Major lender accused of steering, RESPA violations in new lawsuit 

The real estate and lending industry is facing another class-action lawsuit centered around steering and RESPA violations.

Hagens Berman, one of the law firms involved in the Moehrl commissions lawsuit, announced on Feb. 18 that it is representing veteran homebuyers in a complaint against Veterans United Home Loans. 

The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri — the site of the landmark Sitzer/Burnett trial — and claims that the private lender has misled consumers "by falsely presenting itself as part of the VA," among other allegations.

Who's involved in the case: The three plaintiffs — Christian Peyton of Tennessee, Salem Zahn of Texas and Ernest Easter of Pennsylvania — are U.S. military veterans who obtained a loan through Veterans United to purchase a home between 2022 and 2025. The class would include all buyers who received financing from Veterans United since Jan. 1, 2020.

The filing names Veterans United Home Loans; its parent company, Mortgage Research Center, LLC; and Realty Search Solutions, LLC (d/b/a Veterans United Realty) as defendants. 

The plaintiffs are asking for actual damages, punitive damages and attorney fees, in an amount to be determined at trial.

The allegations: The complaint claims that Veterans United has "capitalized on and exploited the demand of military members and Veterans" by falsely suggesting it's associated with the U.S. Veterans Administration. The filing pointed to language on the Veterans United website promoting itself as "The Nation's #1 VA Lender." 

Additionally, the lawsuit claims Veterans United utilizes a referral network of real estate agents who are "required to steer their clients to use Veterans United for their home loans. If the agents do not do so, they stop receiving leads." The lender and its agent network are thus "engaged in a perpetual loop of illegal referrals and kickbacks," according to the filing. 

Because the lender allegedly charges higher fees and rates, buyers are further harmed. 

"These mortgage companies should be ashamed of their underhanded business tactics and are wholly unaffiliated with the military," Steve Berman, managing partner and co-founder of Hagens Berman, said in a news release. "No owner, co-owner or founder has served in the military."

The complaint, which includes statements from six unnamed agents and loan officers, asserts that Veterans United's business practices violate the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act and common law unjust enrichment.

What Veterans United had to say: A spokesperson for the lender said, "For 24 years we have been committed to serving Veterans and military families with love, care and respect. We're aware of the lawsuit that was filed. We deny the accusations and look forward to disputing this through the legal process. Because this is pending litigation, we can't comment further."

Related cases: If these allegations sound familiar, they are. Hagens Berman is also behind the Taylor case — a lawsuit filed against Zillow in September (and amended in November to include RICO claims) alleging that the search giant's home loans division participates in illegal steering and deceptive practices. Another plaintiff filed a similar suit against Zillow last fall that was merged with Taylor in December. The Real Brokerage was subsequently pulled into the case.

Since then, Zillow has been hit with another steering-related case filed by an agent in Washington state, and in late January, Rocket Mortgage was sued by homebuyers — also represented by Hagens Berman — alleging steering and RESPA violations.