Frank Sinito, the Cleveland real estate developer who built The Millennia Companies into one of the largest affordable housing operators in the country, has been banned from federal contracts through December 2028, had his Waite Hill home searched by federal agents, and is watching three of his signature downtown Cleveland properties move through foreclosure. He stepped down as CEO of Millennia Housing Management in June 2025 but still owns the company and its real estate portfolio.
Who Frank Sinito Is
Sinito is a Cleveland native and Cleveland State University graduate who entered real estate in 1985 with a 14-unit subsidized housing property in Lakewood, Ohio.1La Gazzetta Italiana. Frank Sinito’s Heritage and Family Life Propel Mission of The Millennia Companies He founded Millennia Housing Management in 1995 and grew it into a portfolio of more than 200 multifamily properties across more than 20 states, with over 30,000 units.2National Housing Law Project. Millennia Affordable Housing Finance ranked Millennia the fourth-largest affordable housing owner in the country in 2022.3The Millennia Companies. The Millennia Companies
In August 2017, Sinito closed a $267 million purchase of Cleveland’s 57-story Key Tower and the attached 400-room Marriott Cleveland Downtown, making him one of the city’s most prominent commercial landlords.4Crain’s Cleveland Business. Frank Sinito Has Sky-High Hopes for Real Estate Portfolio
The HUD Ban and Missing Federal Funds
On December 14, 2023, HUD notified Sinito and Millennia Housing Management of proposed debarment, alleging mismanagement of tenant security deposits and taxpayer funds along with failure to properly maintain properties. HUD identified nearly $4.9 million as “missing or improperly taken” from 19 HUD-insured or HUD-subsidized properties.5News 5 Cleveland. Federal Agents Search the Home of Frank Sinito, CEO of Cleveland-Based Millennia
Sinito and Millennia let the March 11, 2024, deadline pass without executing a settlement or requesting a hearing, waiving their right to contest.6U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Notice of Final Determination HUD finalized a five-year ban running through December 13, 2028, that bars both Sinito personally and Millennia from procurement and nonprocurement transactions with HUD and across the entire executive branch. The ban cuts off any new Section 8 rental-voucher contracts, though HUD said it would keep paying rent subsidies for existing Section 8 tenants.7Atlanta Civic Circle. HUD Bans Forest Cove Owner Millennia From Government Contracts
HUD also pursued civil money penalties in a separate administrative case. In an April 2026 initial decision, a HUD administrative judge found that Millennia made 116 unauthorized transfers of project funds totaling $3,111,525 across sixteen HUD-insured multifamily projects, none of which had the written approval of the HUD Secretary that the rules require. The judge determined that Sinito personally initiated, directed, caused, or approved 110 of those transfers. HUD sought roughly $6.8 million in penalties; Millennia argued for about $311,000.8U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Initial Decision and Order, Docket Nos. 24-JM-0150-CM-005 et al. HUD’s earlier investigation had also flagged that at least 75 of the flagged distributions went into Sinito’s personal bank account.9Constitutional Accountability Center. Millennia Housing Management v. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Millennia sued HUD in the Northern District of Ohio, arguing the administrative penalty process violated its Seventh Amendment right to a jury trial. U.S. District Judge Dan Aaron Polster dismissed the case on April 28, 2025, and on May 30, 2025, the Sixth Circuit denied Millennia’s emergency motion for an injunction pending appeal.10Cleveland.com. Federal Judge Tosses Millennia Housing’s Lawsuit Against HUD Over Penalties
The Federal Raid and Criminal Investigation
Just before 7:00 a.m. on October 23, 2024, agents from HUD and the U.S. Department of Agriculture executed a federal search warrant at Sinito’s home in Waite Hill, Ohio. Television footage showed agents removing boxes.5News 5 Cleveland. Federal Agents Search the Home of Frank Sinito, CEO of Cleveland-Based Millennia USDA’s presence suggested the inquiry reached beyond HUD-insured properties into USDA Rural Development financing, though the specific properties involved have not been made public.
Sinito’s attorney, Marisa Darden of Benesch Friedlander Coplan & Aronoff, said in a statement that “an investigation is just that. There have been no arrests and no charges filed,” and that Sinito and Millennia were cooperating.11WKYC. Federal Investigators Raid House of Frank Sinito, CEO of Cleveland Millennia Companies As of mid-2026, investigators are reportedly examining criminal allegations tied to the $4.9 million in missing or misappropriated funds. No criminal charges have been filed.10Cleveland.com. Federal Judge Tosses Millennia Housing’s Lawsuit Against HUD Over Penalties
Foreclosures on the Cleveland Portfolio
Three of Millennia’s downtown Cleveland properties are in foreclosure.
The Centennial at 925 Euclid Avenue. The historic Union Trust Building, a 1.45-million-square-foot complex Millennia planned to convert into 870 workforce apartments and mixed-use space, sits vacant with roof leaks, mold, and heating failures. Deutsche Bank filed a federal foreclosure action in October 2025 over a $35.4 million loan with $33.4 million still owed.12Cleveland.com. Another Millennia Property Faces Foreclosure as The Centennial Building’s Loan Goes Unpaid In January 2026, U.S. District Court Judge Charles E. Fleming appointed John K. Lane of Inglewood Associates as receiver over the company’s objection.13News 5 Cleveland. Court Puts Receiver in Charge of the Massive Centennial Project in Downtown Cleveland Lane hired Boston-based Gordon Brothers Group to sell the property, which had previously secured about $70 million in public incentives including Ohio tax credits and a federal HUD loan guarantee.14NEOtrans. 925 Euclid Heads to Sale Offering
The Statler. Union Labor Life Insurance Company filed a foreclosure suit in September 2025 over a $52 million mortgage taken out in 2022. Total debt including fees and interest reached $60.7 million. The building operates as a 295-unit apartment complex.15Cleveland.com. Downtown Cleveland’s Statler Building Faces Foreclosure After $52M Default
75 Public Square. The Ohio Water Development Authority sued in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court over a defaulted $3 million loan from 2020. Millennia stopped payments in July 2023. The suit seeks a deficiency judgment against Frank and Malisse Sinito, who personally guaranteed the loan.16Cleveland.com. Millennia Faces Third Foreclosure Lawsuit Over Downtown Cleveland Building
Sinito’s Departure and the Company’s Pivot
On June 18, 2025, Sinito stepped down as CEO of Millennia Housing Management. The company said the move supported a strategic shift toward market-rate housing and would let Sinito focus on “his other diversified business ventures,” and it denied any connection to the federal investigation.17NEOtrans. Sinito Walks Away From Running Millennia Sinito kept ownership of the company and its real estate portfolio.13News 5 Cleveland. Court Puts Receiver in Charge of the Massive Centennial Project in Downtown Cleveland
A new executive committee took over operations. Michael Pico, the former chief operating officer, was promoted to president and COO. Angelica Sinito became chief investment officer with responsibility for property dispositions. Renee Weiss became chief legal and compliance officer.18Yahoo Finance. Millennia Housing Management Announces Leadership Transition
Millennia said it began a strategic sale of its affordable housing portfolio in January 2023 while turning toward its market-rate apartments and its Northeast Ohio holdings, including Key Tower and the Marriott hotel.13News 5 Cleveland. Court Puts Receiver in Charge of the Massive Centennial Project in Downtown Cleveland As of mid-2026, the buyers, unit counts, and tenant protections tied to those sales remain largely undisclosed. The Millennia Resistance Campaign and other tenant groups have pressed HUD to steer the properties to responsible owners and to give tenants a voice in the transfers.19Atlanta Civic Circle. Millennia Leaving Section 8 Business, Selling Properties
Tenant Conditions and Forest Cove
The federal actions came against a backdrop of years of tenant complaints. Starting around 2017, residents at Millennia-managed properties reported persistent mold, rats, cockroaches, bed bugs, plumbing failures, and structural damage.2National Housing Law Project. Millennia Millennia’s Sandpiper Cove property in Galveston, Texas, received three failing HUD Real Estate Assessment Center scores between 2015 and 2019.20Relman Colfax PLLC. Texas Housers v. Millennia Management Fair Housing In April 2022, the National Housing Law Project and more than 20 other organizations wrote HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge asking for a broad investigation.
The most severe case involved Forest Cove Apartments in Atlanta’s Thomasville Heights neighborhood, a 396-unit Section 8 complex where tenants reported infestations, mold, violent crime, and residents falling through deteriorated floors. In January 2021, an Atlanta municipal judge condemned the property and ordered it demolished. The city spent millions relocating roughly 200 low-income families. Millennia fought the order through years of appeals; demolition began in March 2024 and was further delayed after asbestos was found in nearly every unit.21Youth Today. HUD-Funded Millennia Housing’s Dangerous National Trend of Negligence Exposed by Atlanta Tenants
In October 2023, attorney Ben Crump announced that the city of Atlanta had retained him for a planned class action against Millennia on behalf of former Forest Cove residents. As of September 2025 no lawsuit had been filed, and Crump’s team had shifted its focus to breach of contract, unjust enrichment, and fraudulent misrepresentation claims while exploring a possible prosecution under Georgia’s RICO statute.22Atlanta Civic Circle. Ben Crump, Forest Cove, Suing Millennia Under RICO23The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Lawyers Explain Long Delay in Filing Forest Cove Class-Action Complaint
Separately, Millennia faces a $5 billion lawsuit filed by The Cochran Firm in September 2023 over an explosion and fire at Shorter College Gardens Apartments in North Little Rock, Arkansas, that killed three tenants.24Arkansas Online. NLR Residents Sue Apartment Owner for $5 Billion