Morgan Trent and Aaron Kirman (Credit: Wikimedia Commons, Aaron Kirman)
Former NFL cornerback Morgan Trent has left Mercer Vine real estate, scrambling to Aaron Kirman’s team at Pacific Union, The Real Deal has learned.
Kirman had been the star broker at John Aaroe Group, which rebranded to Pacific Union Jan 1. The company acquired John Aaroe Group in 2016.
Trent had been at Mercer Vine since November. Before that, he had been at Compass as an agent. The University of Michigan grad played three seasons in the NFL, for the Cincinnati Bengals, Jacksonville Jaguars and Indianapolis Colts.
Around the time Trent started at Mercer Vine, the company started feeling the heat from a legal probe surrounding one of its key contributors, Robert Shapiro, who is CEO of Woodbridge Group of Companies.
TRD revealed that the brokerage had been operating with a suspended license for four months. The Securities and Exchange Commission has since sued Shapiro for allegedly running a $1 billion Ponzi scheme, labeling Mercer Vine a “relief defendant” in the case.
Kirman has been beefing up his 35-person team since November, when he recruited Taylor-Ann Hasselhoff, daughter of actor David Hasselhoff, to join the roster.
Trent isn’t the first to leave the beleaguered company. Lisa Optican, one of the top-producing agents at Mercer Vine, joined Compass in December.
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