Housing Complaint Against DTN Takes a Strange Turn

In a case of alleged housing discrimination that has dragged on for nine months, East Lansing’s City Attorney says his investigation is stalled because he can’t reach a specific person who might provide important testimony. But ELi reached that individual last night, after about five minutes of trying. When reached, she confirmed key elements of the complaint.

At Monday evening’s meeting of the East Lansing Human Rights Commission (HRC), City Attorney Anthony Chubb updated the commission on the investigation into the complaint the HRC had received about possible housing discrimination against property owner DTN Management.

The complaint, made in August of 2022, recounted that a single mother was told she was not given a lease renewal by DTN because she was receiving COVID Emergency Rental Assistance (CERA) funds to help pay rent on her East Lansing apartment. The renter, Maria Yokich-Grebner, said she was told by DTN employee Jessica Garcia that DTN was not renewing the lease of anyone who received CERA funding.

“It’s been a substantial amount of time [since the complaint was made] and it’s been frustrating from an administrative perspective,” Chubb said. But, the city attorney added, he couldn’t seem to move the case forward, in part because he couldn’t figure out how to reach Garcia.

Chubb again detailed the messages Yokich-Grebner exchanged with Garcia that led to Yokich-Grebner finding out her lease would not be renewed. In that exchange, Garcia told Yokich-Grebner, “I pushed super hard to get you renewed. However DTN is no longer renewing anyone who received CERA. I’m super sorry! Please let me know if there is anything I can do for you.”

Unable to get DTN to budge, and faced with eviction, Yokich-Grebner, with the help of her uncle, attorney and Ingham County Commissioner Mark Grebner, filed a complaint against DTN citing East Lansing Housing Ordinance 22-34. That law prohibits discrimination against individuals on the basis of their receiving financial assistance with rent.

“They never denied that the text message was from their employee,” Chubb said about DTN. “But said that, as a result, they had disciplined her [Garcia], she was frustrated and resigned.”

The investigation Chubb had been tasked by the HRC with carrying out, however, was stymied because Chubb couldn’t locate Garcia to get her side of the story, the city attorney said Monday night.

“I was trying to get into contact with Jessica Garcia,” he said, “to talk with her and to try to get a full understanding of what that text message meant, if there was more context or if there were paper documents that she may have received that explained that. I was not able to get in touch with her after the last update I provided you” in February.

Chubb said Mark Grebner, the tenant’s uncle, provided Chubb with several addresses of family members of Garcia, hoping she could corroborate his niece’s story.

“We’ve sent letters to all of them but have not received any responses,” Chubb said.

Complicating his investigation, Chubb said he went back to DTN and asked for information regarding CERA rentals at the same property, Woodbrook Village Apartments at 1705 Coolidge Road. He reported DTN’s attorney James Gromer said there were 13 other renters receiving CERA funding and each of them had their leases renewed.

Chubb said DTN cited several late rent payments as the real reason why Yokich-Grebner’s lease was not renewed.

Chubb also told the commission that, when the city requested any other renters who had faced similar trouble with DTN come forward, only one did. He said that complainant was from Meridian Township and the city lacks jurisdiction there.

Faced with what he termed a lack of evidence, Chubb said the investigation had not progressed. He recommended the HRC take no definitive action on the complaint at this time.

Several members of the HRC offered their own help with the search for Garcia, including Commissioner Jacqueline Beaupre.

Right after the meeting, using the same information that Grebner had earlier provided to Chubb, ELi reached Jessica Garcia by phone after about five minutes. Garcia confirmed she is the woman previously employed by DTN.

“I was not reprimanded,” Garcia said. “I did resign, but I was not reprimanded.”

Garcia said she gave Yokich-Grebner the exact information (concerning her lease not being renewed because of CERA funding) as she was instructed to give by DTN.

Asked if she had anything else to say about the situation, Garcia declined.

Reached for comment on this finding, Mark Grebner offered surprise that ELi contacted Garcia so quickly.

“He [Chubb] may not be a very competent investigator,” said Grebner. “I feel like paraphrasing Yogi Berra. He said something like, ‘There’s a lot of stuff that you can observe just by looking.’”

Grebner also said he hoped DTN would admit to  wrongdoings.

“I’ve been in the justice business a long time and there isn’t ultimate justice,” he said. “The wins are always partial. You never win completely. But they might be more careful in the future.”

ELi reached out to DTN for comment Monday night but did not receive an immediate response. DTN has not responded to previous requests for comments on this matter except to say they will get back to us. We will update this story if the company responds.