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IN THE MATTER OF: LIGHTNING MORTGAGE INC. ("Lightning 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, Lightning Mortgage is a Connecticut corporation that is currently licensed as a mortgage broker 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, pursuant to the authority granted by Sections 36a-17 and Section 36a-498f of the Connecticut General Statutes, investigated the activities of Lightning 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, on June 27, 2016, as a result of the investigation, the Commissioner, acting pursuant to Section 36a-494(b) of the 2016 Supplement to the General Statutes and Sections 36a-52(a) and 36a 50(a) of the Connecticut General Statutes, issued a Notice of Intent to Issue Order to Cease and Desist, Notice of Intent to Impose Civil Penalty and Notice of Right to Hearing (“Notice”) against Lightning Mortgage, which Notice is incorporated herein by reference;
WHEREAS, the Commissioner alleged in the Notice that Lightning Mortgage failed to timely file its Standard Financial Condition – 2015 mortgage call report that was due on March 30, 2016, in violation of Section 36a-534b(c)(3) of the Connecticut General Statutes and of an order of the Commissioner contained in a Consent Order dated May 31, 2013 (“2013 Consent Order”), and such failure to timely file formed the basis to revive the allegation made by the Commissioner in the 2013 Consent Order. Such violations form the basis to issue an order to cease and desist pursuant to Section 36a-494(b) of the 2016 Supplement to the General Statutes and/or Section 36a-52(a) of the Connecticut General Statutes, and to impose a civil penalty pursuant to Section 36a-494(b) of the 2016 Supplement to the General Statutes and/or Section 36a-50(a) of the Connecticut General Statutes;
WHEREAS, on June 28, 2016, the Notice was sent by certified mail, return receipt requested, to Lightning Mortgage (Certified Mail No. 70123050000069999840);
WHEREAS, on July 5, 2016, Lightning Mortgage received the Notice and on July 15, 2016, requested a hearing;
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, the Commissioner and Lightning Mortgage now desire to resolve the matters alleged in the Notice and set forth herein;
WHEREAS, Lightning Mortgage admits that the mortgage call report described in the Notice and set forth herein was not filed on its due date;
WHEREAS, Lightning Mortgage herein represents to the Commissioner that it has reviewed and updated its internal policies, procedures and controls for timely and accurately filing all required reports with the Commissioner, including but not limited to mortgage call reports required to be submitted to the Commissioner through the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System and Registry (“NMLS”);
WHEREAS, Lightning 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, Lightning Mortgage voluntarily agrees to consent to the entry of the sanction imposed below, solely for the purpose of obviating the need for further formal administrative proceedings concerning the allegations contained in the Notice and set forth herein;
WHEREAS, Lightning Mortgage agrees that the Notice may be used in construing the terms of this Consent Order and agrees to the language of this Consent Order;
AND WHEREAS, Lightning Mortgage, through its execution of this Consent Order, voluntarily agrees to waive any applicable procedural rights, including a right to a hearing as it pertains to the allegations contained in the Notice and 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, Lightning 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 Lightning Mortgage, it shall remit to the Department of Banking by wire transfer or by cashier’s check, certified check or money order made payable to “Treasurer, State of Connecticut”, the sum of Four Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($4,500) 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. | No later than the date this Consent Order is executed by Lightning Mortgage, it shall have satisfactorily filed on NMLS all mortgage call reports required to date. In the future, Lightning Mortgage shall timely and accurately file all required reports in connection with its current and any future license issued to Lightning Mortgage; |
| 3. | 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 Lightning Mortgage based upon the allegations set forth in the 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 Lightning 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 Lightning Mortgage and reflected herein is subsequently discovered to be untrue. It is expressly understood and agreed that the subsequent failure by Lightning Mortgage to timely file any required mortgage call report within the balance of the 2016 licensing period, or any required mortgage call report in any of the next three (3) licensing periods during which time Lightning Mortgage is licensed, shall, in addition to any other remedy available to the Commissioner, form a basis for the Commissioner to revoke or refuse to renew the license of Lightning Mortgage in Connecticut; |
| 4. | Subject to the foregoing, and so long as this Consent Order is promptly disclosed by Lightning Mortgage and its control persons on NMLS, as applicable, nothing in the issuance of this Consent Order shall adversely affect the ability of Lightning 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 |
| 5. | This Consent Order shall become final when issued. |
Issued at Hartford, Connecticut
this 11th day of October 2016. _______/s/_________
Jorge L. Perez
Banking Commissioner
I, Michael Darcy, state on behalf of Lightning Mortgage 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 Lightning Mortgage Inc.; that Lightning Mortgage 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 Lightning Mortgage 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: Michael Darcy
Title: President
Lightning Mortgage Inc.
State of: New Jersey
County of: Hudson
On this the 3rd day of Oct. 2016, before me, Josephine Cupo, the undersigned officer, personally appeared Michael Darcy who acknowledged himself to be the President of Lightning Mortgage Inc., a 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.
_________/s/_________
Notary Public
Date Commission Expires: Oct. 16, 2017