Global Equity Finance Lawsuit: Wage Class Action and DFI Order

Global Equity Finance Inc., a San Diego-based mortgage lender, has been named in a lawsuit in three separate legal and regulatory matters: a pending California wage-and-hour class action filed by a former loan processor in 2022, a federal consumer protection suit in Washington state that ended in a stipulated dismissal in August 2023, and a 2017 Washington Department of Financial Institutions consent order resolving deceptive advertising charges. Founder and CEO Cornell M. Hough has been named personally in two of the three actions.

Robledo Wage-and-Hour Class Action in San Diego

On May 4, 2022, former loan processor Janeth Robledo filed a class action against Global Equity Finance and Cornell Hough in San Diego County Superior Court (case no. 37-2022-00016925-CU-OE-CTL), assigned to Judge Eddie C. Sturgeon.¹

Robledo worked as an hourly, non-exempt employee until January 2022. She sued on behalf of a proposed class of more than 40 current and former California hourly non-exempt employees who worked at the company at any point from May 4, 2018 through trial.²

The complaint alleges company-wide policies that required off-the-clock work, including loan processing tasks and responding to communications during meal periods, after hours, and on weekends. It also alleges that bonuses and commissions were excluded from the regular rate of pay used to calculate overtime, sick leave, and COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave.²

The causes of action include:

Failure to pay all minimum and overtime wages owed.
Failure to provide compliant 30-minute meal periods and 10-minute rest periods, or to pay the required premium when breaks were missed.
Failure to pay all wages promptly upon separation, triggering waiting time penalties.
Inaccurate itemized wage statements that failed to reflect total hours, correct hourly rates, and accurate gross and net wages.
Failure to reimburse work-from-home expenses, including cell phones, laptops, internet service, and utilities.
Underpayment of regular sick leave and COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave.
Unfair competition under California’s Unfair Competition Law.

The most recent docket update, dated January 11, 2023, listed the case as open, and plaintiffs’ counsel continues to list the matter as pending.¹³

Sutter Federal Consumer Protection Case in Washington

Jonathan Sutter, a National Guard member, sued Global Equity Finance and Vice President of Lending Roy Koldaro in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington. The case, Sutter v. Global Equity Finance Inc., No. 2:22-cv-00105, was heard by Judge Mary K. Dimke.⁴

Koldaro had assisted Sutter with a mortgage refinance in 2018. The following year, Koldaro communicated with Sutter and his neighbor, Christine Ribble, about transferring Sutter’s property to Ribble, who believed the transfer would include an assumption of Sutter’s VA-guaranteed mortgage. Koldaro provided a warranty deed template, and the transfer was completed on August 30, 2019. Ribble later said Koldaro had advised her the transaction would result in a mortgage assumption. Instead, Ribble took title while Sutter remained responsible for the mortgage payments until December 2021. Sutter alleged this prevented him from obtaining a new mortgage and forced him to purchase a shed to store his belongings.⁵

Sutter brought six claims: violation of Washington’s Consumer Loan Act, violation of the Mortgage Broker Practices Act, unauthorized practice of law, violation of the Consumer Protection Act, bad faith, and negligence. Before suing, he had complained to the Washington Department of Financial Institutions in January 2021. In May 2021, the DFI issued a closure letter finding that Global Equity Finance and Koldaro “likely violated” the Consumer Loan Act “by engaging in practices that were deceptive and unfair.”⁵

In September 2022, Judge Dimke denied Sutter’s motion to remand the case to state court. In June 2023, she denied his motion for partial summary judgment on the Consumer Protection Act claim, finding a genuine dispute of material fact remained about whether an unfair or deceptive practice occurred and whether it caused Sutter’s injuries. On August 23, 2023, the case was dismissed with prejudice on a stipulated motion by both parties, a resolution that typically signals a settlement. Terms were not disclosed in the docket.⁵⁴

Washington DFI Consent Order Over Deceptive Advertising

On October 13, 2016, the Washington Department of Financial Institutions issued a Statement of Charges (Case No. C-16-1927) alleging that Global Equity Finance and Cornell Hough had engaged in unfair and deceptive advertising in violation of the state’s Consumer Loan Act.⁶

The DFI alleged that the company’s direct mail made misleading claims about “low wholesale interest rates” and the “absolute lowest minimum payment,” failed to disclose annual percentage rates, and used emblems resembling the City of Olympia logo and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs seal. Online, the company allegedly advertised the “lowest rates in the industry” and “best rates available” without substantiation. The agency also cited conditional promises, including a “$1,000 Best Loan Guarantee” and “No-Risk Appraisal Guarantee,” whose fine-print disclaimers, it said, undercut the headline claims. The DFI further alleged that the company and Hough had failed to comply with investigative directives issued in January 2015 and February 2016.⁶

A consent order effective February 22, 2017 resolved the matter. Global Equity Finance and Hough did not admit wrongdoing but agreed to cease and desist from unfair or deceptive practices and to comply with the Consumer Loan Act. The order set a $200,000 fine, of which $60,000 was paid outright ($30,000 up front and five monthly installments of $6,000), $40,000 was stayed for one year contingent on future compliance, and $100,000 was effectively waived. The company also paid $5,000 in investigation costs and agreed to a limited-scope compliance examination of its 2017 advertising at its own expense. The order stated that the company’s mortgage lending license was not affected.⁶

The public record does not disclose whether the follow-up compliance examination was completed, what rating the company received, or whether the $40,000 stayed portion of the fine was ultimately collected or expired.

About the Company

Global Equity Finance was incorporated on April 20, 2005, and is headquartered at 7310 Miramar Road, Suite 500, in San Diego. Cornell M. Hough founded the company and serves as its CEO. It operates as both a direct lender and a mortgage broker, offering fixed- and adjustable-rate mortgages, FHA and VA loans, reverse mortgages, and loans for manufactured homes.⁷⁸

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UniCourt. Robledo vs Global Equity Finance Inc
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Ferraro Vega Employment Lawyers. Class Action Complaint – Robledo v. Global Equity Finance
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Ferraro Vega Employment Lawyers. Robledo v. Global Equity Finance
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CourtListener. Sutter v. Global Equity Finance Inc
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vLex. Sutter v. Glob. Equity Fin.
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Washington DFI. Consent Order No. C-16-1927-17-CO01
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Global Equity Finance. Global Equity Finance Homepage
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BBB. Global Equity Finance Inc BBB Business Profile