After a whirlwind of explosive allegations came out last week against United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM), in both a class action lawsuit filed by borrowers and an exposé-style piece by Hunterbrook Media on April 2, UWM CEO Mat Ishbia responded, claiming that their biggest competitor, Rocket Mortgage, was behind the attack.
“That’s Rocket Mortgage and Dan Gilbert doing Rocket Mortgage and Dan Gilbert things,” Ishbia said in a video posted on X last Thursday, during an event for the Phoenix Suns and Mercury franchises that he owns. “And that’s just what it’s been funded by.”
But, Hunterbrook Media Publisher Sam Koppelman directly responded to Ishbia’s comment on April 4, stating, “Neither Rocket nor Gilbert even agreed to provide us with comment. Ishbia, meanwhile, has yet to point to a single fact we got wrong in our reporting. Mat, up for an interview?” on X (formerly known as Twitter).
Rocket Mortgage also responded to the claim, stating founder Dan Gilbert and the company had no involvement in Huntebrook Media’s investigative piece, but appear to believe Hunterbrook’s findings.
“Rocket Mortgage and Dan Gilbert have no involvement in the deep, detailed 50-page Hunterbrook Media article exposing the business practices of Mat Ishbia and United Wholesale Mortgage,” said an emailed statement from Aaron Emerson, Rocket Mortgage spokesperson. “Dan Gilbert and Rocket Mortgage have no investment, other financial interests or relationship to Hunterbrook Media. The professional investigation speaks for itself and appears to be based on factual, public information uncovered by the journalists who conducted the investigation.”
UWM did not immediately respond to a request for comment in regard to Koppelman’s and Rocket’s recent statements.
While Hunterbrook Media published the expose-style article on UWM on the day they officially launched the company and the same day the borrower class action lawsuit against UWM was filed. Both the article and the lawsuit claim UWM conspired with brokers to steer homebuyers into costly mortgages that resulted in borrowers paying billions of dollars in excessive fees.
Hunterbrook Capital, a hedge fund that’s affiliated with Hunterbrook Media, took a short position in UWM, betting that the company’s share price will crash. As of April 8, UWM Holdings Corp is down 4.21% from the past five days. But Hunterbrook Capital has a long position on Rocket Companies.
The allegations against UWM last week led others in the industry to get put on the hot seat. Personal injury lawyers at Console & Associates put out the alarm on their website, which read "If you obtained a mortgage from NEXA in the past 4 years, you may have been misled or overcharged."
NEXA did not immediately respond to a request for comment, nor did Console & Associates.
