loanDepot.com LLC has filed a trade secrets and contract lawsuit against its cross-town rival, West Capital Lending Inc., accusing the Irvine-based Mega Brokerage and its co-founders of orchestrating a large-scale employee raid and data theft campaign dating back to 2021.
The complaint, filed Oct. 10 in California Superior Court for Orange County, alleges that West Capital “misappropriated confidential information, illegally poached more than 175 loan originators, and diverted customers using stolen data.” The suit was filed by the Law Offices of Mary A. Dannelley and lists defendants Daniel Iskander, Eric Hines, and others.
In a statement to National Mortgage Professional, Daniel Iskander, co-founder of West Capital Lending, called the lawsuit baseless.
“Anyone can sue anyone for any reason,” Iskander said. “This isn’t the first time a competitor has tried to sue us for losing loan officers to the broker channel. We operate within all state and federal laws and, most importantly, with integrity for our loan officers and our borrowers. There’s absolutely no validity to any type of corporate theft in any way, shape, or form. The only validity to the entire complaint by loanDepot is that West Capital Lending is a top brokerage. Period.”
"At West Cap, our foundation is built on integrity," added Co-founder Eric Hines. "While many of our MLOs and executives gained valuable experience during their time at LoanDepot, we hold ourselves — and our team — to the highest standards in compliance, contracts, and the protection of client information. We believe that doing the right thing is always the right thing — even when it comes to our competitors. Upholding ethical practices isn't just a policy; it's part of who we are."
A loanDepot spokesperson sent NMP a statement reiterating the company’s claims in the lawsuit: "A fair and balanced playing field is the cornerstone of the free enterprise system. As our complaint alleges in detail, West Capital Lending has manipulated fair lending, privacy, and tax laws and regulations to create an unfair competitive advantage. We plan to pursue every legal remedy available to demand accountability and fairness."
The case — Loandepot.com LLC v. West Capital Lending Inc. — is classified under Contract – Civil Theft, Concealment, and includes claims of Conversion, Tortious Interference, and Trade Secret Misappropriation.
West Capital Lending was co-founded by a former top producing originator and executive, Daniel Iskander. The company recently named Giorgio Bertuol as President of Sales, who was executive vice president of direct sales at loanDepot. Many of its current producers also trace their roots to loanDepot’s retail platform. Those originators have since migrated to the wholesale channel — a sector that loanDepot exited in 2022 when it shut down its broker and wholesale division as part of a major restructuring.
According to Modex data reviewed by National Mortgage Professional, West Capital Lending more than doubled its production from $1.42 billion on 4,113 loans in 2023 to $3.36 billion on 9,298 loans in 2024. Meanwhile, loanDepot saw a smaller gain from $15.56 billion on 51,317 loans to $16.73 billion on 58,889 loans during the same period.
Through August 2025, West Capital has originated $3.22 billion across 8,848 loans year to date, nearly matching last year’s total. During the same time period, loanDepot reported $11.61 billion across 45,226 loans. West Capital’s total MLO count has surged 37% year to date — from 769 in January to 1,056 by August — while loanDepot’s total workforce has remained steady at roughly 1,700 loan officers, including about 1,470 actively producing.
loanDepot has previously been involved in similar litigation. The lender filed a lawsuit against Movement Mortgage, alleging that the rival firm had “poached” employees and crippled branches during a mass defection — a dispute that was later dropped when loanDepot dismissed the Movement Mortgage poaching case after months of legal maneuvering.
loanDepot also secured a preliminary ruling in a separate lawsuit against CrossCountry Mortgage, where a judge found sufficient evidence of potential coordination in employee recruitment efforts, reinforcing the company’s broader legal strategy to retain originators and protect proprietary data.
The Orange County court has not yet set a hearing date. West Capital Lending continues to operate as one of the nation’s top mortgage brokerages, according to company statements.
