| * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * IN THE MATTER OF: ANOTHER LEVEL CAPITAL (collectively "Respondents") | * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * | CONSENT ORDER |
WHEREAS, Another Level Capital was a California corporation with a place of business at 1200 Main Street, Irvine, California, that filed for dissolution with the California Secretary of State on or about November 13, 2013;
WHEREAS, Taylor was the president of Another Level Capital, and is also known as Michael Ojimba and Ifeanyi Ojimba;
WHEREAS, at no time relevant hereto have Respondents been licensed to engage or offer to engage in debt negotiation in this state;
WHEREAS, the Banking Commissioner (“Commissioner”) is charged with the administration of Sections 36a-671 to 36a-671e, inclusive, of the Connecticut General Statutes contained in Part II of Chapter 669 of the Connecticut General Statutes, “Debt Adjusters and Debt Negotiation”;
WHEREAS, the Commissioner, through the Consumer Credit Division of the Department of Banking, conducted an investigation pursuant to Section 36a-17 of the Connecticut General Statutes into the activities of Respondents, among others, to determine if they had violated, were violating or were about to violate the provisions of the Connecticut General Statutes within the jurisdiction of the Commissioner;
WHEREAS, on October 7, 2015, as a result of such investigation, the Commissioner, acting pursuant to Sections 36a-52(b), 36a-50(c), 36a-671a(b), 36a-52(a) and 36a-50(a) of the Connecticut General Statutes, issued a Temporary Order to Cease and Desist, Order to Make Restitution (“Order to Make Restitution”), Notice of Intent to Issue Order Cease and Desist, Notice of Intent to Impose Civil Penalty and Notice of Right to Hearing (collectively “Order and Notice”) against Respondents, among others, which Order and Notice is incorporated herein by reference;
WHEREAS, the Commissioner alleges in the Order and Notice that Respondents engaged in debt negotiation in this state without obtaining the required license, in violation of Section 36a-671(b) of the Connecticut General Statutes;
WHEREAS, on October 7, 2015, the Order and Notice was sent by certified mail, return receipt requested, to Another Level Capital (Certified Mail Nos. 70143490000235259756 and 70143490000235259763), and to Taylor (Certified Mail No. 70143490000235259770);
WHEREAS, on October 10, 2015, Another Level Capital and Taylor each received the Order and Notice and thereafter requested a hearing, which hearing is currently scheduled for March 3, 2016;
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, Respondents and the Commissioner now desire to resolve the matters alleged in the Order and Notice and set forth herein;
WHEREAS, Respondents specifically assure the Commissioner that the violations contained in the Order and Notice and set forth herein shall not occur in the future;
WHEREAS, Respondents represent to the Commissioner that on or about February 20, 2014, they ceased engaging or offering to engage in debt negotiation in this state;
WHEREAS, Respondents represent to the Commissioner that they are not currently aware of any additional Connecticut debtors, other than those identified in Exhibit A attached hereto, who retained them for debt negotiation services;
WHEREAS, Respondents agree that the Order and Notice may be used in construing the terms of this Consent Order and agree to the language of this Consent Order;
AND WHEREAS, Respondents, through their respective execution of this Consent Order, voluntarily agree to waive their respective procedural rights, including a right to a hearing as it pertains to the allegations contained in the Order and Notice and set forth herein, voluntarily agree to consent to the entry of the sanctions imposed below without admitting or denying any allegation contained in the Order and Notice and set forth herein, and voluntarily waive their respective rights to seek judicial review or otherwise challenge or contest the validity of this Consent Order.
CONSENT TO ENTRY OF SANCTIONS
WHEREAS, Respondents, through their execution of this Consent Order, consent to the Commissioner’s entry of a Consent Order imposing the following sanctions:
| 1. | Respondents shall immediately cease and desist from engaging or offering to engage in debt negotiation in Connecticut without the required license, in violation of Section 36a-671(b) of the Connecticut General Statutes; |
| 2. | Respondents shall not affect any change in form of doing business or the organizational identity of any existing business entities or create any new business entities as a method of avoiding the terms and conditions of this Consent Order; |
| 3. | Commencing on the date this Consent Order is issued by the Commissioner, Respondents, and any successor in interest, shall be BARRED from engaging or offering to engage in debt negotiation in this state or acting in any other capacity which requires a license or registration from the Commissioner; |
| 4. | Taylor or Another Level Capital, or any successor in interest, may, for good cause shown, request that the Commissioner relieve it from the bar contained in paragraph 3 above by submitting a written application to the Commissioner setting forth the basis of the request. The Commissioner shall review the request and may, in his sole discretion, grant, deny or condition the relief sought pursuant to this paragraph; |
| 5. | Should Taylor or Another Level Capital, or any successor in interest, make a request for relief from the bar, as permitted by paragraph 4 above, the Commissioner shall not issue an order granting any relief under the bar unless Taylor or Another Level Capital have provided satisfactory evidence of full restitution to the Connecticut debtors and the refunds they are due as set forth in Exhibit A attached hereto; |
| 6. | Respondents shall make cumulative consecutive monthly restitution payments on the first of each month, beginning April 1, 2016, of Three Thousand Dollars ($3,000) to the Connecticut debtors identified in Exhibit A attached hereto in the order listed in Exhibit A, until all Connecticut debtors have been fully refunded. If any Connecticut debtor is owed more than $3,000 when a restitution payment is due, Respondents shall make an initial monthly $3,000 payment and continue to make $3,000 monthly payments until the debtor’s balance is paid in full. If any Connecticut debtor is owed less than $3,000 when a restitution payment is due, Respondents shall pay that debtor’s balance in full and apply the difference to the next Connecticut debtor listed in Exhibit A, such that Respondents’ cumulative monthly payment shall remain $3,000. In all circumstances, Respondents shall provide satisfactory evidence of each restitution payment to Carmine Costa, Director, Consumer Credit Division, Department of Banking, 260 Constitution Plaza, Hartford, Connecticut 06103-1800. Satisfactory evidence must consist of, at minimum, a copy of the check submitted to each Connecticut debtor and a copy of the postmarked envelope in which the check was mailed; |
| 7. | Beginning on October 1, 2016, and continuing until all Connecticut debtors in Exhibit A have been refunded in full, Respondents shall submit a quarterly report of their restitution payments to Carmine Costa, Director, Consumer Credit Division, Department of Banking, 260 Constitution Plaza, Hartford, Connecticut 06103-1800. The quarterly reports shall be due January 1, April 1, July 1 and October 1 of each year while restitution payments are owed and shall include: the name of each Connecticut debtor, the total restitution each Connecticut debtor is due under this Consent Order, the sum of restitution payments Respondents have submitted to each Connecticut debtor, and the sum of the restitution payments cashed by each Connecticut debtor. Nothing in this paragraph shall relieve Respondents of their obligation to provide satisfactory evidence of each restitution payment as set forth more fully in paragraph 6, above; and |
| 8. | In the event that a Connecticut debtor is owed restitution but for any reason cannot be contacted or fails to cash Respondents’ restitution check, the Commissioner reserves the exclusive right to determine how to ensure the unclaimed restitution payment is ultimately realized, including, without limitation, compelling Respondents to submit a restitution payment to an address not listed in Exhibit A or ordering that an unclaimed restitution payment be reduced to a civil penalty in a sum equal to any unclaimed restitution payment. |
CONSENT ORDER
NOW THEREFORE, the Commissioner enters the following:
| 1. | The Sanctions set forth above be and are 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 Another Level Capital or Taylor based upon the allegations set forth in the Order and Notice and contained herein; provided that issuance of this Consent Order is without prejudice to the right of the Commissioner to take enforcement action against Another Level Capital or Taylor 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 Another Level Capital or Taylor and reflected herein is subsequently discovered to be untrue; |
| 3. | In the event of nonperformance or violation by Respondents of any term or condition set forth herein, including, without limitation, Respondents’ obligation to not perform any activities within the jurisdiction of the Commissioner in accordance with paragraph 3 of the Consent to Entry of Sanctions, Respondents consent to the immediate entry and imposition of a civil penalty in the amount of Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000), knowingly, willfully and voluntarily waiving any right to notice and an opportunity for hearing on the matter. Any modification of the terms of this Consent Order absent prior written authorization from the Commissioner shall be construed as a violation of this Consent Order; and |
| 4. | This Consent Order shall become final when issued. |
Issued at Hartford, Connecticut
this 24th day of March 2016. ______/s/__________
Jorge L. Perez
Banking Commissioner
I, Michael Taylor, state on behalf of Another Level Capital Venture, Inc. d/b/a Quick Legal Solutions 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 Another Level Capital Venture, Inc. d/b/a Quick Legal Solutions; that Another Level Capital Venture, Inc. d/b/a Quick Legal Solutions agrees freely and without threat or coercion of any kind to comply with the sanctions entered and terms and conditions ordered herein; and that Another Level Capital Venture, Inc. d/b/a Quick Legal Solutions 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: Michael Taylor
Title: President
Another Level Capital Venture, Inc.
d/b/a Quick Legal Solutions
State of: ___________________________
County of: __________________________
On this the _______ day of March 2016, before me, _____________________________, the undersigned officer, personally appeared Michael Taylor who acknowledged himself to be the President of Another Level Capital Venture, Inc. d/b/a Quick Legal Solutions, a California corporation, and that he 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 as President.
In witness whereof I hereunto set my hand.
_____________________
Notary Public
Date Commission Expires:
I, Michael Taylor, state that I have read the foregoing Consent Order; that I know and fully understand its contents; that I agree freely and without threat or coercion of any kind to comply with the provisions of this Consent Order; and that I voluntarily agree to enter into this Consent Order, expressly waiving the procedural rights set forth herein as to the matters described herein.
________/s/_________
Michael Taylor
State of: ___________________________
County of: __________________________
On this the ______ day of March 2016, before me, ________________________________, the undersigned officer, personally appeared Michael Taylor, known to me (or satisfactorily proven) to be the person whose name is subscribed to the within instrument and acknowledged that he executed the same for the purposes therein contained.
In witness whereof I hereunto set my hand.
Notary Public
Date Commission Expires: