The Consumer FInancial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has dismissed a lawsuit against Rocket Homes and the Jason Mitchell Group (JMG) with prejudice, ending the litigation which accused both companies of engaging in an illegal kickback scheme steering homeowners in exchange for leads.
In an email obtained by RISMedia, Thomas Burke, a lawyer representing JMG, wrote that he was “thrilled” that the case had been dismissed with prejudice, meaning it cannot be refiled again at a later date.
Jason Mitchell, founder and CEO of JMG, previously denied allegations in the lawsuit—including that his company was handing out $250 gift cards in exchange for referrals—and said he never coordinated with Rocket to move business toward their companies.
“There was never a discussion with me or anybody at Rocket that said, ‘If you give us your business, we’ll give you our business,'” Mitchell said. “Rocket would never engage in something like that. That’s the 1,000-pound gorilla that everybody goes after.”
The CFPB had previously alleged that Rocket Homes required brokers to receive referrals to “preserve and protect” relationships with Rocket by directing clients away from competing lenders or title services. Brokers were also prevented from informing their borrower-clients about alternatives not offered by Rocket Mortgage, including down payment assistance programs, the original complaint alleged.
In a statement obtained by RISMedia, Rocket Homes (a subsidiary of Rocket) said that it “is good to see the truth come to light” in regards to the lawsuit’s dismissal.
“This case was a misrepresentation of the facts, as we have said from the day the suit was filed,” Rocket Homes wrote. “Rocket Homes has always connected buyers with top-performing agents based only on objective criteria like how well they helped homebuyers achieve their dream of homeownership. We are proud to put this matter behind us and remain focused on our mission to help everyone home.”
The news comes after the Trump administration ordered the CFPB to halt all enforcement actions and lawsuits earlier this month. Trump, along with “special government employee” Elon Musk, who has seemingly coordinated massive staffing and budget cuts through a renamed government agency known as DOGE, have both criticized the CFPB. They’ve also fired many of the agency’s employees before a federal judge ordered a temporary halt to the dismissals.
Additionally, the CFPB previously alleged that Mitchell coached his agents to discourage their buyer-clients from mortgage shopping, another accusation Mitchell strongly refuted in previous conversations with RISMedia.
“The only thing agents care about is can you actually close on this home,” Mitchell said. “None of our agents would ever say you shouldn’t use that company or you should use this company. The client would say ‘Wait, why?’ Our agents would never do that. It would risk every deal.”
