Maurice Johnson

Johnson met with two testers seeking homes near Garden City for up to $500,000. The state alleged he discriminated by warning the white tester to avoid the Wyandanch school district and providing listings for homes in predominantly white communities, such as Merrick, Island Park, Rockville Centre and Oceanside. Johnson did not give the same warning to a Hispanic tester, to whom he provided listings in more diverse areas, including Baldwin, Elmont and the Malverne school district. Johnson testified that he has sold homes to minority clients in predominantly white communities on Long Island since 2010, and he said he had not engaged in discriminatory acts as a real estate agent. He also said he has faced racism as a Black man. He said he provided different listings to the two testers because they came to him a month apart and different houses were available using the same search criteria. The administrative law judge found that explanation “reasonable” and found insufficient evidence that Johnson discriminated. He fined Johnson because he described the Wyandanch school district as underperforming even though he admitted knowing he should not discuss the quality of schools. Johnson did not respond to requests for comment.