Investors say ex-'Fox & Friends' host turned them into unwitting slumlords

INDIANAPOLIS — Clayton Morris, the affable former co-host of TV's Fox & Friends, portrays himself on his popular podcasts and YouTube videos as a real estate investment expert who is in the business of helping others achieve financial freedom.

His company, Morris Invest, has been involved in hundreds of property transactions in Indianapolis.

But in his wake is a trail of disgruntled investors, tenants living in deplorable conditions and dilapidated Indianapolis homes that could plague the city for years.

While Morris lives in a $1.45 million luxury home in New Jersey, some investors who thought they were buying turn-key rentals are saddled with boarded up hovels, empty lots, stacks of health and nuisance violations from the city and lost savings.

Morris is the target of at least five lawsuits filed by out-of-state investors who claim he defrauded them in transactions involving dozens of properties. The lawsuits are pending in Marion Superior Court and federal court in Indianapolis. Many others have complained to attorney general offices in Indiana and New Jersey, and on consumer and real estate investment websites.

The mostly novice investors say Morris sold them rental properties with a promise to rehab and rent them. All they had to do was sit back and wait for their monthly rent checks.

But for many buyers, the purchases turned into nightmares. Some say their houses were never rehabbed or rented. Others say they received rental checks for several months only to learn later that the house was vacant or uninhabitable. Many discovered the problems after receiving violation notices from city code enforcement or the county health department.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/investors-say-ex-fox-and-friends-host-turned-them-into-unwitting-slumlords/ar-BBVf7jF?li=BBnb7Kz

Conservative ethics.