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Employees at NJ Lenders are joining Minneapolis-based Luminate Bank, following a challenging period at the Little Falls-based nonbank that included criminal charges of mortgage fraud involving two former loan officers in 2024.
Rumors of the transition began circulating last week, and both companies confirmed the move on Monday. Financial terms were not disclosed, but the firms emphasized that this is not an acquisition. No loans or assets are being transferred—only employees.
Roughly 200 NJ Lenders staff members, including loan officers, sales managers, operations personnel, and support staff, will now operate under the Luminate Bank umbrella. Luminate will retain loan production offices in seven states while expanding its national footprint.
“With the NJ Lenders team operating within Luminate Bank’s robust and highly personalized banking systems, customers will find unmatched home mortgage and digital banking services,” Taryn Reuter, chairman of the board at Luminate Bank, said in a statement.
According to data from mortgage technology platform Modex, NJ Lenders had 124 loan officers across 16 branches and originated $1.38 billion in loans in 2024.
Last year, two former loan originators at NJ Lenders—Christopher Gallo and Mehmet Elmas—were charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey. Prosecutors alleged the pair submitted loan applications that falsely stated borrowers intended to occupy properties as primary residences when they were intended as rental or investment properties.
Gallo was previously recognized as a top-producing loan officer, even ranking fourth in the nation by Scotsman Guide. However, according to the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System (NMLS), Gallo is no longer authorized to originate loans in New Jersey, the only state listed in the system.
At the time of the charges, a spokesperson for NJ Lenders said the lender was cooperating with law enforcement and the actions of the former employees appear to have been coordinated to “benefit them financially while taking advantage of the reputation and trust of the firm.”
Luminate Bank, meanwhile, is significantly larger than NJ Lenders, with 328 loan officers and $3.11 billion in mortgage originations in 2024. It was ranked the 93rd-largest mortgage lender in the U.S. last year by Inside Mortgage Finance, posting a 13% year-over-year increase in production.
In October, Luminate announced the closure of its NEO Home Loans division, which had joined the company just two years prior.
