Mortgage Company Seeks Repayment of $1.2M in Bonuses

Shkolnikov and Velyunskiy left Movement around March 2023, roughly one year into their three-year commitment. Public records indicate that Shkolnikov now works as a loan originator with United Lending Team in Illinois, while Velyunskiy is with Smart Rate Lending LLC (1). Movement initiated arbitration in February 2024, and the cases were combined before arbitrator H. William Constangy (1). The loan officers filed counterclaims, accusing Movement of breach of contract, unjust enrichment, fraudulent inducement, and violations of the Truth in Lending Act (1). [1]

In July, the arbitrator ruled in favor of Movement, determining that the employment agreements were valid contracts and that the two loan officers breached the contracts by failing to repay the start-up payments after leaving before the 36-month mark (1). The award also states that the repayment amount will accrue interest at North Carolina’s legal rate of 8% per year, starting in April 2023, which the arbitrator treated as the date of the breach (1). [1]

Movement Mortgage is seeking the repayment of more than $1.2 million in signing bonuses from Victor Shkolnikov and Igor Velyunskiy, who left the company after one year of a three-year agreement. According to court and arbitration documents, Movement paid a total of $1,235,000 in 'start-up payments' to the loan officers when they joined the company in March 2022. Shkolnikov received $835,000 and Velyunskiy received $400,000 (1). [1]

The employment agreements stipulated that these payments were advances on future wages and had to be repaid in full if the loan officers left before working 36 consecutive months at the company. Both Shkolnikov and Velyunskiy left Movement around March 2023, roughly one year into their three-year commitment. The contracts required repayment within 30 days if they left early (1). [1]

In July, the arbitrator ruled in favor of Movement, determining that the employment agreements were valid contracts and that the two loan officers breached the contracts by failing to repay the start-up payments after leaving before the 36-month mark. All of their counterclaims, which included accusations of breach of contract and fraudulent inducement, were dismissed (1). [1]

Movement Mortgage is seeking the repayment of more than $1.2 million in signing bonuses from Victor Shkolnikov and Igor Velyunskiy, who left the company after one year of a three-year agreement. According to court and arbitration documents, Movement paid a total of $1,235,000 in 'start-up payments' to the two loan officers when they joined the company in March 2022. Shkolnikov received $835,000 and Velyunskiy received $400,000. The contracts stipulated that these payments were advances on future wages and had to be repaid in full if the loan officers left before working 36 consecutive months at the company (1). [1]

Both Shkolnikov and Velyunskiy left Movement around March 2023, roughly one year into their three-year commitment. The employment agreements required that the start-up payments be repaid within 30 days if the loan officers left early. Public records show that Shkolnikov now works as a loan originator with United Lending Team in Illinois, while Velyunskiy is with Smart Rate Lending LLC. Movement and the two former loan officers did not immediately respond to HousingWire’s requests for comment (1). [1]

In July, the arbitrator ruled in favor of Movement, determining that the employment agreements were valid contracts and that the two loan officers breached the contracts by failing to repay the start-up payments after leaving before the 36-month mark. All of their counterclaims, which included allegations of breach of contract, unjust enrichment, fraudulent inducement, and violations of the Truth in Lending Act, were dismissed (1). [1]

Sources

HousingWire

Prepared with AI assistance from the cited sources.