S. Census Bureau and HUD data compiled by USAFacts show roughly 2.5% of its population, or about 1,700 low-income residents, living in federally subsidized rental housing as of 2025. The passage describes tenants facing eviction threats and the housing options available to them.
The issue extends well beyond Somerset. National fair housing enforcement statistics released by the National Fair Housing Alliance, with contributions from HUD, FHAP agencies, DOJ, and fair-housing organizations, showed housing discrimination complaints hit a record 33,007 in a single year, with sex-based discrimination complaints climbing to 2,490 nationwide. Hoodline previously reported on a similar DOJ suit against a State College landlord under the same nationwide initiative.
Tenants who believe they are experiencing sexual harassment in federally assisted or private rental housing can report it to the HUD Office of Inspector General's dedicated hotline or the DOJ Civil Rights Division, which operate a joint task force created under the 2017 initiative to investigate housing predators.
