Mortgage lender Lower alleges that competitor New American Funding persuaded more than a dozen of its employees to join its ranks in a recently filed suit.
A former San Antonio branch manager, who oversaw a group of 12 Lower loan originators, is also named as a defendant in the litigation filed in a federal Texas court Feb. 25.The branch manager, Andrew Steven Kolmeier, and New American Funding “colluded…to solicit 12 other Lower employees, whom Kolmeier supervised, to leave Lower and join NAF – which they all did on the same day,” Lower claims.
Plans to move to NAF were allegedly hatched at the beginning of 2025, while the simultaneous departure of all 13 employees took place Feb.3.
“NAF knew this conduct violated Kolmeier’s employment agreement with Lower and encouraged him to breach it anyway, inflicting untold damage on Lower,” the complaint said.
As of February, Kolmeier is employed with NAF, per the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System. The San Antonio branch, which Kolmeier oversees, became a part of Lower after the mortgage shop acquired Thrive Mortgage at the end of 2023.
New American Funding declined to comment on pending litigation. Lower did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
Apart from poaching allegations, Lower also accuses one of its former loan originators, Africa Gibb, of rerouting business opportunities away from it prior to her departure and taking proprietary information with her when she left for NAF.
Specifically, Gibb purportedly emailed herself several spreadsheets containing Lower’s trade secrets and proprietary information before resigning from her place of employment.
Lower said its former employees let “greed overcome their contractual promises and duties” and as a result caused significant damage to the company.
The Ohio-based mortgage lender is asking a Texas federal court to award it nominal damages in excess of $75,000. Additionally it wants for Gibbs to be enjoined from using, disclosing or deleting any proprietary trade secret information of Lower.
NAF originated close to $10 billion in 2023, per the Scotsman Guide, and sponsors over 2,300 loan officers. Lower, on the other hand, is much smaller in size, sponsoring a little under 500 loan officers, per NMLS.
In a competitive hiring environment, mortgage lenders have actively volleyed poaching and trade secrets suits one another.
NAF, specifically, has seen at least three similar poaching suits lodged against it since 2023.
Other mortgage lenders such as CMG Mortgage, CrossCountry Mortgage and Movement Mortgage have also been caught in the crosshairs of poaching-related allegations.
