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| A subprime wholesaler is accused of ignoring sexual harassment by former female employees — who also allege fraud.
Citing grounds of sexual harassment, discrimination, and fraudulent lending practices, six BNC Mortgage, Inc. employees recently ended their employment and filed a formal complaint with the state of California, the attorney representing the women announced. According to a copy of the complaint filed with State of California Department of Fair Employment and Housing and other documents provided to MortgageDaily.com by the claimants’ attorney, J. Gary Gwilliam, the subprime lender and its human resource department ignored the group’s accusations of sexual and racial harassment by an account manager at the company’s Sacramento branch, forcing them to terminate their employment. MortgageDaily.com calls to the Sacramento branch and to the headquarters of BNC, which according to its Web site employs over 1,200 people nationwide and maintains a network of over 12,500 mortgage brokers, were not returned. In a press release last week, Oakland trial attorney Gwilliam said the offending account manager had left the company “because he apparently had outside business and a conflict of interest.” Furthermore, he added, “All of the women are upset over the fact that he was never disciplined for his sexual and racial harassment.” The alleged victims gave detailed accounts of the harassment, which included verbal abuse, unwanted touching, and other offensive behaviors at the Irvine, Calif.-based company. He “made me very uncomfortable and fearful,” one of the alleged victims, an underwriter for BNC since Sept. 2003, claimed. “Repeated complaints to management were ignored. The branch manager even referred to the alleged actions as “just fun and games,” the women contend, “and nicknamed him ‘Chester Molester’.” Another alleged victim, an account executive since July 2004, said after complaining about the harassment, others began to refer to her as “the bitch” and reportedly it was overheard that a few employees were going to “make her pay.” He also made racially offensive comments regarding African-Americans and Hispanics and would simulate sexual acts in front of the women, documents allege. Three of the women contend the harassment and “retaliation” began soon after reporting fraudulent activity and finding false documentation in applicant files, according to their written statements. |
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Paula Parisot is a MortgageDaily.com feature reporter and a blogger at CloserBlog.com who has also worked in the mortgage industry. Email Paula at: [email protected] |
