Plaza Home Mortgage Faces Class Action Lawsuits Over Data Breach Affecting 138,000
Plaza Home Mortgage, a San Diego-based wholesale and correspondent lender, is facing at least two class action lawsuits following a mid-February cybersecurity incident that exposed the personal identifiable information (PII) of 137,976 consumers and employees. The breach was discovered on March 3, though plaintiffs allege it may have occurred as early as September 12, 2023, based on the company’s internal analysis.
The company first notified affected parties on May 29, nearly three months after detecting the intrusion, which involved unauthorized access to an employee’s computer. Plaza has denied claims by the cyber threat group SilentRansomGroup (also known as Luna Moth or UNC3753) that the incident was a ransomware attack.
In separate filings in the Southern District of California, plaintiffs Kevin Grubb (representing consumers and mortgage applicants) and April Powell (representing current and former employees) criticized Plaza’s delayed disclosure and alleged inadequate cybersecurity measures. Powell’s legal team accused the company of recklessly handling PII, leaving it vulnerable to exploitation. Over 40,000 employees were reportedly affected.
Plaza has offered credit monitoring and identity-theft protection through CyEx’s Financial Shield Complete program to impacted individuals. However, plaintiffs are seeking class certification, unspecified monetary damages exceeding $5 million per case, and court-ordered third-party audits to ensure future compliance with security standards. The company has declined to comment on the ongoing litigation.
Source: https://www.nationalmortgagenews.com/news/plaza-home-mortgage-facing-class-actions-after-data-breach
Plaza Home Mortgage, Inc. cybersecurity rating report: https://www.rankiteo.com/company/plaza-home-mortgage
"id": "PLA1780946157",
"linkid": "plaza-home-mortgage",
"type": "Breach",
"date": "9/2025",
"severity": "85",
"impact": "4",
"explanation": "Attack with significant impact with customers data leaks"{'affected_entities': [{'customers_affected': '137,976 (consumers and '
'employees)',
'industry': 'Mortgage Lending',
'location': 'San Diego, California, USA',
'name': 'Plaza Home Mortgage',
'type': 'Company'}],
'attack_vector': 'Unauthorized access to an employee’s computer',
'customer_advisories': 'Notification to affected parties on May 29, 2024',
'data_breach': {'number_of_records_exposed': '137,976',
'personally_identifiable_information': 'Yes',
'sensitivity_of_data': 'High',
'type_of_data_compromised': 'Personal Identifiable '
'Information (PII)'},
'date_detected': '2024-03-03',
'date_publicly_disclosed': '2024-05-29',
'description': 'Plaza Home Mortgage, a San Diego-based wholesale and '
'correspondent lender, is facing class action lawsuits '
'following a cybersecurity incident that exposed the personal '
'identifiable information (PII) of 137,976 consumers and '
'employees. The breach involved unauthorized access to an '
'employee’s computer and was discovered on March 3, though '
'plaintiffs allege it may have occurred as early as September '
'12, 2023.',
'impact': {'brand_reputation_impact': 'Yes',
'data_compromised': 'Personal Identifiable Information (PII)',
'identity_theft_risk': 'Yes',
'legal_liabilities': 'Class action lawsuits seeking damages '
'exceeding $5 million per case',
'systems_affected': 'Employee computer'},
'initial_access_broker': {'entry_point': 'Employee computer'},
'investigation_status': 'Ongoing',
'post_incident_analysis': {'root_causes': 'Alleged inadequate cybersecurity '
'measures'},
'recommendations': 'Court-ordered third-party audits to ensure future '
'compliance with security standards',
'references': [{'source': 'Class action lawsuit filings'}],
'regulatory_compliance': {'legal_actions': 'Class action lawsuits'},
'response': {'communication_strategy': 'Delayed disclosure (nearly three '
'months after detection)',
'third_party_assistance': 'CyEx’s Financial Shield Complete '
'program for credit monitoring and '
'identity-theft protection'},
'threat_actor': 'SilentRansomGroup (also known as Luna Moth or UNC3753)',
'title': 'Plaza Home Mortgage Data Breach Affecting 138,000',
'type': 'Data Breach'}