Two years ago when I met Abdinoor Igal, the young father was at the end of his rope. Abdinoor was one of dozens of members of the Somali Muslim community who bought homes in Minnesota using a financial instrument called a contract for deed from a man named Chad Banken. There were red flags all over these contracts, but I was struggling to find someone who would let me tell their story. Buyers were embarrassed, or scared, or both. Abdinoor was the only person who said yes.

Abdinoor believed that the deal honored his faith’s restriction on paying or profiting from interest. But that wasn’t true. He was barely able to make the high payments each month and had exhausted every possible resource trying to find a way out. Late last year, Abdinoor surrendered the keys to Banken and walked away from the house and the $170,000 he put into the deal.

Our reporting showed how the contracts were setting families up for failure in a state with one of the worst racial home ownership gaps in the country, but I couldn’t promise Abdinoor that anything would come of him sharing his experience publicly. Then, on Monday, I was able to call Abdinoor and deliver news he’d waited two years to hear: The Minnesota attorney general was about to file a lawsuit against Banken for violations of federal lending law and selling homes at higher prices and on worse terms to Muslim buyers. (Banken hasn’t responded to my requests for comment throughout this project.) For a moment, Abdinoor seemed to be in shock. “I’m really excited,” he said. “I can’t even believe how I’m feeling.”

—Jessica Lussenhop, Midwest reporter