California-based nonbank lender loanDepot is suing former chief operations officer Tammy Richards for breach of contract and fiduciary duty, accusing her of stealing confidential information concerning the lender’s customers.
The move is part of a legal battle that started in September 2021 when Richards filed a lawsuit alleging the lender closed thousands of loans without proper documentation to boost its performance ahead of its initial public offering (IPO) on the New York Stock Exchange.
loanDepot hired Richards in February 2018 to oversee its channels at that time — retail, wholesale, consumer direct and joint ventures — as well as processing, underwriting, closing and operational support functions.
The lender claims that, due to Richards’s senior role, she had access to highly sensitive and private information that she agreed to protect by following loanDepot’s policies. It includes a confidentiality agreement attached to the lawsuit that she supposedly agreed to on March 27, 2018.
However, on Oct. 17, 2022, during a deposition for the lawsuit Richards filed against loanDepot two years ago, “Richards testified that she secretly used a…
