The court-appointed receiver overseeing what was American Equity Mortgage said the lending company no longer has operations in St. Louis or anywhere.
“The business is completely shut down. There is no one there. We sold all of the furniture,” receiver Mike Becker, a bankruptcy lawyer at Waltrip & Schmidt, told the Business Journal.
Before Becker was appointed receiver by the St. Louis County Circuit Court in June, American Equity sold its assets, including name, to Finance of America Mortgage of Horsham, Pennsylvania, and sold its real estate at 11933 Westline Industrial Drive in St. Louis County to nonprofit Easterseals. Terms of the sales were not disclosed. The real estate has an appraised value of $2.6 million, according to county records.
Becker is reviewing the sales for the court. He said all of the lender's other locations have ceased operations, as well. The American Equity website lists locations in Atlanta; Charlottesville, Virginia; Fort Myers, Florida; Kansas City, Kansas; Minneapolis; Oklahoma City; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and Seattle, in addition to St. Louis.
As for what led to the company’s decline and owner Deanna Daughhetee's decision to sell the assets, Becker said, “The industry has changed dramatically, and she didn’t invest enough in technology. By the time she did, the hole was too deep.”
