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IN THE MATTER OF: AMERICAN FEDERAL 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, American Federal Mortgage is a New Jersey corporation that is currently licensed as a mortgage lender under Part I of Chapter 668, Sections 36a-485 et seq., of the Connecticut General Statutes;
WHEREAS, on April 17, 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 American Federal 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 such examination, the Commissioner alleges that American Federal Mortgage employed or retained, during the period of February 3 to March 1, 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, as applicable;
WHEREAS, the Commissioner believes that such allegation would support initiation of enforcement proceedings against American Federal Mortgage, including proceedings to revoke American Federal Mortgage’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 American Federal Mortgage 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 American Federal Mortgage 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 American Federal Mortgage acknowledge the possible consequences of formal administrative proceedings, and American Federal Mortgage 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, American Federal Mortgage acknowledges that this Consent Order is a public record and, notwithstanding the foregoing paragraph, constitutes a finding by the Commissioner that American Federal Mortgage 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, American Federal Mortgage 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, as applicable, during the period of February 3 to March 1, 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 American Federal Mortgage that would prohibit American Federal Mortgage 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, American Federal Mortgage 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 American Federal Mortgage 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, American Federal 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 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, American Federal 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 American Federal Mortgage, American Federal 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 Three Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($3,500) 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 American Federal Mortgage 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 American Federal 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 American Federal Mortgage and reflected herein is subsequently discovered to be untrue; |
| 3. | So long as this Consent Order is promptly disclosed by American Federal Mortgage on NMLS, nothing in the issuance of this Consent Order shall adversely affect the ability of American Federal 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, 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 16th day of January 2014. ________/s/_________
Howard F. Pitkin
Banking Commissioner
I, Mark Young, state on behalf of American Federal Mortgage Corporation, 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 American Federal Mortgage Corporation; that American Federal Mortgage Corporation agrees freely and without threat or coercion of any kind to comply with the sanction entered and terms and conditions ordered herein; and that American Federal Mortgage Corporation 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: Mark Young
Title: President
American Federal Mortgage Corporation
State of: New Jersey
County of: Morris
On this the 8 day of January 2014, before me, Andrew McElroy, the undersigned officer, personally appeared Mark Young who acknowledged himself/herself to be the President of American Federal Mortgage Corporation, 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 Mark Young.
In witness whereof I hereunto set my hand.
_________/s/_________
Notary Public
Date Commission Expires: 2/27/2014