Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey passes bill that looks to benefit long-time friend and BlueHub Capital CEO Elyse Cherry

Last week, Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey signed her Economic Development bill into law, a bill that included Section 269 that many say offered exclusive protection to the Roxbury-based non-profit BlueHub Capital, who is being sued by a group of Massachusetts homeowners for what they say are predatory lending practices. The non-profit is led by one of Maura Healey’s oldest friends, Elyse Cherry.

BlueHub provided families who had gone into foreclosure with an option to save their home: the non-profit would buy the property from the bank and sell it back to homeowners. But some homeowners say they were unaware that the relief included the provision that they now shared any appreciation in the property with BlueHub, sometimes with the non-profit getting as much as 50% of the appreciation value in the property. A group of homeowners is suing the organization, but Section 269 now protects organizations such as BlueHub from being sued in the future (it’s unsure how this new law will impact the current lawsuit), with a line in the bill specifically stating they cannot face any legal action.

The brazen protection for the company was nestled deep in the Healey cultivated bill, almost unseen, but caught the attention of a protester who showed up at a Retailers Association press conference last week where Healey was speaking. They yelled for Healey to veto Section 269, not knowing that it had already been signed into law cementing protection for the non-profit.

Healey herself telling the protester, “The bill is signed in its entirety. Which is a great thing. Thank you.”

But the non-profit status BlueHub has doesn’t mean someone isn’t profiting from the organization and it’s alleged predatory lending practices. Chief Executive Officer of BlueHub is Elyse Cherry. According to the organization’s website, Cherry has been leading the company since 1997 and was named one of the top 100 LGBT Executives in the World by the Financial Times.

2022 tax filings show that Cherry earned over a million dollars in compensation from BlueHub and it’s related organizations:

2021 tax filings for the company show Elyse Cherry had an even more profitable year:

While BlueHub rakes in appreciation values on homes they purchased and resold to struggling home owners, Cherry herself owns a home in Brookline, valued at over $3 million dollars.

The BlueHub Capital CEO stands to directly benefit from the Healey bill, which will not only protect the company from future litigation but may impact the current lawsuit against the company.

Cherry and Healey have a long-standing friendship. In a 2022 Boston Globe article that highlighted Healey potentially being the first openly gay governor, Cherry spoke about how she has known Healey for “decades” and shares that she hosted fundraisers for Healey in the past.

Office for Campaign and Political Finance data show that Cherry has made substantial financial contributions to Healey, maxing out the yearly contribution of $1,000 each year with over $11,000 on the books dating back to 2013.

Fundraisers hosted by Cherry have also raked in thousands of dollars for Healey through the years, including this one dating back to 2014:

Healey has supported Cherry and her work through the years as well. In 2023, Cherry was the recipient of the LGBT Trailblazer Award from Boston Business Journal and BlueHub shared Healey’s remarks on their website:

“Elyse Cherry is a trailblazer in so many ways,” said Gov. Maura Healey, whom Cherry has long supported. She has “truly left her mark when it comes to affordable housing, community development, LGBTQ+ equality and more,” Healey said.

Massachusetts Attorney General Campbell voiced to the governor her opposition to Section 269.

A call to BlueHub Capital for comment was not returned.