Investigative reporters from Cox Media Group stations collaborated on stories about a real estate company now accused of deceiving customers across the country.
The collaboration is part of a new approach by the station group, which added senior-level reporters and producers earlier this year in an effort to do more stories that have national impact.
The stories involve MV Realty, which offers a few hundred dollars in cash to homeowners in return for a commitment to use MV Realty when they decide to sell their houses.
According to reporting by CMG, many of those homeowners are unaware that MV Realty uses that commitment to put a 40-year lien on the homes. If they sell their home using another real estate agent, homeowners are forced to pay thousands of dollars to MV Realty.
Many of the Cox Media Group stations have aired reports about homeowners in their markets with complaints about MV Realty’s business practices. In several markets, local officials have investigated the company. State attorneys general in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania have filed suits against MV Reality as a result of the reports.
Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and Senate Banking Committee, called on the Federal Trade Commission and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to investigate the practices of companies like MV Reality, citing the stories on CMG stations.
Cox Media Group has put together a documentary on the story and how it was assembled that is running on the stations' websites and YouTube.
MV Realty has been investigated by other TV stations, including CBS-owned station WBZ Boston.
MV Realty told the station in a statement that “we are confident that after a full airing of the facts, the conclusion will be that MV Realty’s business transactions are legal and ethical and that our team has operated in full compliance with Commonwealth law.”
The first CMG station to investigate MV Realty was WFTV in Orlando in January 2021 after a homeowner contacted the stations. WSB Atlanta later that year reported on a woman whose efforts to sell her fire-damaged home were made more difficult because of an agreement with MV Reality.
KIRO Seattle did a story after being contacted by a former MV Realty employee, who alerted the station to a company that was using tactics similar to MV Realty’s.
CMG stations in Boston; Charlotte, North Carolina; Dayton, Ohio; and Jacksonville, Florida also found homeowners in their markets with problems after dealing with MV Realty.
CMG said its stations worked together to share interviews, video, graphics and investigative leads. The stations spoke to homeowners, real estate experts, lawyers and public officials.
Among them, the stations have run at least 30 news stories on MV Reality, finding more than 12,000 liens on properties in seven states.
WSB reported that more than 70% of the homes in Georgia with MV Realty contracts were in majority Black communities.
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro included comments from a Pittsburgh-area homeowner interviewed by CMG’s WPXI in his press release announcing a lawsuit against MV Realty.
“Pennsylvania homeowners are falling victim to MV Realty’s calculated deception in hiding the terms of the Homeowner Benefit Program,” Shapiro said. “MV Realty is a scam that exploits Pennsylvanians in vulnerable financial situations, and my office isn’t buying it.”
“Cox Media Group remains dedicated to investing and leading in local news and journalism excellence, and our investigative units within each of our TV stations are a demonstration of that commitment,” said Marian Pittman, executive VP of content, product, and innovation at CMG.
“This allows us to look at our communities with a wider lens, dig deeper into stories, and connect the dots across our entire Cox Media Group footprint nationwide. Ultimately, that allows us to positively impact the people and communities we serve,” Pittman said.
To tell the story of how these investigations are put together, CMG has a producer travel with the investigative reporter and photographer to document behind-the-scenes encounters with the stories’ sources.
The concept originated a year ago at WFTV, which calls it “The Source.” Now the company has produced a “The Source” documentary on the MV Realty investigation.
The station group says pulling back the curtain on the reporting process builds a deeper connection with the audience at a time when trust in local news is more important than ever.
CMG said it is looking to bring “The Source” to more of its markets. ■
