Kentucky-based Stockton Mortgage fired back against two former employees’ claims that the company accessed their personal email accounts multiple times in 2025 and used the messages in separate litigation.
Two former loan officers, Christopher Hoehn and Ashley Hoehn, filed a complaint last week in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama. The complaint accuses Stockton and unidentified employees of accessing their personal Gmail accounts without authorization and extracting sensitive information, including financial details.
The lawsuit claims the former employees accessed company systems multiple times in 2025, including after leaving the company and returning their laptops. It also alleges that Stockton later included their emails, containing personal financial information, as unredacted exhibits in an October lawsuit against Ixonia Bancshares Inc., the Hoehns and other former employees.
The October suit against Ixonia Bancshares, operating as Novus Home Mortgage, and 18 former employees accuses them of “defecting en masse” and violating their nonsolicitation and confidentiality agreements.
A detailed statement sent to HousingWire from a Stockton Mortgage spokesperson said that the Hoehns, who worked at its Huntsville, Alabama, office, violated professional and fiduciary obligations.
The company added that its “data loss prevention” (DLP) systems, which track certain risk indicators on company devices, identified the inappropriate activity.
“These systems are not intended for real-time monitoring; rather, they are utilized to identify specific risk indicators, such as unusually large file transfers, transmission of sensitive borrower data, or activity occurring after an employee’s departure from the company,” the statement said.
“This approach is consistent with industry standards, particularly given the volume and sensitivity of personal information we manage on behalf of our clients.”
The company said any personal content visible on a screen could be captured as part of an incident review, but it does not access employees’ personal passwords or email accounts. The company said it identified a group of employees, including the Hoehns, that engaged in “inappropriate and unauthorized conduct.”
“In this instance, our systems functioned as intended,” the statement said.
Stockton Mortgage called the lawsuit filed by some of the former employees “without merit” and said it appears to be an attempt to shift focus from their own misconduct. The company said it redacted personal data in accordance with federal and local court rules and will vigorously defend its position.
The plaintiffs’ counsel did not immediately respond to HousingWire‘s request for comment.