A mortgage lender has filed a federal lawsuit against a commercial real estate company and one of its appraisers, alleging they misrepresented the values of properties in the Chasen Cos. portfolio.

StanCorp Mortgage Investors LLC claims it incurred financial losses because of the faulty appraisals, which lenders use as the basis for providing loans.

Chasen Cos. was once recognized as one of the fastest-growing businesses in the U.S. and owned about 2,000 housing units across Maryland, Virginia and Florida. But the business has unraveled, leaving a mess in Baltimore. Both the company and Brandon Chasen have entered bankruptcy proceedings.

The lawsuit was filed Jan. 23 in U.S. District Court in Baltimore and claims StanCorp provided at least 25 loans for more than $210 million between 2018 and 2024 to Chasen and his business partner, Paul Davis, that were based on inaccuracies.

The real estate financial services firm has asked a judge to void the contracts with Cushman & Wakefield and award damages, attorney fees and interest.

Cushman & Wakefield has not responded to the complaint and declined to comment.

The 17-page complaint alleges that David Masters, an executive director with Cushman & Wakefield, conducted at least 20 of the appraisals at issue. Among the claims: misrepresenting the quality of the properties, inflating the rent rolls and occupancy rates, and mischaracterizing the degree of renovations.

The lawsuit details an appraisal done for 817 St. Paul St., an apartment building in Mount Vernon.

The appraisal noted that the property featured “a mix of one, two and three bedroom units,” but omitted that 61 units were “actually studio apartments,” the complaint alleges.

The assessment also falsely listed the range for rent as $1,975 to $3,400 — well above the median price in Baltimore — and inaccurately stated that the building had been “gut renovated” for more than $14 million.

But the lawsuit alleges that’s “contradicted by photographs and a basic visual inspection of the property.” The work done on the building amounted to “nothing more than cheap, superficial, cosmetic repairs.”

These errors and nondisclosures led the company to provide loans that Chasen Cos. ultimately could not support, the lawsuit claims.

Once Chasen Cos. defaulted on its loans, the complaint states, StanCorp faced “substantial losses.”

Masters did not respond to a request for comment. Chasen Cos. is not named as a defendant in the lawsuit.

The trade publication Mortgage Professional America first reported on the lawsuit.

On Wednesday, Chasen answered questions about the new lawsuit during a hearing in his personal bankruptcy case.

Scott Foley, StanCorp’s attorney, asked Chasen about whether he was involved in the appraisals.

“I never selected the appraiser,” Chasen said. “I didn’t have the option to say, ‘This person.’”

ColumbiaNational Real Estate Finance LLC, a loan servicer and mortgage broker headquartered in Howard County, recommended Cushman & Wakefield, Chasen said. He added he did not know Masters outside of his work conducting appraisals.

No appraisals were done without an inspection, Chasen testified.

The hearing, at times, got contentious.

Barry Honig, an investor in Chasen Cos. whom the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in 2018 charged in an unrelated “pump and dump” scheme that brought in more than $27 million from unlawful stock sales, told Chasen’s attorney, Adam Freiman, that he may want to hire his own lawyer.

“Are you threatening me?” Freiman asked.

Meanwhile, Tony Bobulinski, another Chasen Cos. investor who once testified before Congress about his business dealings with Hunter Biden, accused Chasen of lying under oath and using company bank accounts as his “personal piggy bank.”

“That’s legally embezzlement,” Bobulinski said.

He then announced he was finished asking questions.

Bankruptcy trustee Zvi Guttman said he thought that might be a good place to stop the hearing, which is set to resume April 22.