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DOJ sues Indian-origin landlord over harassment claims
Federal lawsuit alleges landlord sexually harassed a tenant and retaliated after she rejected his advances.
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Malvika Choudhary - Thu, 06, Aug 2026
- 16:05 EDT
- 60
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Representative Image / Canva
An Indian-origin landlord in Pennsylvania is facing a federal lawsuit alleging he sexually harassed a tenant and retaliated against her after she refused his advances.
The U.S. Department of Justice on Aug. 5 identified the landlord as Venkatachalam Mani of State College, Pennsylvania. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, seeks monetary damages for the tenant and her four children, along with a court order barring future discrimination under the Fair Housing Act.
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According to the complaint, Mani allegedly made repeated sexual advances toward the tenant and sexually assaulted her. Federal prosecutors say he later retaliated by refusing to complete required maintenance, including repairing a broken furnace, leaving the family without heat during freezing winter temperatures and ultimately forcing them to leave the home.
The case was referred to the Justice Department after the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) investigated the tenant's complaint, found reasonable cause to believe the Fair Housing Act had been violated, and issued a charge of discrimination. The tenant subsequently elected to have the matter heard in federal court.
The complaint states that the tenant and her four children moved into Mani's rental property in June 2022. Shortly afterward, Mani allegedly invited her to his home under the pretext of helping organize paperwork. Instead, the lawsuit alleges he showed her sexually explicit images, made sexually explicit comments and, after she repeatedly told him to stop, grabbed her breasts and buttocks and attempted to kiss her.
After the tenant rejected his advances, Mani allegedly began showing up at the rental property uninvited and ignored repeated requests to address maintenance issues. Despite repeated requests from the tenant and her husband to repair the furnace and arrange heating oil deliveries, prosecutors allege he failed to do so.
The lawsuit alleges the furnace later caught fire, leaving soot throughout the home. A technician subsequently declared the property unsafe for occupancy, forcing the tenant and her children to leave in January 2023. Prosecutors say Mani neither repaired the furnace nor helped the family secure alternative housing.
"This lawsuit involves a landlord who failed to fix a tenant's furnace despite freezing temperatures because she refused his sexual advances, forcing her family to move out even though they did not have another place to live," Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division said.
"This conduct is immoral and unlawful. The Justice Department will continue to uphold the rights of female tenants to housing without the threat of sexual harassment by a landlord," Dhillon added.
U.S. Attorney Brian D. Miller for the Middle District of Pennsylvania said, "Attempts to exploit tenants for sexual favors, sexual assault, and retaliation by landlords will never be tolerated in the Middle District of Pennsylvania."
The complaint notes that Mani later pleaded nolo contendere to indecent assault and harassment charges stemming from the incident. In June 2024, he was sentenced to two years of probation, ordered to have no contact with the tenant and her family, and required to remain at least 1,000 feet away from them.
The Justice Department said the lawsuit is part of its Sexual Harassment in Housing Initiative, launched in 2017 to combat sexual harassment by landlords and others who control access to housing. Since the initiative began, the department has filed 53 lawsuits alleging sexual harassment in housing and recovered approximately $19 million for victims.
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