LI woman claims in court defunct Trump mortgage company owes her
Jennifer McGovern, of Floral Park, poses for a portrait at her lawyer's office in Mineola on Monday. Credit: Raychel Brightman
A Floral Park woman has gone to court, claiming President Donald Trump's now defunct mortgage company still owes her nearly $300,000 she says a judge ordered them to pay her a decade ago.
Jennifer McGovern, a former employee of Trump Mortgage LLC, claims in court papers that she has received none of the $298,274.41 that a judge determined she was owed in commission, legal costs and interest in February 2009.
Only 25¢ for 5 months
A Floral Park woman has gone to court, claiming President Donald Trump's now defunct mortgage company still owes her nearly $300,000 she says a judge ordered them to pay her a decade ago.
Jennifer McGovern, a former employee of Trump Mortgage LLC, claims in court papers that she has received none of the $298,274.41 that a judge determined she was owed in commission, legal costs and interest in February 2009.
“We wound up running up a bit of debt after that,” McGovern, 46, said of her family's financial situation. “We knew we could survive it, but it hurt.”
She filed to renew the judgment in state Supreme Court in Manhattan on Jan. 28 to act as a lien on any Trump Mortgage properties. McGovern said in an interview that she believes her chances of recouping the judgment are “slim to none.”
McGovern said she worked at Trump Mortgage as a part-time loan officer, connecting lenders and borrowers for real estate deals, from October 2005 to May 2006. The mother of three said she took the job, which paid only in commissions, to supplement her husband’s income as a technician for Verizon.
In February 2006, she said, she orchestrated a $26.5 million deal over an industrial complex. That deal should have given her a $238,000 commission under her contract, which entitled her to 45 percent of any Trump Mortgage commission, according to the lawsuit.
McGovern, now a bookkeeper for Sacred Heart Academy in Hempstead, said she was fired a few months later after she refused to sign papers capping her commissions at $10,000.
President Donald Trump in the White House on Jan. 25. Trump Mortgage LLC closed its doors in 2007. Credit: Bloomberg/Al Drago
McGovern said that while she was paid about $20,000 in other commissions she earned from Trump Mortgage, she had to use her and her husband’s savings to pay for client meals and commuting to Manhattan from Franklin Square, where she lived at the time.
She was not paid her biggest commission before Trump Mortgage closed its doors in 2007.
Raymond Nardo, McGovern’s attorney, estimates his client is now owed $538,847 with interest.
The Trump Organization did not respond to a request for comment Monday night.
'I'm going to try to avoid it' A trip to the emergency room in a Long Island hospital now averages nearly 4 hours, data shows. NewsdayTV's Virginia Huie reports.