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IN THE MATTER OF: AMERICANA MORTGAGE |
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CONSENT ORDER |
WHEREAS, the Banking Commissioner (“Commissioner”) is charged with the administration of Part I of Chapter 668, Sections 36a-485 to 36a-534c, inclusive, of the Connecticut General Statutes, “Mortgage Lenders, Correspondent Lenders, Brokers and Loan Originators”;
WHEREAS, Americana Mortgage Group is a New York corporation that is currently licensed as a mortgage correspondent lender under Part I of Chapter 668, Sections 36a-485 et seq., of the Connecticut General Statutes;
WHEREAS, on June 26, 2013, the Commissioner, through the Consumer Credit Division of the Department of Banking, conducted an examination pursuant to Sections 36a-17(a) and 36a-498f of the Connecticut General Statutes into the activities of Americana Mortgage Group to determine if it had violated, was violating or was about to violate the provisions of the Connecticut General Statutes within the jurisdiction of the Commissioner;
WHEREAS, as a result of such examination, the Commissioner alleges that Americana Mortgage Group employed or retained, during the period of October 1, 2011 through March 31, 2012, one (1) individual as a mortgage loan originator who was not licensed, in violation of Section 36a-486(b) of the Connecticut General Statutes;
WHEREAS, the Commissioner believes that such allegation would support initiation of enforcement proceedings against Americana Mortgage Group, including proceedings to revoke Americana Mortgage Group’s license pursuant to Section 36a-494(a) and subsections (a) and (b) of Section 36a-51 of the Connecticut General Statutes, issue a cease and desist order against Americana Mortgage Group pursuant to Sections 36a-494(b) and 36a-52(a) of the Connecticut General Statutes, and impose a civil penalty of up to one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) per violation on Americana Mortgage Group pursuant to Sections 36a-494(b) and 36a-50(a) of the Connecticut General Statutes;
WHEREAS, initiation of such enforcement proceedings would constitute a “contested case” within the meaning of Section 4-166(2) of the Connecticut General Statutes;
WHEREAS, Section 4-177(c) of the Connecticut General Statutes and Section 36a-1-55(a) of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies provide that a contested case may be resolved by consent order, unless precluded by law;
WHEREAS, both the Commissioner and Americana Mortgage Group acknowledge the possible consequences of formal administrative proceedings, and Americana Mortgage Group voluntarily agrees to consent to the entry of the sanction described below without admitting or denying any allegation contained herein and solely for the purpose of obviating the need for further formal administrative proceedings concerning the allegation contained herein;
WHEREAS, Americana Mortgage Group acknowledges that this Consent Order is a public record and, notwithstanding the foregoing paragraph, constitutes a finding by the Commissioner that Americana Mortgage Group has been involved in a violation of a financial services-related regulation or statute required to be disclosed in response to regulatory disclosure questions on the MU1 Form, MU2 Form or MU4 Form on the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry (“NMLS”), as such forms are applicable;
WHEREAS, Americana Mortgage Group herein represents to the Commissioner that the individual alleged to be an unlicensed mortgage loan originator in violation of Section 36a-486(b) of the Connecticut General Statutes, during the period of October 1, 2011 through March 31, 2012, is either currently licensed as a mortgage loan originator under Part I of Chapter 668, Sections 36a-485 et seq., of the Connecticut General Statutes or is no longer engaged in any mortgage-related activity with Americana Mortgage Group that would prohibit Americana Mortgage Group from engaging the services of such individual without licensure as a mortgage loan originator under Part I of Chapter 668, Sections 36a-485 et seq., of the Connecticut General Statutes;
WHEREAS, Americana Mortgage Group herein represents to the Commissioner that it has reviewed and updated its internal policies, procedures and controls for assessing whether an individual engaged in mortgage-related activity with Americana Mortgage Group requires licensure from the Commissioner under Part I of Chapter 668, Sections 36a-485 et seq., of the Connecticut General Statutes, and agrees that it will not engage the services of an individual as a mortgage loan originator in the future without first confirming that such individual is duly licensed;
AND WHEREAS, Americana Mortgage Group, through its execution of this Consent Order, voluntarily agrees to waive its procedural rights, including a right to notice and an opportunity for hearing as it pertains to the allegation set forth herein, and voluntarily waives its right to seek judicial review or otherwise challenge or contest the validity of this Consent Order.
CONSENT TO ENTRY OF SANCTION
WHEREAS, Americana Mortgage Group, through its execution of this Consent Order, consents to the Commissioner’s entry of a Consent Order imposing the following sanction:
No later than the date this Consent Order is executed by Americana Mortgage Group, Americana Mortgage group shall remit to the Department of Banking by cashier’s check, certified check or money order made payable to “Treasurer, State of Connecticut”, the sum of One Thousand Dollars ($1,000) as a civil penalty.
CONSENT ORDER
NOW THEREFORE, the Commissioner enters the following:
| 1. | The Sanction set forth above be and is hereby entered; |
| 2. | Upon issuance of this Consent Order by the Commissioner, this matter will be resolved and the Commissioner will not take any future enforcement action against Americana Mortgage Group based upon the allegation contained herein; provided that issuance of this Consent Order is without prejudice to the right of the Commissioner to take enforcement action against Americana Mortgage Group based upon a violation of this Consent Order or the matters underlying its entry, if the Commissioner determines that compliance with the terms herein is not being observed or if any representation made by Americana Mortgage Group and reflected herein is subsequently discovered to be untrue; |
| 3. | So long as this Consent Order is promptly disclosed by Americana Mortgage Group on NMLS, nothing in the issuance of this Consent Order shall adversely affect the ability of Americana Mortgage Group to apply for or obtain licenses or renewal licenses under Part I of Chapter 668, Sections 36a-485 et seq., of the Connecticut General Statutes, and for its mortgage loan originators to apply for or obtain licensure from the Commissioner, provided all applicable legal requirements for such license are satisfied; and |
| 4. | This Consent Order shall become final when issued. |
Issued at Hartford, Connecticut
this 11th day of October 2013.
________/s/_________
Howard F. Pitkin
Banking Commissioner
I, Robert M. Moulton, state on behalf of Americana Mortgage Group, Inc., that I have read the foregoing Consent Order; that I know and fully understand its contents; that I am authorized to execute this Consent Order on behalf of Americana Mortgage Group, Inc.; that Americana Mortgage Group, Inc., agrees freely and without threat or coercion of any kind to comply with the sanction entered and terms and conditions ordered herein; and that Americana Mortgage Group, Inc., voluntarily agrees to enter into this Consent Order, expressly waiving the procedural rights set forth herein as to the matters described herein.
By: ________/s/________
Name: Robert M. Moulton
Title: President
Americana Mortgage Group, Inc.
State of: New York
County of: Nassau
On this the 3rd day of October 2013, before me, Jesse Towns, the undersigned officer, personally appeared Robert Moulton who acknowledged himself/herself to be the President of Americana Mortgage Group, Inc., a corporation, and that he/she as such President, being authorized so to do, executed the foregoing instrument for the purposes therein contained, by signing the name of the corporation by himself/herself as President.
In witness whereof I hereunto set my hand.
_________/s/_________
Notary Public
Date Commission Expires: September 7, 2014