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Former NEXA Mortgage<\/strong> president Mat Grella has accused his partner at the firm, Mike Kortas, of making aircraft-related purchases with company money without his consent, resulting in his \u201cabrupt\u201d termination<\/a> from the company.\u00a0Kortas denies his partner’s allegations. <\/p>\n \u201cI had grown frustrated with our partnership, coupled with Mike’s fixation on aircraft-related purchases. I had some concerns about where our focus was because it had shifted away from mortgages and more on aviation. I brought my concerns to Mike and it became evident that my concerns were not being handled productively,\u201d Grella said in an interview. <\/p>\n As a result, Grella started conversations related to a buyout in November, he told HousingWire<\/strong>. However, during the company\u2019s valuation process, when financial professionals reviewed its books, discoveries of aviation purchases led him to confront Kortas, resulting in his termination as president of NEXA, Grella added.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cEarly this year, I discovered that Kortas had been making aircraft-related purchases with company money and without my knowledge or consent,\u201d Grella said in a statement. \u201cWhen Kortas entered into a letter of intent for NEXA\u2019s purchase of a $24 million airplane-hangar leasehold, I objected in the interest of protecting the company. The situation escalated, resulting in my termination.\u201d<\/p>\n In response, Kortas wrote to HousingWire that the only portion of Grella’s most recent statement that “appears to be accurate is his handling of NEXA’s day-to-day operations, which mainly included financial aspects.” <\/p>\n Kortas added that Grella was notified of his “impending termination’ a number of days prior and was “directly related to his tortious and intentional interference with NEXA’s business and, which was done in breach of his fiduciary duties.” <\/p>\n “In November 2023, Mr. Grella requested and agreed with NEXA to a buyout of his membership interest in NEXA and its subsidiary companies, which include the ongoing aviation business that Mr. Grella was also approved of which NEXA currently leases an aircraft hangar ,” Kortas said. “As such, Mr. Grella’s claims that NEXA has done things without his knowledge and consent are especially troubling and not credible.” <\/p>\n Grella filed a complaint against Kortas and his wife, Edna Montijo, in Maricopa County (Arizona) on March 19.<\/p>\n In total, Grella claims he discovered over $1.5 million worth of \u201csecret, unauthorized\u201d aircraft purchases and jet hangar lease payments \u2013 \u201cand all of which Kortas purchased for himself or his wholly owned entities.\u201d <\/p>\n The document claims breach of the operating agreement, breach of fiduciary duties, unjust enrichment, and conversion, among others allegations. It says Kortas\u2019s \u201cmisconduct also supports his removal from the company as a member.\u201d<\/p>\n Grella is asking for attorney fees and punitive damages. He also claims that Kortas converted NEXA funds and made unauthorized credit card purchases, which \u201chave reduced Kortas\u2019 membership percentage interest to below Grella\u2019s membership percentage interest, such that Grella is now the majority owner of Nexa.\u201d <\/p>\n The lawsuit states that Kortas had 50.5% of the company and Grella had a 49.5% share. <\/p>\n America\u2019s largest mortgage brokerage, NEXA originated $6.29 billion in mortgage loans in 2023, according to Kortas. As of Monday, the company had 2,391 sponsored mortgage loan officers, per the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System<\/strong> (NMLS). <\/p>\n Grella told HousingWire that the mortgage business is profitable despite a challenging market<\/a>. But that\u2019s not the case for the aviation business. NEXA\u2019s affiliated companies include AXEN Mortgage<\/strong>, a non-delegated correspondent shop, as well as a charter flight business<\/a> \u2013 the latter of which was the source of disagreement between the partners.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The venture started in February 2022 when Kortas \u201cpersuaded\u201d Grella to purchase two jets for NEXA\u2019s corporate use and business purposes, per the lawsuit. The jets would be used to fly executives around the country as needed. However, there were also tax benefits to depreciating those assets, which would justify the investment. Another jet acquisition was made one month later. <\/p>\n Then, according to the lawsuit, in late 2022, Kortas \u201cconvinced\u201d Grella to acquire an FAA-licensed charter company called Fly Dreams, LLC<\/strong>. The justification was that it would help charter the third jet and \u201cdry-lease it, which would help defray NEXA\u2019s aircraft expenses.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cAfter NEXA closed on the purchase of Fly Dreams in early 2023, due to regulatory hurdles that Kortas had failed to flag or explain, NEXA was unable to charter the new jet with Fly Dreams,\u201d the lawsuit states. <\/p>\n After that, specifically in 2023, Grella said Kortas tried to convince him to purchase an airplane flight school due to a pilot shortage (which he ended up doing independently), invest in an aircraft hangar, and purchase another jet. <\/p>\n Grella refused and claimed he faced retaliation, with Kortas treating him as an employee rather than a partner, depriving him of the use of the jets, and ceasing the payment of wage for both of them despite NEXA having millions in retained earnings.<\/p>\n Regarding the $24 million airplane-hangar leasehold, the lawsuit that “Grella informed the seller of the truth of Kortas\u2019 inability to bind Nexa.\u201d Then, through his legal counsel, Kortas “asserted that the aviation business is a legitimate business of Nexa and “Grella had consented to some aviation related purchases.” Therefore, according to Kortas, he was authorized to make the purchase on Nexa\u2019s behalf without Grella\u2019s consent, per the lawsuit. <\/p>\n According to Grella, his \u201cabrupt\u201d termination occurred on March 20, after months of frustration related to what he calls a \u201cserious breach of NEXA\u2019s operating agreement, which requires profits<\/a> to be distributed equally and for both partners to consent to activities not directly related to NEXA\u2019s mortgage brokerage<\/a> purposes.\u201d<\/p>\n The lawsuit states that Kortas controls the company, bank accounts, and profit distributions. However, the operating agreement says that if the company engages in any other activity that is unrelated to the purpose of mortgage brokerage, it \u201crequires unanimous member consent.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut after Kortas developed an aviation hobby, he began spending millions of dollars of company money for his own aircraft, without Grella\u2019s consent, and, in many cases, without his knowledge,\u201d the document states. <\/p>\nNEXA’s businesses <\/strong><\/h2>\n
The split<\/strong><\/h2>\n