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The Industry Pulse: Update on Stern & Eisenberg, New Diligence Advisors, and More

The Industry Pulse

The Industry PulseFrom new appointments and legal victories to new technology and expansions, get the latest buzz on the industry in this weekly update.

Claims Recovery Financial Services [1] (CRFS), a New York-based investor and insurer claims management solutions provider has announced the addition [2] of new consulting and data analytics services, expanding its platform of defaulted-loan product offerings.

The added services complement CRFS’s claims processing solutions platform, allowing clients to choose from a comprehensive, full-plate menu of consulting services based on their unique business needs. Over the last 15 years, the company's services have helped clients to achieve quality results, submission timeliness, loss reductions, and recovery maximizations. CRFS says that its independence and industry expertise provide its partners with the ability to reallocate vital internal resources, successfully scale production operations, and ultimately reduce risk while enhancing financial outcomes.

The additional bouquet of services offered by CRFS includes five services that provide clients with a comprehensive product scope, across all facets of the claims, audit quality assurance, and property liquidation environments. CRFS said that it will customize a plan based on the needs of each individual client.

Stern & Eisenberg [3] [3] has announced the firm’s expansion into Tennessee and Alabama [4]. With this expansion, Stern & Eisenberg now operates in twelve states and the District of Columbia. The firm’s other states of service are New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, West Virginia, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. Stern & Eisenberg maintains GSE-compliant, brick-and-mortar operations in each of its twelve states of service and has large, regional processing hubs in Baltimore, Maryland and Warrington, Pennsylvania where the firm is headquartered.

“We’re thrilled with the new legal talent that our expansion into Tennessee and Alabama is bringing Stern & Eisenberg and our clients,” Chief Value Officer Kathy Brady said. “The quality of attorneys that are joining our team is an exciting development and adds to our already industry-leading team of legal minds.”

As part of the expansion, the firm has announced that Zachary H. Champion, Esq. has joined Stern & Eisenberg’s Alabama office. Champion is an expert on U.S. bankruptcy code and has extensive experience with the federal government, having advised on regulatory, evidentiary, and policy matters. In the firm’s new Nashville, Tennessee office, Stern & Eisenberg has announced Carolee Berasi, Esq. has joined the firm’s Tennessee team. Berasi brings nearly a decade of creditors’ rights experience to her new role with S&E. She is also licensed in Georgia, North Carolina, and Virginia where the firm also operates.

The firm is also a member of the Legal League 100 [5], a premier professional association of financial services law firms in the United States,.

Cleveland-based Weltman [6]Weinberg & Reis Co., LPA (Weltman), has announced that the firm prevailed in the lawsuit [7] brought against it by the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection(BCFP). The firm said that Judge Donald C. Nugent, presiding over the case in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, issued an Opinion, finding on Weltman’s behalf, and confirming that the BCFP’s lawsuit lacked merit. The Court emphasized its finding “that lawyers were meaningfully involved disproves the Plaintiff’s sole theory of liability, and precludes recovery under the Complaint.”

“The Judge’s Opinion thoroughly vindicates Weltman’s processes and is a complete rejection of the BCFP’s unfounded allegations,” said Scott S. Weltman, Managing Partner at Weltman. “The Judge stressed that the BCFP 'offered no evidence to show that any consumer was harmed by Weltman’s practice of identifying itself as a law firm in its demand letters,' that 'Weltman’s demand letters were truthful on their face,' and that 'Weltman attorneys were meaningfully and substantially involved in the debt collection process both before and after the issuance of the demand letters.'"

New Diligence Advisors [8] (NDA), a national third-party review firm which currently provides a full range of loan underwriting and review services for lenders and investors, has announced the hiring of three new executives [9] to its team. All three executives will be based in NDA's operations center in Jacksonville, Florida.

Mikhael Mikle has been added as VP of Loan Review Services. She will oversee the leadership of production resources to successfully execute client engagements. Additionally, Mikle will direct all activities responsible for identifying and implementing opportunities to improve operational performance. Mikle is a seasoned mortgage industry veteran with more than 20 years of professional leadership with a focus on client delivery, regulatory compliance, credit risk administration, resource and performance management. Prior to joining NDA, she was the site director for credit risk, underwriting and quality for PHH mortgage and has previously held several other leadership roles within PHH.

David Littleton is welcomed as the VP of Technology. In this role, Littleton will oversee all aspects of the company's IT platform and resources. Following a 20-year career in the United States Navy, Littleton has spent the past 15 years working in the IT field for mortgage and banking companies. He joins NDA from Everbank (TIAA FSB) as AVP for both the architecture and enterprise products teams where he directed activities involving platform development, CRM strategies, and Enterprise Solution Design for nine lines of businesses.

Finally, NDA has hired Anthony Grasso as director of compliance. In this role, Grasso will be responsible for the implementation, maintenance, and integrity of mortgage compliance services. Grasso is a seasoned mortgage professional with a strong background in state and federal regulations relating to compliance activities. Throughout his career, Grasso has held a series of executive compliance positions in the banking, mortgage and due diligence industries. Recently, he was the SVP of mortgage due diligence/re-underwriting operations for Mission Global.