Aime-sweeney Lawsuit Moves To Michigan Court

The ongoing litigation between the Association of Independent Mortgage Experts (AIME) and Katie Sweeney is moving to a Michigan court, according to documents filed on Friday.

In an order signed Thursday, the court granted the parties’ agreed-upon motion to change venues, shifting the case to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan under federal law that allows transfers for convenience and in the interest of justice.

The court found that venue is justified to be in Michigan because defendants United Wholesale Mortgage, AIME’s main sponsor, and Sarah DeCiantis, UWM’s executive vice president and chief marketing officer, reside there, while Sweeney is a Texas resident.

The parties also demonstrated in the filing that transferring the case would be “for the convenience of parties and witnesses in the interest of justice.”

As a result, the case is now awaiting a new case number. When that is assigned, defendants UWM and DeCiantis are required to file an answer or otherwise respond to the first amended complaint within seven days.

Sweeney’s amended complaint

The venue transfer follows Sweeney’s mid-December filing of the amended complaint, which accuses AIME of breach of contract and DeCiantis and UWM of tortious interference with contractual relations.

Sweeney, who served as AIME’s CEO from 2021 to 2023, alleges she helped to grow the trade group’s finances but was pressured by UWM executives to operate the nonprofit in UWM’s interests rather than independently.

The amended complaint alleges that DeCiantis and UWM CEO Mat Ishbia “began pressuring Sweeney and [AIME president Marc] Summers via text messages, phone calls, and emails to behave in ways that directly benefited UWM, essentially seeking for AIME to operate as an extension of UWM and prohibiting the promotion of competing wholesale lenders.”

Sweeney also alleges she uncovered financial misconduct at AIME with the help of an outside auditor, including the embezzlement of company funds by an employee who allegedly used AIME funds to pay a UWM mortgage for more than a year and made personal purchases on a company credit card.

Sweeney’s complaint stated that Summers was aware of the conduct, delayed the employee’s termination and failed to enforce a repayment plan.

After Sweeney reported the matter to DeCiantis, she said she was told “that Summers would not now, nor ever, be removed from AIME.” She also claims UWM opposed governance reforms she sought to implement.

Sweeney resigned in September 2023 and signed a transition agreement that promised a $240,000 bonus and $240,000 in severance. She has said that DeCiantis, not Summers, negotiated and revised the terms of her exit from the trade group.

Sweeney claims that AIME never paid the bonus and stopped severance payments early, leaving $60,000 unpaid, and that DeCiantis and UWM directed AIME not to pay her, particularly after she joined competitor Rocket Pro in January 2025.