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IN THE MATTER OF: EARNEST HOME 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-534b, inclusive, of the Connecticut General Statutes, “Mortgage Lenders, Correspondent Lenders, Brokers and Loan Originators”;
WHEREAS, Earnest Home is a Delaware limited liability company that is currently licensed as a mortgage lender under Part I of Chapter 668, Sections 36a-485 et seq., of the Connecticut General Statutes, with a main office at 303 Second Street, 4th Floor, San Francisco, California;
WHEREAS, Section 36a-490(b) of the Connecticut General Statutes, as amended by Public Act 17-38, requires that a mortgage lender licensee file with the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry (“NMLS”) a change of the address of its main office at least thirty (30) calendar days prior to such change, and provide directly to the Commissioner a bond rider or endorsement, or addendum, as applicable, to the surety bond on file with the Commissioner that reflects the new address of the main office;
WHEREAS, on November 27, 2017, Earnest Home filed an advance change notice for the location of its main office with an effective date of December 11, 2017;
WHEREAS, Earnest Home failed to file with NMLS a change of address of its main office at least thirty (30) calendar days prior to such change and failed to provide a bond rider or endorsement, or addendum, as applicable, to the surety bond on file with the Commissioner;
WHEREAS, the Commissioner believes that such allegation would support initiation of proceedings against Earnest Home, which proceedings would constitute a “contested case” within the meaning of Section 4-166(4) of the Connecticut General Statutes. 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, Earnest Home, through its execution of this Consent Order, voluntarily agrees to waive its procedural rights, including a right to a notice and an opportunity for a hearing as it pertains to the allegation set forth herein, voluntarily agrees to consent to the entry of the sanction imposed below and voluntarily waives its right to seek judicial review or otherwise challenge or contest the validity of this Consent Order;
WHEREAS, Earnest Home acknowledges that this Consent Order is a public record and is a reportable event for purposes of NMLS, as applicable;
AND WHEREAS, Earnest Home herein represents to the Commissioner that it has reviewed and updated its internal policies, procedures and controls to ensure that Earnest Home will file any change it makes to its name or any address of any office specified on its most recent filing with NMLS at least thirty (30) calendar days prior to such change and, in connection with such change, Earnest Home will provide directly to the Commissioner a bond rider or endorsement, or addendum, as applicable, to the surety bond on file with the Commissioner that reflects such change.
CONSENT TO ENTRY OF SANCTION
WHEREAS, Earnest Home, 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 Earnest Home, it 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 Five Hundred Dollars ($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 Earnest Home 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 Earnest Home 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 Earnest Home and reflected herein is subsequently discovered to be untrue; |
| 3. | Earnest Home shall not take any action or make or permit any public statement, including in regulatory filings or otherwise, denying, directly or indirectly, any allegation referenced in this Consent Order or create the impression that this Consent Order is without factual basis; |
| 4. | So long as this Consent Order is promptly disclosed by Earnest Home and its control persons, as applicable, on NMLS, nothing in the issuance of this Consent Order shall adversely affect the ability of Earnest Home 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 the terms of this Consent Order are followed; and |
| 5. | This Consent Order shall become final when issued. |
Issued at Hartford, Connecticut
this 1st day of May 2018. ______/s/__________
Jorge L. Perez
Banking Commissioner
I, Benjamin Hutchinson, state on behalf of Earnest Home 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 Earnest Home LLC; that Earnest Home 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 Earnest Home 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: Benjamin Hutchinson
Title: Manager
Earnest Home LLC
County of: _______________________
On this the _______ day of April 2018, before me, ________________________________, the undersigned officer, personally appeared ___________________________ who acknowledged himself/herself to be the ____________________ of Earnest Home LLC, a member managed/manager managed limited liability company, and that he/she as such ____________________, 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 ____________________.
In witness whereof I hereunto set my hand.
__________/s/___________
Notary Public
Date Commission Expires: