Colony Ridge developer files $10 million lawsuit against Alex Jones

CLEVELAND, Texas (KTRK) -- The developer behind six Liberty County subdivisions is suing Alex Jones for defamation.

The lawsuit, filed by Colony Ridge, seeks at least $10 million in damages.

It stems from a since-deleted video Jones posted to X on Feb. 6 in which he and failed gubernatorial candidate Pete Chambers discuss Colony Ridge.

According to the lawsuit, Jones implied that Conly Ridge is controlled by Mexican drug cartels.

Colony Ridge called Jones' claim a "demonstrable lie" and said it funds 13 dedicated law enforcement officers.

In a portion of the video Chambers posted on TikTok, and cited in the lawsuit, Jones refers to Colony Ridge as a "giant fraud site" and claims the developer's lending practices take advantage of poor people and immigrants.

Colony Ridge called those claims "meritless" and said its "flexible financing is designed to remove traditional barriers to land ownership."

The same month Jones posted the video, Colony Ridge agreed to pay $68 million to settle a DOJ lawsuit over predatory loan practices.

The DOJ claimed that Colony Ridge used high-pressure sales tactics and lent to unqualified buyers, only to resell the property when those buyers fell behind on payments.

At the time, Colony Ridge said it was only settling to make the case go away, but that it denied the DOJ's allegations.

In its lawsuit, Colony Ridge said Jones' video was viewed more than 650,000 times before being taken down.

Emails to Jones through his companies bounced back on Thursday. Chambers didn't return a message seeking comment.