NEXA Mortgage isn't letting former co-founder and president, Mat Grella, off easy. The Arizona-based mortgage broker filed a complaint against Mat Grella and his wife, Sheridan Murray-Grella, on April 29.
The news comes just a month after NEXA co-founder and CEO Mike Kortas announced the termination of his fellow co-founder and company president Grella, which occurred after Grella requested a buyout of his ownership interest in November 2023. In early April, Grella shared a statement in an email sent to NMP regarding his buyout request and eventual termination, as well as the lawsuit he filed against Kortas.
Kortas shared during a phone call with NMP that the conversation regarding Grella's buyout last year, done over Zoom, was "respectful," and they had not agreed upon a departing date. "I agreed to let him stay on because I had immense respect for him," Kortas said.
As a result, Grella filed suit against Kortas in the Superior Court of Arizona in Maricopa County on March 19 for allegedly breaching their operations agreement “to fund millions of dollars in aircraft and related purchases,” which Grella claimed are unrelated to the mortgage brokerage business. Grella was terminated on March 20, the day after he filed suit.
In his suit, Grella accused Kortas of "failing to provide [him] with equal profit distributions." The suit also states that Grella discovered $1.5 million worth of unauthorized aircraft purchase and jet hanger lease payments that Kortas allegedly purchased for himself or his wholly-owned entities.
The latest suit filed on April 29 details multiple allegations against Grella such as breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duties, tortious interference with business relations, actual fraud, defamation by false light, conversion and punitive damages. Summons to both Grella and his wife were sent the same day.
The lawsuit also addressed Grella's claims against Kortas, calling them "misleading."
"After Grella’s employment with NEXA was terminated, Grella made statements to the media, with the intent for the communications to be published, which have subsequently been published, involving Grella’s buy-out and his termination from NEXA ...Grella’s Media Statements involve statements that NEXA had undertaken actions, among other items, that Kortas made aircraft purchases and hangar lease payments on behalf of NEXA, without Grella’s knowledge and consent," the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit also alleges that NEXA purchased a 2019 Cadillac Escalade in November 2019 to be used by the owners, Kortas and Grella. The lawsuit reads that "Grella, acting on his own volition and without authorization from NEXA, traded in or sold the Cadillac Company Vehicle to either a car dealership or private party in or around November 2022 for an amount currently unknown to NEXA. Grella kept or otherwise diverted the funds received for the trade-in or sale of the Cadillac Company Vehicle to the detriment of NEXA."
The complaint alleges that Grella performed the same scenario with a different company car, retaining the proceeds.
The complaint also alleges that Grella breached the operating agreement by unilaterally acting as NEXA’s manager. In one instance, Grella interfered in NEXA's potential purchase of a hangar office property located in Phoenix, Ariz. that would give NEXA a corporate headquarters and space to run its plane charter arm, JetNEXA. The property is still on the market.
"Keep in mind, this is not from me to him. It's a NEXA Mortgage lawsuit," said Kortas, adding that Grella's termination in March was based on tortious interference. "We lost that building because of his interference and objection. We've lost opportunities before to other mortgage companies because of the fact that we don't have a corporate headquarters. And we lost opportunities for people who expressed interest in storing their aircraft at the facility."
As a result, NEXA is requesting "an injunction against Grella ordering that he cease any further public statements about NEXA or Kortas," as well as judgment for damages, costs, expenses, expert fees and reasonable attorneys’ fees incurred.
Kortas added, "I just look forward to all the trust to come out, Mat's lawsuit against me was highly fabricated. It was damaging to me personally...but I'm not overly concerned with my future. NEXA Mortgage is moving forward, and we're going to double in size by 2025."
In response to the new lawsuit, Grella sent his original statement to NMP that reads:
"In March, my business partner abruptly announced my termination. This occurred after months of frustration related to what I believe to be serious breaches of NEXA’s operating agreement, which requires profits to be distributed equally and for both partners to consent to activities not directly related to NEXA’s mortgage brokerage purposes.
Early this year, I discovered that Mr. Kortas had been making aircraft-related purchases with company money and without my knowledge or consent. When Mr. Kortas entered into a letter of intent for NEXA’s purchase of a $24 million airplane-hangar leasehold, I objected in the interest of protecting the company. The situation escalated, resulting in my termination.
Since opening the doors as NEXA’s first employee six and a half years ago, I have handled day-to-day operations and supported our growth in the way I felt was best for the company. This included managing our relationships with our various partners and lenders, overseeing production, and supporting our loan officers and management team. I am deeply proud of what we have built at NEXA and hope these issues can be resolved in a way that protects the company’s best interests."
