Although poaching lawsuits are commonplace in the mortgage industry, it’s not as common to see those departing employees being accused of brand theft as well.
But, those are the allegations from Home Mortgage Alliance Corporation (HMAC), dba Jet Mortgage, which filed suit in the Superior Court of the State of California in Orange County May 23 against its former senior executive, Michael Turturro, and his new employer OCMBC, Inc., dba Jet Alliance Mortgage. (OCMBC also does business as Loanstream Mortgage and Forward Lending in the wholesale channel.)
The feud between the two California wholesale lenders began when defendant Turturro started working for HMAC as Divisional President for its Jet Mortgage Division in Sept. 2022, after signing an employment offer letter and divisional president executive compensation agreement.
The Santa Ana-based HMAC alleges that Turturro entered into a confidentiality agreement with HMAC, containing mutual promises and a covenant regarding his conduct during and after termination. The agreement states, in part, “Neither during my employment with HMAC as well as after separation from HMAC will I, directly or indirectly, use for myself or another, or other businesses, confidential information … unless consent is obtained in writing from the President of HMAC."
In 2023, Turturro was given more authority after entering into a compensation plan change and chief division director executive compensation agreement, which the plaintiffs claim allowed him to gain oversight and control over the company’s Unite Mortgage Division, a separate division of HMAC. Less than six months later, Turturro executed a promotion offer letter as well as a president and co-founder executive compensation agreement.
Yet, HMAC claims that after Turturro was promoted and accepted into the plaintiff’s “circle of trust” he was “cloaked in a position of extreme authority and influence over the business operations of Plaintiff,” the lawsuit reads. By the nature of his position and tenure at HMAC, the company alleges that Turturro acquired and had access to HMAC's confidential information.
According to the lawsuit, Turturro resigned from HMAC in May 2024 without prior notice and HMAC “is informed and believes,” that Turturro had been recruited by, and currently works for, OCMBC in Irvine.
Back when Turturro was hired In September 2022, HMAC also filed for and obtained the fictitious business name of "Jet Mortgage,” and has since strategized a marketing campaign in an effort to have the brand become a household name, according to the lawsuit.
Two months after Turturro was appointed to lead the division, HMAC claims that it began sending payments to Market Co., a marketing company meant to bring awareness to “Jet Mortgage’s” offerings, and was a “crucial element” in HMAC’s strategic plan. The company alleges it sent over $808,000 in total to Marketing Co. over the next few years.
In April 2024, the plaintiffs claim that OCMBC filed for and obtained the fictitious business name "Jet Advantage Mortgage," shortly before Turturro resigned from HMAC.
For several months leading up to Turturro’s resignation from HMAC, the plaintiff alleges that Turturro conspired with OCMBC to “effectively steal the entirety of the same ‘Jet Mortgage’ division from the plaintiff,” including HMAC’s employees, confidential information, pipeline, resources, and trademarks “through a deliberate and premeditated series of unlawful acts.”
The lawsuit also points out OCMBC's official LinkedIn page that makes reference to "Jet Advantage Mortgage" as the "Same Great Company, New Website" which HMAC believes is a “clear and unmistakable reference to HMAC's Jet Mortgage name and brand.”
HMAC also claims that OCMBC and Turturro were engaged in a scheme to steal loan applications from HMAC by having a OCMBC-directed employee tell a mortgage broker that Jet Mortgage, under HMAC, is going out of business and to send their loans to OCMBC instead. In a second fraudulent scheme HMAC claims the defendant’s employee told the mortgage broker that “Jet Advantage Mortgage” is the same as “Jet Mortgage.”
HMAC is suing for damages in an amount to be proven at trial. The company also released the following statement to address the alleged rumors that have been spread:
“Jet Mortgage is very much still in business and is actively soliciting and processing new loans. On an interim basis, Alfred Hanna, founder of both Jet Mortgage and HMAC, will assume the day-to-day leadership of Jet Mortgage until a new executive has been appointed. Hanna remains fully committed to invest in and grow the Jet Mortgage brand."
"Throughout his 40-year career covering all aspects of the mortgage business, Hanna has built three highly successful mortgage companies," HMAC added in their statement. "That includes a company that, at one time, was the largest Realtor-based mortgage company in California. Over the course of his career, Hanna has led these companies through a number of economic downturns."
The statement continued, "Under his leadership, we have already taken steps to deploy additional underwriting and processing resources so that the Company can continue to provide extraordinary service to our broker clients. In the weeks to come, the Company will be announcing a number of high-level, high-quality executive and account executive hires.”
The defendants did not immediately respond to NMP's request for comment.
