Independent, non-profit newsroom that produces investigative journalism in the public interest.
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Primary geographic focus: NATIONAL
Organization type(s): Media
ProPublica is an independent, non-profit newsroom that produces investigative journalism in the public interest. Our work focuses exclusively on truly important stories, stories with “moral force.” We do this by producing journalism that shines a light on exploitation of the weak by the strong and on the failures of those with power to vindicate the trust placed in them.
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InvestigativeDebt Collectors Have Made a Fortune This Year. Now They’re Coming for More.
Paul KielProPublica
October 5, 2020
After a pause for the pandemic, debt buyers are back in the courts, suing debtors by the thousands.
Investigative , News Story
When Falling Behind on Rent Leads to Jail Time
ProPublicaOctober 26, 2020
News Story
Texas regulators vote to ban residential utility shut-offs during pandemic while buoying companies
Kiah Collier, Jeremy SchwartzTexas Tribune, ProPublica
March 26, 2020
Investigative , News Story
Capital One and Other Debt Collectors Are Still Coming for Millions of Americans
Paul Kiel, Jeff ErnsthausenProPublica
June 8, 2020
Investigative
Capital One and Other Debt Collectors Are Still Coming for Millions of Americans
Paul Kiel, Jeff ErnsthausenProPublica
June 8, 2020
Analysis , News Story
For Americans With Bills to Pay, Help Is on the Way. Sort Of.
Jeff Ernsthausen, Paul KielProPublica
April 2, 2020
News Story
They Loan You Money. Then They Get A Warrant For Your Arrest.
Anjali TsuiProPublica
December 3, 2019
High-interest loan companies are using Utah’s small claims courts to arrest borrowers and take their bail money. Technically, the warrants are issued for missing court hearings. For many, that’s a distinction without a difference.
Investigative
When Medical Debt Collectors Decide Who Gets Arrested
Lizzie PresserProPublica
October 16, 2019
Welcome to Coffeyville, Kansas, where the judge has no law degree, debt collectors get a cut of the bail, and Americans are watching their lives — and liberty — disappear in the pursuit of medical debt collection.
News Story
Where in The U.S. Are You Most Likely to Be Audited by the IRS?
Paul KielProPublica
April 1, 2019
The five counties with the highest audit rates are all predominantly African American, rural counties in the Deep South.
News Story
U.S. to Investigate Discrimination Against Native Students on Montana Reservation
Annie Waldman, Erica L. GreenNew York Times (NYT), ProPublica
January 4, 2019
In a Dec. 28 letter, sent hours after The New York Times and ProPublica published an investigation into racial inequities in the district, the department’s Office for Civil Rights notified the lawyer representing the tribal executive board.
Investigative
‘I Feel Invisible’: Native Students Languish in Public Schools
Erica L. Green, Annie WaldmanNew York Times (NYT), ProPublica
December 28, 2018
At Wolf Point High School in rural Montana, Native American students face the same neglect Native students across the U.S. do as they navigate a school system that has failed American Indians.
News Story
Who’s More Likely to Be Audited: A Person Making $20,000 — or $400,000?
Paul Kiel, Jesse EisingerProPublica
December 12, 2018
If you claim the earned income tax credit, whose average recipient makes less than $20,000 a year, you’re more likely to face IRS scrutiny than someone making twenty times as much. How a benefit for the working poor was turned against them.
News Story
When You Can’t Afford to Go Bankrupt
Paul KielProPublica
March 2, 2018
There’s ample evidence many people don’t file for bankruptcy simply because they can’t pay an attorney. It’s a fixable problem.
News Story
How to Get Away With Bankruptcy Fraud
Paul KielProPublica
December 22, 2017
Los Angeles is the nation’s hub for bankruptcy crime. Scammers prey on struggling homeowners with little fear of getting caught, because criminal enforcement of bankruptcy laws is rare.
News Story
Baltimore’s ‘Kushnerville’ Tenants File Class Action Against Landlord
Alec McGillisProPublica
September 27, 2017
Tenants allege that a property management firm controlled by Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner’s real-estate company has unjustly charged them fees and threatened eviction to make them pay up.
News Story
Relatives of Undocumented Children Caught Up in ICE Dragnet
Hannah DreierProPublica
September 11, 2017
In a shift from how it operated during the Obama administration, Immigration and Customs Enforcement is cracking down on relatives who let undocumented kids stay with them after entering the U.S.
News Story
Immigrants in Detention Centers Are Often Hundreds of Miles From Legal Help
Patrick LeeProPublica
May 16, 2017
Only a tiny percentage of detained immigrants have attorneys, leaving even those with solid cases to stay in the United States to fend for themselves.
News Story
In Nebraska, New Bill Proposes Protections Against Rampant Debt Collection
Paul KielProPublica
January 24, 2017
Bill seeks to block collectors from cleaning out debtors’ bank accounts over medical debts of a few hundred dollars.
News Story
In Bill, Lawmakers Propose New Limits for Seizing Workers’ Pay Over Old Debts
Paul KielProPublica
July 12, 2016
Last week, two lawmakers introduced a bill to put new limits on what debt collectors can take from debtors’ paychecks and bank accounts.
News Story
Nonprofit Hospital Stops Suing So Many Poor Patients: Will Others Follow?
Paul Kiel, Chris ArnoldProPublica, National Public Radio (NPR)
June 1, 2016
A story by ProPublica and NPR and a Senate investigation prompt a Missouri nonprofit hospital to change its policies and forgive thousands of patients’ debts. But without similar scrutiny, it’s unclear if other hospitals that sue the poor will change.
News Story
Officials Were Warned of Trouble With NYPD Lockout Orders, And Then Police Kicked Out Wrong Family
Sarah RyleyNew York Daily News, ProPublica
May 2, 2016
A letter from legal groups to the New York City’s Law Department warned city officials that “vulnerable tenants” are often ensnared in nuisance abatements.
Investigative
For Nebraska’s Poor, Get Sick and Get Sued
Paul KielProPublica, Daily Beast
April 28, 2016
Cheap court fees and looser rules make suing over medical debts as small as $60 easy. Every year Nebraska collection agencies file lawsuits by the tens of thousands.
News Story
NYPD Gets Sued After Kicking Wrong Family Out of Home
Sarah Ryley, Stephen Rex BrownProPublica, New York Daily News
April 12, 2016
The suit challenges the NYPD’s use of controversial nuisance abatement actions. It cites ProPublica and The Daily News’ investigation into the issue.
Investigative
At Capital One, Easy Credit and Abundant Lawsuits
Paul KielProPublica
December 28, 2015
A ProPublica analysis of state court filings reveals that Capital One sues its customers far more than any other bank.
News Story
To Address Race Gap, Missouri AG Pushes Debt Collection Fixes
Paul KielProPublica
December 3, 2015
Missouri’s attorney general proposed reforms to the state court rules to address the prevalence of debt collection suits in black neighborhoods.
Investigative
In Alabama, A Public Hospital Serves the Poor — with Lawsuits
Paul KielProPublica
December 22, 2014
Public hospitals can be among the most aggressive in collecting debts from poor patients, not only garnishing their wages, but cleaning out their bank accounts. “It makes me sick,” said one legal aid attorney.
This page last modified: Wed, April 13, 2016 -- 4:38 pm ET