Steal the Deal

March 18, 2009


A former loan officer for a reverse mortgage lender has been accused of stealing customer leads and other customer data from the company's office right before he quit his job.

Bruce Jarrad, 37, of Royal Oak, Mich., faces charges of wire fraud and theft of trade secrets from Melville, N.Y.-based World Alliance Financial Corp. Jarrad worked for World's Troy, Mich. office.

The company, formerly known as Vertical Lend Inc., surrendered a previous mortgage broker license in 2008 and sought new licensing after the Massachusetts Division of Banks accused them of deceptive business practices and use of unlicensed loan brokers in that state.

Jarrad, if convicted, faces a maximum of up to 30 years in prison, plus fines of up to $250,000 and court-ordered restitution.

Read story at Crain's Detroit