[Update 1: Adds information provided by Mr. Dallas. Headline modified to reflect change.]

NewLeaf Wholesale, a division of Skyline Financial, the mortgage lender created by “serial entrepreneur" Bill Dallas, was nearly completely shut down by the man himself, according to some of those impacted by the decision.

There is no expected change to Skyline's operations.

Bill Dallas does not deny changes were afoot at NewLeaf. "[I] did not shut down NewLeaf," he said in an email to Housingwire. Rather, he said he "right sized it for the market we are in," and added: "Got some big things planned, but can’t discuss."

Here’s what we’ve heard so far: Bill Dallas told national sales leader Tom Conklin that he was letting nearly everyone at NewLeaf go, in order to finalize a secret mortgage lender acquisition he was reportedly chasing. Dallas reportedly declined to say what that platform is, but indicated a deal was getting finished in the coming months.

The news, sources say, did not go well with the 20 people or so who lost their jobs — the exact is unconfirmed.

“We were told Bill didn’t want to waste anymore time or money with us; we are $40 million a month in volume nationally and he’s looking to finalize a deal for a $250 million per month,” said one of the people let go.

“We were blindsided. Everyone is disappointed and upset and angry, we were told Bill was going to re-engage with his Wall Street buddies and focus on non-QM lending next year,” that source added.

Another source said: "Once the acquisition is in place they may offer to bring us back into the fold, but that's probably just lip service."