Court filing
Exhibit 7 — Oto Analytics, LLC v. Benworth Capital Partners PR LLC (Dkt. 67.7)
Record facts
| Court | U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico |
|---|---|
| Filed | 2023-06-12 |
U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico · No. 3:23-cv-01034-GMM · Doc. 67-7 · 2023-06-12 · Docket on CourtListener
Summary
Exhibit 7 in Oto Analytics, LLC v. Benworth Capital Partners PR LLC, No. 3:23-cv-01034-GMM, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico, filed June 12, 2023 as Document 67-7, is the Declaration of Toby Scammell. The declaration, executed November 30, 2022 in a JAMS arbitration under Ref. No. 1210038203, is given by the chief executive officer and founder of Oto Analytics, Inc. d/b/a Womply. It describes the company's founding in 2011, its PPP referral websites launched in April 2020 and January 2021, and a technology platform with a borrower-facing website and a lender-facing portal. It states that in 2021 the company referred more than 2.8 million applicant submissions, leading to about 1.3 million funded PPP loan draws totalling more than $18.6 billion, and that 305,790 referred loans of more than $4 billion in principal were funded.
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EXHIBIT 7 Case 3:23-cv-01034-GMM Document 67-7 Filed 06/12/23 Page 1 of 10 DECLARATION OF TOBY SCAMMELL Ref. No. 1210038203 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 WILLKIE FARR & GALLAGHER LLP ALEXANDER L. CHENEY - #302157 acheney@willkie.com One Front Street, 34th Floor San Francisco, CA 94111-1809 Telephone: (415) 858-7400 Facsimile: (415) 858-7599 MARK T. STANCIL (OSAAC) mstancil@willkie.com JOSHUA S. LEVY (OSAAC) jlevy@willkie.com 1875 K Street, N.W. Washington, DC 20006-1238 Telephone: (202) 303-1000 Facsimile: (202) 303-2000 Attorneys for OTO ANALYTICS, INC. d/b/a WOMPLY JAMS Arbitration OTO ANALYTICS, INC. d/b/a WOMPLY, Claimant and Counter- Respondent, v. BENWORTH CAPITAL PARTNERS, LLC Respondent and Counter- Claimant. Ref. No. 1210038203 DECLARATION OF TOBY SCAMMELL Case 3:23-cv-01034-GMM Document 67-7 Filed 06/12/23 Page 2 of 10 2 DECLARATION OF TOBY SCAMMELL Ref. No. 1210038203 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 DECLARATION OF TOBY SCAMMELL I, Toby Scammell, declare as follows: 1. I am the Chief Executive Officer and founder of Oto Analytics, Inc. d/b/a Womply I provide this declaration to provide information and background about Womply . This declaration is based upon my personal knowledge, and I would be competent to testify to the following facts if called upon to do so. 1. I founded Womply in 2011 to help small businesses that are underserved by technology. degree in international relations with an emphasis in global business. I have over 15 years of experience working in business, startups, and management consulting. 2. Womply began as a commerce platform for small businesses. It provided marketing and financial tools to facilitate reputation management, email marketing, business intelligence, and customer relationship management to more than 500,000 small businesses and their customers. Womply has over ten years of investment in small business data technology, including identifying and onboarding small businesses efficiently, and leveraging unique data to market to small businesses. 3. In March 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress enacted the Paycheck - guaranteed loans from private lenders to cover expenses such as payroll, rent, and utilities. These loans were forgivable if certain conditions were met. The United States Small Business PPP loan, and guaranteed PPP loans. 4. In April 2020, Womply launched a website that helped small businesses understand the PPP program. This site allowed borrowers to enter their business details and then matched them with one or more lenders that could accept their PPP loan application for free. Womply received referral fees from lenders for these referrals. Unfortunately, many of the small businesses that Case 3:23-cv-01034-GMM Document 67-7 Filed 06/12/23 Page 3 of 10 3 DECLARATION OF TOBY SCAMMELL Ref. No. 1210038203 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Womply referred were not able to get loans because lenders lacked the technology tools necessary to accept, process, manage, and fund loans at large scale. 5. ce was not unique and, despite the incentives provided to lenders by the PPP, many small businesses were unable to obtain PPP loans. Larger lenders that participated in the PPP focused their lending on larger loans in order to maximize their fees, which were based on the size of the loan, and on loans to existing customers.1 Many smaller lenders that participated in or sought to participate in the PPP did not have sufficient experience, personnel, or technological capabilities needed to process, manage, and track a large volume of modestly sized loans for small businesses. 6. for approximately $15 million in stock, and obtained its technology platform and personnel who had expertise in loan file management, small business data analysis, and fraud detection. 7. In December 2020, Congress passed legislation that included a new round of PPP funding. In order to encourage lenders to serve the smallest businesses that had had difficulty getting PPP loans, this legislation increased the fees lenders would receive on small loans, i.e., loans of $50,000 or less. Nevertheless, small businesses still struggled to obtain PPP loans, because increasing fees for lenders did not address the logistical difficulties of providing a large volume of loans. 8. In January 2021, Womply relaunched its website through which potential borrowers seeking PPP loans could enter their own information and find a matching lender that was willing to accept their PPP loan application for free. Womply routed the applicants to the lenders based clear to borrowers that Womply was not a lender and was not itself providing PPP loans.2 9. After Womply directed a small business to a PPP lender partner, that lender was responsible for collecting additional information and supporting documentation from the 1 See -07 (Jan. 14, 2021), available at https://www.sba.gov/sites/ default/files/2021-01/SBA%20OIG%20Report-21-07.pdf. 2 https://womply.com/ppp (last accessed Nov. 17, 2022). Case 3:23-cv-01034-GMM Document 67-7 Filed 06/12/23 Page 4 of 10 4 DECLARATION OF TOBY SCAMMELL Ref. No. 1210038203 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 KYC -fraud checks the lender chose to perform, verifying applicant information, deciding whether to fund the loan, having a PPP loan application and promissory note completed and executed, organizing and maintaining the loan file, and processing, managing, and tracking the Womply-referred PPP loan and all other PPP loans the lender funded. 10. Non-Fast Lane partners agreed to pay Womply referral fees pursuant to negotiated agreements. Womply did not provide these lender partners with technology services in connection with these referrals. Womply did not charge prospective applicants or borrowers any fees. Benworth did not participate in Non- Fast Lane. 11. In January and February 2021, Womply sought to partner with larger financial companies to help the smallest businesses get PPP loans, including Intuit, Capital One, PayPal, American Express, Square, and H&R Block. These companies refused to do so. As a result, Womply decided to develop its own technology platform and raised tens of millions of dollars in emergency financing to support PPP operations. 12. Womply leveraged its existing commerce platform and small business expertise, plus the technology and team acquired through FundRocket, to develop a technology platform that would substantially reduce these structural barriers that prevented small businesses from obtaining PPP loans. Those efforts required Womply to invest substantial amounts of time and money without any guarantee that the initiative would be commercially successful. 13. Before February 2021, applicants for PPP loans entered basic information on Womply provided this information to lenders and platforms using a lender-provided referral link. 14. that allowed small businesses to submit more extensive information and supporting documentation through a borrower-facing website to apply for a PPP loan for free and allowed lenders to efficiently process, manage, and track their PPP loans, particularly the smaller PPP loans to the Case 3:23-cv-01034-GMM Document 67-7 Filed 06/12/23 Page 5 of 10 5 DECLARATION OF TOBY SCAMMELL Ref. No. 1210038203 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Technology Platform Fast Lane 15. website Womply developed to provide limited referral services in the first round of PPP in 2020. The Technology Platform had three main components: (i) a user-friendly, borrower-facing website through which small businesses could submit information and documentation to apply for a PPP loan for free; (ii) a type of software code that allows data to be transferred which evolved over time and ultimately included services from more than ten third-party technology service providers; and (iii) a lender- facing portal through which lenders could manage the entire PPP loan process. 16. First, the borrower-facing website allowed a prospective applicant to enter the information necessary to populate the SBA-required application form for a PPP loan and provide the documentation or information lenders used to evaluate each application. Applicants continued to have access to the Fast Lane borrower-facing website after submitting their documentation and information, which allowed the applicants to, among other things, monitor the status of their applications and securely provide additional information to lenders. Womply did not charge prospective applicants or borrowers any fees. 17. Womply also provided customer service to applicants seeking assistance in connection with the Fast Lane borrower-facing website. For example, Womply provided FAQs; multiple language translations of the PPP rules; multilingual support; and additional support and information services via live chat, email, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. 18. Second, the technology services integrated into the Technology Platform performed various services for lenders regarding the information provided by applicants. Womply supported these tools through its own personnel and technology. For example, the Technology Platform: a. checked the validity of an applicant-provided email address using the third- party application Kickbox; b. telephone number using third-party applications SendGrid and Twilio; c. performed biometric selfie scans using third-party application Persona to confirm that the applicant submitted a selfie of an actual human; Case 3:23-cv-01034-GMM Document 67-7 Filed 06/12/23 Page 6 of 10 6 DECLARATION OF TOBY SCAMMELL Ref. No. 1210038203 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 d. checked applicant information against various databases to confirm identity using Persona; e. checked applicant information against various databases to identify potential red flags such as individuals subject to OFAC sanctions and politically exposed persons using Persona; f. verified government identification provided by applicants using Persona; g. extracted bank account information and transaction history using third-party application Plaid; h. performed knowledge-based authentication using third-party application DocuSign; i. classified tax documents provided by applicants using third-party application Mindee; j. extracted information from tax documents provided by applicants using third-party application Ocrolus; and k. scanned bank and tax documents provided by applicants to identify potential fraud using third-party applications Ocrolus and Inscribe.3 19. After performing these various technology services, Womply routed loan applicants to a PPP lender based on a variety of factors. 20. Third, the Technology Platform also included a new lender-facing portal, which Womply developed in conjunction with 3E Software, Inc. d/b/a Teslar Software and other third parties. The lender- Teslar Portal -based portal that allowed lenders to efficiently manage nearly the entire process of processing, reviewing, and managing PPP loans referred to the lender. Through the Teslar Portal, PPP lenders could, among other things: a. review applicant information and documentation so that the lender could determine whether an applicant qualified for a PPP loan and the amount of the loan; b. review KYC detail reports, proof-of-in-business reports, tax document reports, and funding instructions; 3 Womply added technology services at different points in time and each technology service did not necessarily apply to all applications at any given time. Case 3:23-cv-01034-GMM Document 67-7 Filed 06/12/23 Page 7 of 10 7 DECLARATION OF TOBY SCAMMELL Ref. No. 1210038203 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 c. approve PPP loans the lender wanted to fund, or reject PPP loans for missing information or other reasons; d. generate, populate, and transmit promissory notes; e. submit applicant information to the SBA for approval of a loan; f. monitor the status of loan applications under review by SBA; g. send adverse action notices for declined loans; h. resubmit loans with corrected information if needed; and i. initiate payment of loan proceeds. 21. Womply also provided additional lender and customer support services. For example, Womply provided lenders with status updates through email and Slack communication channels that allowed lenders to understand the status of every loan that they were processing. 22. Womply did not provide underwriting services, submit loan applications to the SBA, or otherwise communicate with the SBA on behalf of a lender or borrower. Womply was not responsible for determining whether applicants qualified for PPP loans or whether the responsibility for ensuring that applicants qualified for PPP loans, underwriting PPP loans, submitting them to the SBA for approval, communicating with the SBA, and funding the loans. 23. Seven lenders and their partners, including Benworth Capital Partners LLC , technology services from Womply. In 2021, Womply referred more than 2.8 million applicant submissions to lenders, leading to approximately 1.3 million funded PPP loan draws with a total principal amount of more than $18.6 billion. 24. On February 25, 2021, Benworth and Womply entered into an Agent Agreement February Agreement 25. On April 14, 2021, Benworth and Womply entered into the Amended and Restated Referral Agreement Order Form Case 3:23-cv-01034-GMM Document 67-7 Filed 06/12/23 Page 8 of 10 8 DECLARATION OF TOBY SCAMMELL Ref. No. 1210038203 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Agreements superseded the February Agreement. (Referral Agreement at 1; id. § 16; Order Form at 1.) 26. Under the Referral Agreement, Benworth agreed to receive PPP loan application referrals from Womply through the Technology Platform (Referral Agreement §§ 1.1, 2.2.) 27. Benworth underwriting, and funding of loans . . . funded and created under the U.S. Small Business process, close, service, liquidate, and litigate commercial loans responsibility for all loan decisions, including approvals, underwriting, closings, disbursements, due diligence, and loan servicing actions . . . eement at 1; id. § 8.) 28. receive additional technology services from Womply, and -party service providers (including, without limitation, Plaid, Docusign, LexisNexis, Teslar, Inscribe, Ocrolus, AWS Mechanical Turk, Mindee, Persona, Twilio, Sendgrid, etc.). id. § 1.2.) In calculated as a percentage of the Lender Processing Fees that Benworth received from the SBA for providing PPP loans. (Id. at 1; id. § 2.) 29. the Agreements state in all capital letters that: Case 3:23-cv-01034-GMM Document 67-7 Filed 06/12/23 Page 9 of 10 9 DECLARATION OF TOBY SCAMMELL Ref. No. 1210038203 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 WOMPLY MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES ABOUT, AND HEREBY DISCLAIMS ALL RESPONSIBILITY FOR, THE ACCURACY, LAWFULNESS, OR COMPLETENESS OF ANY INFORMATION ACCOMPANYING A REFERRAL (I.E., OUTPUT MADE AVAILABLE VIA THE SERVICES). FOR THE AVOIDANCE OF DOUBT, WOMPLY DOES NOT ENDORSE ANY REFERRAL. [BENWORTH FL] ASSUMES SOLE RESPONSIBILITY REGARDING WHETHER OR NOT ANY REFERRAL SHOULD BE SENT TO THE SBA FOR REVIEW. (Referral Agreement § 1.2; Order Form § 1.1.) 30. The Agreements also (Referral Agreement § 1.3; Order Form § 1.3.) 31. 305,790 Womply-referred PPP loans with a principal amount of more than $4 billion. I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that the foregoing is true and correct. Executed on November 30, 2022, at Reno, Nevada. Toby Scammell Case 3:23-cv-01034-GMM Document 67-7 Filed 06/12/23 Page 10 of 10
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