Katie Sweeney, a outstanding dealer advocate, is disputing accusations by her former group that she directed virtually $1 million in funds to herself.
The Association of Independent Mortgage Experts raised the declare in response to its former chief’s lawsuit suggesting the commerce group owes her cash. The sides have traded allegations since Sweeney sued AIME in a Texas state courtroom in February; subsequent federal courtroom filings have AIME mentioning different trade gamers.
Only Sweeney and AIME are named as events in the respective lawsuits. The struggle stems from Sweeney’s involvement with AIME between 2022 and 2024, and regards her compensation for earlier than and after her departure to work for the Broker Action Coalition.
“She engaged in self-servicing conduct that directed funds of over $900,000 to her personally,” a Sept. 10 submitting by counsel for AIME learn.
Sweeney, who in the present day is govt vice chairman of technique and dealer advocacy at Rocket Pro, fired again at AIME and defended her advocacy work for brokers in an announcement shared with National Mortgage News Thursday night.
“This is about standing as much as authorized bullies and guaranteeing that brokers and the communities they serve have honest and trustworthy advocates on their aspect,” learn an announcement with Sweeney’s signature and shared along with her attorneys. “I stay up for sharing extra of my expertise from my tenure at AIME all through the course of this course of.”
In a response to Sweeney’s feedback, AIME in a prolonged assertion Friday afternoon mentioned it believes the proof will inform the complete story, and that the courtroom will rule in its favor.
“The coronary heart of this matter is how Ms. Sweeney carried out her duties and tasks as head of the governing physique of the group,” the assertion learn. “There isn’t any bullying – merely an accounting for sure conduct.”
Why Katie Sweeney and AIME are preventing
Sweeney, who joined Rocket in January, was the previous CEO of AIME, though the commerce group disputed her title in an April counterclaim. Several articles quoting Sweeney in the course of the latter a part of her tenure at AIME name her the CEO.
According to Sweeney, she resigned from AIME in March 2024. The sides reached agreements in which AIME would pay her a $240,000 bonus for 2023, and a $240,000 severance fee in 12 installments of $20,000.
AIME did not pay Sweeney the bonus and two $20,000 installments earlier this yr, however advised Sweeney it supposed to pay her, in keeping with the preliminary lawsuit. Sweeney, by way of an lawyer, requested fee, and the commerce group countered that it was investigating the agreements.
The group filed a counterclaim in April in Texas federal courtroom, laying out its case that Sweeney as a director wasn’t entitled to her annual six-figure compensation per AIME’s bylaws. The group questioned how Sweeney’s 2023 bonus was decided, and it argued she negotiated her exit package deal herself, together with insisting that AIME President Marc Summers signal it.
In in search of to void her contract, AIME claims damages of over $900,000, together with compensation paid to Sweeney of $240,000 in 2021 and $479,999 in 2022.
Other trade gamers named in case filings
In its counterclaims, AIME accused Sweeney of improper dealings with different trade teams involving an unspecified amount of cash. Each of these events nonetheless had been solely talked about briefly and never accused of wrongdoing themselves.
AIME, in a footnote, accused Sweeney of diverting financial contributions from lender companions away from AIME to the Broker Action Coalition, a gaggle Sweeney co-founded. BAC Chief Advocacy Officer and co-founder Brendan McKay, in response to a National Mortgage News inquiry, mentioned sponsorship discussions as Sweeney transitioned from AIME coincided with the conventional sponsorship renewal cycle.
“It is my understanding that they had been carried out transparently, with the information of each the sponsors and in addition to AIME’s incoming management,” McKay wrote Friday. “Any suggestion that contributions had been ‘diverted’ is inaccurate.”
McKay continued, stating Sweeney “did the brand new group a favor by dealing with one of many hardest components of working a commerce affiliation” in sponsorship renewals.
Between 2022 and 2024, Sweeney additionally allegedly collected on contracts between AIME and corporations in which she had curiosity, with out AIME’s approval. That features a sponsorship settlement with Brokers are Better, a vendor community group in the present day often called The Mortgage Xchange.
The Mortgage XChange did not reply to a direct request for remark Friday afternoon.
Counsel for Sweeney in an August submitting additionally wrote United Wholesale Mortgage Chief Marketing Officer Sarah DeCiantis negotiated Sweeney’s departure from AIME and reviewed and revised her transition settlement.
A spokesperson for UWM mentioned in an announcement Thursday the lender has been a sponsor of AIME since its inception, however didn’t reply to a follow-up query concerning DeCiantis. AIME in response to a query about UWM additionally mentioned UWM has no authority over AIME’s board of administrators, and had no authority over Sweeney whereas she was at AIME.
Rocket which was not talked about in any filings and it didn’t return a request for remark this week.
The sides failed to succeed in a decision in mediation final month, in keeping with case filings. They’ve proposed a case timeline together with a 2027 trial date.
AIME was based in 2018 by Anthony Casa, in the present day president and CEO of Philadelphia-based brokerage UMortgage. The commerce group’s newest submitting talked about Casa as tied to the Brokers are Better group; a spokesperson for UMortgage Friday mentioned Casa had no involvement with BAB past a historic connection, and couldn’t touch upon the Sweeney litigation.
