I worked for one of the most successful, profitable branches of Allied Mortgage in the country (Milford, MA) from March up until receiving my last paycheck the end of February. During that time, the branch made MILLIONS of dollars under the branch manager Peter Belli. It was consistently in the Top 10 (many times number 1 or 2) month to month when compared to other branches nationwide. I worked first as a loan officer and was soon after promoted to a Division Manager, overseeing up to 15 people at a time.
At the time I received my last paycheck February I was still owed close to $500,000 in earned commissions (loans closed, funded, money in the bank down in Houston's corporate HQ). For reasons unknown to me, as I cannot get a straight answer from anyone in Houston, they have stopped paying me the money owed me and are forcing me to chase it in order to get it. The local employees at the Milford branch acknowledge this money was earned by me and is owed. I can only guess that Allied Houston/Jim Hodge, CEO thinks they can get away with theft of my money. As it stands now, I filed my complaint with the MA Attorney General's Office and have submitted a full report citing back-up documentation, along with the names of others who can corroborate my claim.in addition to not being paid the money owed me, I have never officially been given any information regarding my termination, COBRA, nothing. I also think this is a violation of labor laws and the way an employee is to be lawfully terminated, isn't it?
The intimidation tactics used by Allied Houston (Corporate HQ) since then to scare me away have not done anything to deter me. I first learned I would no longer get paid as a result of my direct deposit not showing up in my bank account on March 15. No warning, no notice, no nothing. After calling to investigate the situation with the local branch in Milford, MA, it became clear that Corporate/Jim Hodge pulled my payroll from being dispersed. Over the next several weeks I worked to try to amicably resolve this situation. During that time I was lied to and mislead by different individuals in Houston. I couldn't even find out my status to know whether or not I could file for unemployment. I was told from their legal counsel (Tony Musgrave) that I should go ahead and file for unemployment and then when this gets straightened out, I would be re-hired and payment would begin again. When I went to file for unemployment compensation through the state of Massachusetts, I was first denied compensation because Allied confirmed that I still worked for them when the state called and requested a report regarding my termination. I then was denied with a written report from Allied Corporate because they claimed I voluntarily resigned my postion and therefore was not eligible for unemployment compensation. This is completely untrue as many people know in the local Milford, MA branch. I supplied letters to MA DET from co-workers who knew the situation and my unemployment compensation began again. However, on one more ocassion Allied Corporate filed a subsequent report stating again, that I had not only voluntarily resigned, and that they are preparing legal action against me to recoup the money I was paid but not owed. This was the message told directly to Donna Clifford at Mass DET from the legal counsel representing Allied in this case. I have not seen or been served any lawsuit from Allied seeking reimbursement of money paid to me that I was not legally entitled to, because it's a lie on their part, again. Allied Corporate withdrew the challenge to my unemployment claim when Peter Belli (local Milford, MA branch manager) told their counsel I did not voluntarily resign and that Corporate had no way to support their claim that I did. Unemployment checks have continued since that time uninterrupted, but man did they try to squeeze me into getting nothing at all, even when they weren't the ones writing the check... It's just one example of the lengths and lies they will go to in order to not pay money they ligitimately owe.
I am a divorced, single father of two handicapped twin 9 year old boys, one who is severly afflicted - he is a quadriplegic in a wheelchair, suffering from severe spastic Cerebal Palsy, who obviously is non ambulatory, non-verbal, unable to speak, toilet, or feed himself. He is also mentally retarded and requires care 24/7. He attends Kennedy Day School at Franciscan Children's Hospital in Boston. His twin brother is learning disabled but mainstreamed into the public schools. (Their identical triplet brother died prior to being delivered.) At this point in time we are in the process of losing our home to foreclosure due to Allied not paying me the money I earned, and it doesn't look like the AG's office is going to move quickly enough to save us. I just don't understand how a company can act criminally in my mind, and inflict this type of pain and suffering on a person, let alone children in this condition. Totally criminal and immoral and anyone in addition to Jim Hodge that supports this action is guilty as well. There is NO legal justification for NOT paying me this money that I earned and am owed.
I do know that Allied Mortgage has a habit of not dealing well with employees. Recently they settled with the US Dept of Labor wage issues for close to $2,000, 000 paid out to current and former employees. When I contacted the MA Atty General's office, I was told I was not the first to lodge a complaint against them. I do think I am probably the largest, with the most to lose. I know of other employees who have not come forward because they've seen how Allied came after and tried to inimidate me and others, and are afraid of what might happen to them. Not only is this seemingly illegal, both civil and criminal, but it certainly is immoral in terms of what they've done and continue to do.
I would caution anyone looking to work with Allied Mortgage to completely investigage who you'll be working for and if they have the financial backing to pay you regularly. It seems the lending troubles may have spilled over and that's possibly why Allied Houston cannot or does not want to pay me the money I already brought in to them? Also, if I was a borrower I'd wonder the same thing. Will Allied be able to fund the loans to it's borrowers if they can't even afford to pay their employees or short cut them as the DOL action found out? Very troubling across the board, and I haven't been getting any feedback from the agencies I contacted to investigate my claim. All I know is, I legitimately earned the money but was not paid. It's that simple. Peter Belli, branch manager of Milford, MA, along with the Operations Manager, the bookkeeper, and the General manager can all attest to this, along with the computer and closed loan files. Jim Hodge, CEO in Houston also knows of the money owed me as do others in Houston, if not the exact details, they certainly know about the money owed to John R. I'm hopeful the Mass AG's office brings the full power of their authority and responsibility, and protects as well as secures the money owed to me, as well as sends a clear message to Jim Hodge and others in Houston that this type of business practice (whether it's criminal and/or civil) will not be tolerated here.
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