Finance of America faces early data breach class action

A Finance of America customer has fired off a data breach class action lawsuit against the company for a hack that allegedly occurred two weeks ago.

Melanie Place filed the negligence complaint against the lender and servicer last week in a Texas federal court, based on a limited report of an incident. A cybersecurity blog recently posted that a ransomware group known as Word Leaks took credit for an attack on the lender and servicer March 20.

While consumers frequently file data breach lawsuits against companies following a hack, Place's complaint is a rare instance of litigation filed before a company's public disclosure. One of the law firms behind Place's suit also filed an early data breach complaint against Evolve Mortgage Services in December, for a prior incident the company later disclosed. 

Finance of America has not reported any data breach in several public state attorneys general databases. Neither the company nor attorneys for Place responded to requests for comment Thursday. 

The cybersecurity notice doesn't contain further details. Last week's filing however suggests "upon information and good faith belief" that the breach compromised FOA customers' personally identifiable information including Social Security numbers. The lawsuit also suggests a potential class of tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of victims. 

Finance of America is a prominent reverse mortgage lender, and it posted greater annual profits in 2025 despite a $21 million loss in the fourth quarter. The company's major moves in recent months include buying Onity subsidiary PHH Mortgage Corp.'s reverse mortgage assets, and buying out Blackstone's equity position in FOA. 

More data breach litigation

The case is yet another legal action taken against a mortgage lender, servicer, or vendor for a reported data breach, the majority of which are filed before the full scope of the actual incident is known. Not every incident is followed by a lawsuit, however, while other cases unfold in smaller state courts.

Within the mortgage industry, such lawsuits have also not reached jury trials, as companies have come to resolutions with affected customers. Bayview Asset Management in January agreed to a $26 million settlement for a prospective class of around 5.8 million consumers, to settle a case pending since 2022.