Navigation



Worldwide Financial Resources Inc. - Retail - Agency, FHA/VA, Alt-A, Subprime

2009-08-27

Comment on this article | Subscribe by email!

stories: njbiz.com

Update - 2009-09-14: David Findel, the founder and former CEO of now defunct Worldwide Financial Resources, Inc. has been charged in an $11 million mortgage fraud scheme. As reported in NJBiz, the complaint alleges Findel had been "reselling single mortgages multiple times to a variety of financial institutions."

"Findel finally walked in to a government office and gave himself up," Newark FBI spokesman Bryan L. Travers said. "The banks were pressing him for their money and he knew the jig was up. Right after that [surrender], we filed the criminal complaint."

According to the FBI's official press release, it is believed Findel was using the money to pay both corporate and personal expenses. Findel was released on a $1 million bond.

Original Listing - 2009-08-27: We have received information that Worldwide Financial Resources, Inc. has closed its doors. Considered a "powerhouse" in the region, the company averaged more than $43 million in originations per month in 2005. According to one insider, loan officers originated $75 million last month.

Based in East Brunswick, New Jersey the company had two branch offices in New York and one in Pennsylvania per their web site. One source estimated there were "over 100 L/O's" and "probably 70-80 salaried employees" at the corporate office. Info from Dun & Bradstreet indicates the company had 112 employees.

The company's founder and CEO David Findel gained notoriety in October of last year for his $400,000 purchase of season tickets at the New York Jet's new stadium. Shortly thereafter, the New York Post reported that a lawsuit had been filed alleging fraud and breach-of-contract for a $380,000 loan that Findel had taken from fellow businessman Michael Rapf. The following is excerpted from that article:

"Findel, the papers allege, didn't disclose that his firm, Worldwide Financial Resources, was "undercapitalized and insolvent" and that he was "personally insolvent" at the time of the loan.

Separate court records show that at the time of Rapf's loan, Findel was in the midst of a bitter, $6 million-plus racketeering and mortgage-fraud lawsuit filed against him by Ohio Savings Bank.

That suit - which also cited a "pervasive" fraud pattern and alleged Findel used his firm as a personal piggy bank - claimed Findel's company duped the bank into buying more than $20 million in bogus, high-risk mortgage loans.

Findel settled that suit in 2006; financial terms weren't disclosed."

According to a former employee, Findel claimed the company had been "hit" with $15 to $21 million in loan repurchase requests. Sources confirmed the loss of a wholesale relationship with CitiMortgage may also have been a factor. It is not clear if Rapf's lawsuit played any significant role in the company's closure.

Information is still coming in. If you can provide additional details on the company's operation and the circumstances surrounding their demise, please let us know.



Comments:

mtguy at 08:09 2009-08-30 said:
It's a shame that this guy is going to stiff people that are owed money. He will go off and file for bankruptcy and everyone gets screwed. He will ride off in his fancy cars, with his millions of dollars he has made over the years and employees wont get one penny.

Guys like Findel deserve every bit of bad fortune they get. Permalink

byebyefr at 18:38 2009-08-30 said:
It's about time; how long did Findel think he could get away with the shennanigans. It's a shame that innocent employees were subject to his illegal actions.

It's nice to see that they did not walk away, they ran.

Fairwell Findel enjoy the extended vacation. Permalink

jlatc at 13:00 2009-08-31 said:
We closed on a refinance with them July 13, to fund July 20. The loan finally funded August 17, and a lot of run around about losing their warehouse bank, etc. Looks like it was true. Sorry bastards. I'm stuck with paying interest for the loan for almost a month without actually getting the funds. Permalink
GWTMC at 10:06 2009-09-02 said:
This company has been operating for quite a bit of time now with loan officers that are knowingly convicted felons. Men and Women that are not allowed to work in the financial industry, but Worldwide Financial didn't care about that. They registered them under phony names of their friends and family. These people worked under these fake names and were paid that way too! There's a reason why these people can't work in the industry and Worldwide Financial repeatedly broke the law while putting consumers in major danger.

Some of these employees have falsified paperwork to get loans to close. Now the banks are asking for buy backs on all the crap they sold them and very rightfully so. This isn't about a warehouse line. This is about people breaking the law and it coming back to bite them. They're criminals and thieves and if he can't write a hefty check for what he owes to the bank then I sincerely hope the feds get involved because it is nothing more than fraud.

Oh and if your loan was there, it was scrambled to be moved without notifying the consumers. I believe Euro Financial in Long Island, NY took some of the loans. I presume the consumers won't receive disclosures and they will just add it into the closing paperwork and backdate trying to go unnoticed. Another example of their scamming ways. Permalink

mtguy at 19:21 2009-09-02 said:
Hey GWTC,

Sounds like you know everything about the operation!!! How would you know all this information??? How do you know where all the loans went???? How do you know so much about the inner "fraud" as you out it???

You are nothing more than a disgruntled piker that is talking out of your ass to cause some drama. Its guys like you that give people in this industry a bad name.

You should be more concerned about the good and dedicated employees that went without money that was owed them. Not the "convicted felons" that you claim to kn ow so much about. Your story is glass, can see right through it. Nice try though... Permalink

GWTMC at 22:27 2009-09-02 said:
MTGUY,

My response to this post was regarding the way the owner of this business conducted himself and the little regard he had for the rules protecting consumers and implementation of them within his company. This behavior coincides with the demise of the company. It wasn't an attack, nor was it out of line in any way. This is factual information people should know and it will all undoubtedly check out if looked into. There is absolutely no reason for your bizarre aggression to me, especially considering it had no contradiction to your own post on the subject. It is just different and additional information.

I feel sad that people like Findel exist that have no regard for the laws or for consumer safety and also sad for the many quality employees he had working for him and their rightfully owed pay. People like your former boss are a contributing factor to why the industry is in turmoil.

If it gives you any satisfaction, I can tell you that your former post was incorrect. Bankruptcy will not make this situation disappear. The FBI will be on him quickly if he is unable to pay all the buybacks back. Fraud to this extent is not taken lightly these days and 20+ million of it doesn't accumulate from playing by the rules.

While you may be concerned with yourself and how you will feed your family without your pay, which I understand and sympathize with, there is nothing wrong with me finding it troubling that someone would go to the lengths Findel did to make money by hiring felons and falsifying documentation for them in addition to repeatedly closing "bad" loans. Or the fact that consumers may be closing their refinances or purchases in the near future with a completely different company than they intended, unknown to them.

Since my information is correct, it should be out there in public and frankly, I can't understand why it upset you so much. Permalink

peetay at 09:12 2009-09-03 said:
GWTMC,

You're right on. I'm one of the customers who recently got taken. Waited over a month after the "closing" (which took two months) and loan still not funded. Looks like it never will be now. They really do offer "unparalleled service" as they put it. Permalink

mtguy at 10:53 2009-09-03 said:
It upset me so much because I was an employee of Financial Resources. I am not a criminal. I do not have an AKA and I worked very hard for my money and was taken by a thief and a liar.

Is David Findel a piece of garbage? Absolutely!

Are all the employees of Financial Resources criminals? Absolutely NOT!

To portray in a public forum that "everyone" that was employed by FR was a felon or criminal is wrong. I am a hard worker and dedicated employee that has many clients who had loans with FR. I was screwed for my commissions and I am trying very hard to get back on my feet. For you to be so stereotypical of "all" FR employees is just ridiculous.

You are obviously disgruntled by FR and rightfully so but before you go labeling hard working innocent victims of FR, you should think about who you are hurting. Permalink

GWTMC at 13:20 2009-09-03 said:
Nowhere in my posting did I label or accuse ALL employee of Worldwide Financial Resources of being criminals. If you re-read the above, you will see that. I stated a fact that Findel and some of his license holders (as he does not personally hold all of the licenses for the company) are criminals for knowingly hiring some employees who are ex convicts and are not legally permitted to work in the banking industry. The company falsified paperwork for these men and women to make money and many times at the expense of the consumers. I'm not sure if you are aware of this from your time spent with the company, but it is a fact. As is my statement that hundreds of loans were scrambled to be moved when the company announced its closing. Some of these loans were moved without the consent of the consumers. A significant amount of loans have been moved to the company I previously mentioned. Any information I stated will check out.

I found out today that Worldwide Financial was attempting to close $40 million a month with only $7 million in funding on top of creating a lot of bad deals without good quakity control, some fraudulent, thus resulting in many of the buybacks.

I wish you nothing, but the best and I am sorry you have been scammed by them. I am not disgruntled. I am only sharing the truth. It's time situations like this stopped.

Any consumers whose loans did not fund and were stuck paying interest should contact their state's banking department. It is a very serious violation on the part of the bank and if the licenses have not been rescinded, you are entitled to your money back. Permalink

There are more posts. Click here to view the whole thread

add a comment | go to forum thread

Important: This company is on our list of lending operations that have "imploded". However, please note that "imploded" is a somewhat subjective and does not necessarily mean operations are ceased permanently: it can mean bankruptcy filing, temporary but open-ended halting of major operations, or "firesale" acquisition. All information here is provisional, and may contain inaccuracies (especially newer information). If you are planning on doing business with this company or any other one listed on this site, you should inquire with them directly on whether they can still meet your needs. Many are still operating in some capacity.