UPDATED 3/3/26 4pm
Jon Venetos’ floundering Lurin Capital blocked the foreclosure sale of a Houston apartment property owned by the firm with a bankruptcy filing on Monday.
The ownership entity of Latitude 2976 Apartments filed for Chapter 11 protection in the Southern District of Texas, court documents show. The foreclosure auction was scheduled for Tuesday.
Lurin claimed to have 50 to 99 creditors and $50 million to $100 million each in estimated assets and liabilities, according to the bankruptcy filing. Mark Shapiro signed for Lurin Capital on the filing in his capacity as “chief restructuring officer.”
“This filing provides us with the time and structure necessary to address our balance sheet and position the property for long-term stability,” Jon Venetos said in a statement.
The firm listed its office at Rosewood Court, an Uptown Dallas office building at 2101 Cedar Springs. Landlord Rosewood Property Company claimed in a Dec. 11 lawsuit that Lurin bailed on its lease last fall. It also alleged Venetos personally guaranteed the lease and owes the landlord $5.3 million.
Fannie Mae has been trying to seize control of the 734-unit Latitude 2976, at 201 and 301 Wilcrest Drive, since claiming Lurin Capital defaulted on the $77.2 million mortgage tied to the Houston property in a November lawsuit. Latitude 2976 has since been flagged for foreclosure multiple times, the latest notice scheduling the property for a sale on Tuesday.
The bankruptcy filing automatically pauses the foreclosure process.
The filing is the latest installment in the year-long saga of Lurin Capital’s collapse. The firm is being sued by lenders, vendors, cities and landlords over unpaid bills.
Acore Capital Mortgage kicked off the crush of lawsuits in the spring when it said Venetos defaulted on nearly $400 million in loans tied to 12 properties in Florida. Since then, Fannie Mae sued Venetos and Lurin over the alleged $77.2 million default. Vista Bank and Keybank also filed lawsuits claiming defaults. In a series of October lawsuits, Acore claimed that Venetos personally guaranteed the money he borrowed from the lender and still owes $81 million.
The lawsuits by Keybank and Vista include claims of fraud. Keybank alleged Venetos transferred $24,570 from his accounts with the bank to a personal account. Vista accused him of falsifying account statements from the lender in an attempt to take out loans elsewhere. Former employees have also come out to accuse Lurin of lying on loan reimbursement requests to lenders by inflating costs of repairs and submitting invoices for work that wasn’t done.
Venetos’ firm has also been sued by the city of Plano, north of Dallas, and the city of Huntsville, Alabama over conditions at Lurin-owned properties.
This story was updated to include a statement from Lurin Capital.
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