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IN THE MATTER OF: WOODBRIDGE MORTGAGE LLC |
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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, Woodbridge Mortgage is a Connecticut limited liability company that was licensed as a mortgage broker during the 2011 and 2012 licensing periods and is presently so licensed for the 2013 licensing period, all under Part I of Chapter 668, Sections 36a-485 et seq., of the Connecticut General Statutes;
WHEREAS, the Commissioner, through the Consumer Credit Division of the Department of Banking, conducted an examination and an investigation pursuant to Sections 36a-17(a) and 36a-498f of the then applicable Connecticut General Statutes into the activities of Woodbridge Mortgage 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 the examination and investigation, the Commissioner alleges that Woodbridge Mortgage failed to timely submit on the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry (“NMLS”) its Mortgage Call Report (“MCR”)–Standard–Financial Condition–2011 report that was due on March 30, 2012, and its MCR–Standard–RMLA–2012 (Q2) that was due on August 14, 2012, in violation of Section 36a-534b(c)(3) of the 2012 Supplement to the General Statutes in effect prior to October 1, 2012, and/or in violation of Section 36a-534b(c)(3) of the Connecticut General Statutes;
WHEREAS, as a result of the examination and investigation, the Commissioner further alleges that during the period of September 1, 2011 to January 28, 2013, Woodbridge Mortgage engaged the services of an individual as a loan processor or underwriter on an independent contractor basis without requisite licensure. During the period of September 1 to September 30, 2011, pursuant to Sections 36a-486(b)(3) and 36a-489(b) of the then applicable Connecticut General Statutes, such loan processor or underwriter who was an independent contractor was required to be licensed as a mortgage loan originator. During the period of October 1, 2011 to January 28, 2013, pursuant to Sections 36a-486(b)(3) and 36a-489(b) of the then applicable Connecticut General Statutes, such loan processor or underwriter who was an independent contractor was required to be licensed as a loan processor or underwriter. During such time periods, the independent contractor was not licensed as a mortgage loan originator or a loan processor or underwriter, in violation of such applicable laws;
WHEREAS, the Commissioner believes that such allegations would support initiation of enforcement proceedings against Woodbridge Mortgage, including proceedings to issue a cease and desist order pursuant to Sections 36a-494(b) and 36a-52(a) of the Connecticut General Statutes, and to impose a civil penalty of up to one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) per violation 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, Woodbridge Mortgage admits that the MCR reports described above were not filed on their respective due dates;
WHEREAS, Woodbridge Mortgage acknowledges that this Consent Order is a public record and is a reportable event for purposes of the regulatory disclosure questions on NMLS, as applicable;
WHEREAS, both the Commissioner and Woodbridge Mortgage acknowledge the possible consequences of formal administrative proceedings, and Woodbridge Mortgage voluntarily agrees to consent to the entry of the sanction described below, without admitting or denying the allegation set forth herein regarding its retention of an unlicensed mortgage loan originator or loan processor or underwriter, and solely for the purpose of obviating the need for further formal administrative proceedings concerning the allegations contained herein;
WHEREAS, Woodbridge Mortgage herein represents to the Commissioner that it has reviewed and updated its internal policies, procedures and controls to ensure the timely and accurate filing of reports with the Commissioner through NMLS as required or as otherwise permitted under Part I of Chapter 668, Sections 36a-485 et seq., of the Connecticut General Statutes;
WHEREAS, Woodbridge Mortgage herein represents to the Commissioner that the loan processor or underwriter at issue is currently a W-2 employee who processes or underwrites residential mortgage loans solely for Woodbridge Mortgage, and is supervised and shall remain supervised by a licensed mortgage loan originator sponsored by Woodbridge Mortgage;
WHEREAS, Woodbridge Mortgage herein further 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 Woodbridge Mortgage requires licensure from the Commissioner under Part I of Chapter 668, Sections 36a-485 et seq., of the Connecticut General Statutes;
WHEREAS, Woodbridge Mortgage has otherwise satisfactorily responded to items identified as a result of the examination as it relates to its mortgage broker license;
AND WHEREAS, Woodbridge Mortgage, 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 allegations 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, Woodbridge Mortgage, 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 Woodbridge Mortgage, Woodbridge Mortgage 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 Two Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($2,500).
CONSENT ORDER
NOW THEREFORE, the Commissioner enters the following:
| 1. | The Sanction set forth above be and is hereby entered; |
| 2. | No later than the date this Consent Order is executed by Woodbridge Mortgage, Woodbridge Mortgage shall have satisfactorily filed on NMLS all mortgage call reports required to date, expressly including the MCR–Standard–RMLA (Q1) due May 15, 2013. In the future, Woodbridge Mortgage shall timely and accurately file all required reports on NMLS or as otherwise permitted under Part I of Chapter 668 of the Connecticut General Statutes in connection with its current and any future license issued to Woodbridge Mortgage; |
| 3. | Woodbridge Mortgage shall not engage the services of an individual who is required to be licensed as a loan processor or underwriter pursuant to Section 36a-486(b)(3) of the Connecticut General Statutes unless that individual is licensed in accordance with Section 36a-489 of the Connecticut General Statutes; |
| 4. | 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 Woodbridge Mortgage based upon the allegations contained herein; provided that issuance of this Consent Order is without prejudice to the right of the Commissioner to take enforcement action against Woodbridge Mortgage 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 Woodbridge Mortgage and reflected herein is subsequently discovered to be untrue; |
| 5. | So long as this Consent Order is promptly disclosed by Woodbridge Mortgage and its control persons on NMLS, as applicable, nothing in the issuance of this Consent Order shall adversely affect the ability of Woodbridge Mortgage 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, provided all applicable legal requirements for such license are satisfied; and |
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This Consent Order shall become final when issued. |
Issued at Hartford, Connecticut
this 10th day of June 2013. ________/s/_________
Howard F. Pitkin
Banking Commissioner
I, Lionel Kim, state on behalf of Woodbridge Mortgage LLC, 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 Woodbridge Mortgage LLC; that Woodbridge Mortgage LLC agrees freely and without threat or coercion of any kind to comply with the sanction entered and terms and conditions ordered herein; and that Woodbridge Mortgage LLC 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: Lionel Kim
Title: President
Woodbridge Mortgage LLC
State of: MA
County of: Suffolk
On this the 6th day of June 2013, before me, Timothy Daly, the undersigned officer, personally appeared Lionel Kim who acknowledged himself/herself to be the President of Woodbridge Mortgage LLC, a member managed/manager managed limited liability company, and that he/she as such Manager, being authorized so to do, executed the foregoing instrument for the purposes therein contained, by signing the name of the limited liability company by himself/herself as Manager.
In witness whereof I hereunto set my hand.
_________/s/_________
Notary Public
Date Commission Expires: November 14, 2019