Judge Says $350,000 Was Equity, Not Loan, In Platinum One Ruling

The legal saga between NEXA Lending co-founders Mike Kortas and Mat Grella has evolved, with a judge recently ruling that $350,000 transferred to Grella’s company, Platinum One Lending LLC, was an equity investment and not a loan, while dismissing NEXA’s claims.

In a 14-page opinion issued Jan. 23 by the Oakland County Circuit Court in Michigan and reviewed by HousingWire, Judge Michael Warren found that Kortas and his company, Coffee Capital LLC, breached fiduciary duties and committed statutory conversion by transferring $93,911.06 from Platinum One’s bank account to NEXA, a company Kortas solely controlled at the time, without authorization.

At the center of the issue was whether $350,000 deposited into Platinum One’s account in 2023 constituted loans from NEXA or capital contributions made by Kortas and Grella through their jointly owned company.

The ruling is separate from the ongoing NEXA partnership dispute. That litigation was filed in April 2024 and involves NEXA accusing Grella and his wife, Sheridan Murray-Grella, of breaching contracts and fiduciary duties, interfering with business relationships, and committing fraud and defamation.

Grella — who co-founded NEXA with Kortas after both left Equity Prime Mortgage in 2017 — was terminated in March 2024 amid buyout talks. Grella has alleged in a separate lawsuit that Kortas improperly used company funds for aircraft-related expenses, a claim Kortas denies.

The court on Jan. 23 awarded Platinum One $93,911.06 in actual damages, which were tripled under Michigan law to $281,733.18, and held Kortas and Coffee Capital jointly liable. Platinum One may also seek attorneys’ fees and costs.

Platinum One Lending is a Michigan-based company formerly owned in part by entities controlled by Kortas and Grella, who at the time also held nearly equal ownership stakes in Arizona-based NEXA.

The court found Platinum One operated a flat-fee mortgage model and that its ownership structure was designed to obscure true ownership for business reasons, with Kortas not intending the company to be profitable.

Warren wrote in the ruling that he found no evidence of a loan agreement or required member approval. He cited tax returns, accounting records and testimony showing the funds were capital contributions.

“Kortas acted vindictively with the intention of punishing Grella,” Warren wrote in the ruling. “All of the claims asserted by NEXA are unsustainable in light of the foregoing Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law. They are all dependent on NEXA/Kortas/Grendell making loans to Platinum One, which did not occur. Plus, with a couple of exceptions, Kortas’s lies are incredible. There is no factual support for his and NEXA’s claims.”

Kortas offered a comment to HousingWire: “A bee doesn’t waste energy trying to convince a fly that honey is better than [expletive].”

:The Judge made it extremely clear whose side the facts are on,” Grella said in a statement. “I am pleased with this ruling and look forward to continuing to prove my position in the future.

“The claims asserted by NEXA are dependent on the monies being loans, which did not occur,” Warren wrote, dismissing all of NEXA’s claims against Platinum One.

Aside from dismissing the claims, the court also ruled that Coffee Capital’s ownership interest in Platinum One was properly terminated and that neither Coffee Capital nor Kortas is entitled to compensation under the company’s operating agreement.

Warren credited testimony from Grella and Platinum One manager Amber Dmytro while finding Kortas’s testimony not credible.

Editor’s note: This story was updated with comments from Mat Grella.