Quicken uses similar methods, said a former loan salesman at the company in a sworn statement. Īs Hudson recently documented in his book, The Monster: How a Gang of Predatory Lenders and Wall Street Bankers Fleeced America - and Spawned a Global Crisis, aggressive sales tactics were a hallmark of the abusive lending that led to the housing crash. Documents in the case also claim that the company encouraged some borrowers to overstate their income. In the Michigan suit, former employees are seeking overtime pay they say Quicken owes them. In court papers, former salespeople claim Quicken executives managed by bullying and intimidation, pressuring them to falsify borrowers' incomes on loan applications and to push overpriced deals on desperate or unwary homeowners. They accuse the company of using high-pressure salesmanship to target elderly and vulnerable homeowners, as well as misleading borrowers about their loans, and falsifying property appraisals and other information to push through bad deals.Ī group of ex-employees, meanwhile, have gone to federal court to accuse Quicken of abusing workers and customers alike. Quicken has also capitalized on that image, touting its high ranking in consumer surveys, top grade from the Better Business Bureau and repeated listing by Fortune as one of the "100 Best Companies to Work For." Yet allegations by former employees and customers bear a disturbing resemblance to the reckless, often illegal lending that marked the years leading up the housing crash. Quicken founder and chairman Dan Gilbert, owner of the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers, has sought to distance his company from the actions of notorious predatory lenders such as Ameriquest and Countrywide.