Ocwen Employee Secretly Videotaped Women

A Palm Beach County jury found that Patti Kidder and Katherine Dean suffered emotional trauma and lost wages because of the illegal activities of Ronald Minnis, while he and the women were employed at Ocwen Financial Corp.

Videotapes and photographs of the women’s private body parts were allegedly sold to various pornographic and voyeuristic Web sites at the hands of Minnis, a former employee of the West Palm Beach-based company.

The complaint alleged that Kidder and Dean were subjected to “a relentless campaign of sexually offensive jokes, comments, innuendoes, and whispering,” with remarks such as, “Patti Porn Star” and “You should attach your picture to your request for a raise.”

The pair said that no action was taken after they complained to Ocwen officials about Minnis’ bizarre behavior, and retaliation from their colleagues began soon after their complaint. They also claimed that much of the inappropriate behavior was done in the presence of managers, owners, clients, and other third parties.

The complaint alleged negligent hiring against Ocwen, noting that the company had prior knowledge of Minnis’ deviant behavior and a felony criminal background.

At the time, Kidder was an Auction Coordinator for Ocwen and Dean held the position of Residential Sales Manager. Both claimed that after they complained to management, they “were denied job opportunities and given different, less desirable job assignments.”

They also said “they were told that they did not have a case and that Ocwen owners had high-powered lawyers that would squish them like a bug.”

Ocwen representatives said the company is not in agreement with the final verdict.

In a written statement emailed to MortgageDaily.com, Ocwen legal representatives stated, “We are disappointed with the jury’s verdict, which we believe is against the weight of the evidence and contrary to law. We have filed a motion seeking to set aside or reduce the verdict.”

Kidder and Dean could not be reached and their attorney George Supran did not reply to requests for comment.

Ocwen has set aside a reserve of $3 million to pay for the awards in this case and in another unrelated case, according to a FORM 8-K filed with the SEC today.

In the other case, a Nueces County, Texas, jury awarded a couple $140,000 in compensatory and statutory damages for a disputed foreclosure, the filing said, and awarded their attorney $2.9 million in fees.