| * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * IN THE MATTER OF: SIWELL, INC. | * * * * * * * * * * * * | 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, Capital Mortgage Services is a Texas corporation that was licensed in Connecticut as a mortgage lender under Part I of Chapter 668, Sections 36a-485 et seq., of the Connecticut General Statutes for the January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2015 licensing period, and that requested renewal of such license for the January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2016 licensing period (“2016 licensing period”) on December 1, 2015;
WHEREAS, the Commissioner, through the Consumer Credit Division of the Department of Banking (“Department”), pursuant to the authority granted by Sections 36a-17 and 36a-498f of the Connecticut General Statutes, investigated the application for license renewal of Capital Mortgage Services to determine if it continued to meet the minimum standards for renewal of its mortgage lender license for the 2016 licensing period;
WHEREAS, on March 22, 2016, as a result of the investigation, the Commissioner, acting pursuant to Section 36a-494(a)(1) of the 2016 Supplement to the General Statutes and subsections (a) and (b) of Section 36a-51 of the Connecticut General Statutes, issued a Notice of Intent Not to Renew Mortgage Lender License and Notice of Right to Hearing (“Notice”) against Capital Mortgage Services, which Notice is incorporated herein by reference;
WHEREAS, the Commissioner alleged in the Notice that Capital Mortgage Services failed to have a designated qualified individual (“QI”) at its main office with the experience required by Section 36a 488 of the Connecticut General Statutes;
WHEREAS, on March 23, 2016, the Notice was sent by certified mail, return receipt requested, to Capital Mortgage Services (Certified Mail Nos. 70133020000042267773 and 70142120000036974053);
WHEREAS, on March 28, 2016, Capital Mortgage Services received the Notice, and on April 6, 2016, requested a hearing;
WHEREAS, as a result of further investigation, the Commissioner herein additionally alleges that, as it pertains to the qualifications of its designated QI, Capital Mortgage Services violated Sections 36a 498e(10) and 36a-53a of the Connecticut General Statutes;
WHEREAS, the alleged violation of Section 36a-498e(10) of the Connecticut General Statutes, if proven, would form the basis for the Commissioner to issue an order to cease and desist pursuant to Section 36a-494(b) of the 2016 Supplement to the General and 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 and Section 36a-50(a) of the Connecticut General Statutes;
WHEREAS, the alleged violation of Section 36a-53a of the Connecticut General Statutes, if proven, would form the basis for the Commissioner to issue an order to cease and desist pursuant to Section 36a-52(a) of the Connecticut General Statutes, and to impose a civil penalty pursuant to Section 36a-50(a) of the Connecticut General Statutes;
WHEREAS, these additional allegations, if proven, would constitute sufficient grounds for the Commissioner to deny a license under Sections 36a-489(a)(1)(C) and 36a-489(a)(1)(E) of the Connecticut General Statutes, which in turn would constitute additional grounds to refuse to renew the mortgage lender license of Capital Mortgage Services under Sections 36a-494(a)(1), 36a-494(a)(1)(A) and 36a 494(a)(1)(C) of the 2016 Supplement to the 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, Capital Mortgage Services has now designated an individual for the QI position for the main office that presently meets the statutory qualifications for company mortgage lender licensure;
WHEREAS, the Commissioner and Capital Mortgage Services now desire to resolve the matters alleged in the Notice and such additional allegations set forth herein;
WHEREAS, Capital Mortgage Services 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, Capital Mortgage Services voluntarily agrees to consent to the entry of the sanctions imposed below without admitting or denying any allegation contained in the Notice or the additional allegations set forth herein, solely for the purpose of obviating the need for further formal administrative proceedings concerning the allegations contained in the Notice and as set forth herein;
WHEREAS, Capital Mortgage Services agrees and consents to this Consent Order, solely for the purpose of obviating the need for further formal administrative proceedings concerning the allegations contained in the Notice and as otherwise set forth herein;
WHEREAS, Capital Mortgage Services 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, Capital Mortgage Services, 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 a notice and an opportunity for a hearing as it pertains to the additional 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 SANCTIONS
WHEREAS, Capital Mortgage Services, through its execution of this Consent Order, consents to the Commissioner’s entry of a Consent Order imposing the following sanctions:
| 1. | No later than the date this Consent Order is executed by Capital Mortgage Services, 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 Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000) as a civil penalty. |
| 2. | In connection with any subsequent license it seeks to obtain or obtains from the Commissioner that requires either a QI or a branch manager (“BM”), Capital Mortgage Services shall be required, from the date this Consent Order is executed by the Commissioner until December 31, 2019, to: (a) respond to any inquiry from the Department about such QI or BM within fifteen (15) business days from the date of such inquiry, whether the inquiry is made by e-mail, by deficiency posted to NMLS, or in other written form; (b) notify the Commissioner on NMLS within ten (10) business days of any change to the designated QI or BM; and (c) in the event of a change to the QI or BM, designate a qualified replacement on NMLS within thirty (30) calendar days from the date of the notification required in item (b) above. In the event that the law governing notice requirements relating to QIs and BMs is amended during the period of time contemplated by this paragraph to include requirements that are more stringent than the requirements imposed on Capital Mortgage Services by this paragraph, Capital Mortgage Services shall be bound by those requirements and shall be deemed to be in compliance with this provision if it is in compliance with more stringent requirements imposed by law. |
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 Capital Mortgage Services 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 Capital Mortgage Services 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 Capital Mortgage Services and reflected herein is subsequently discovered to be untrue; |
| 3. | Subject to the foregoing, and so long as this Consent Order is promptly disclosed by Capital Mortgage Services and its control persons on NMLS, as applicable, nothing in the issuance of this Consent Order shall adversely affect the ability of Capital Mortgage Services to apply for or obtain licenses or renewal licenses as a mortgage lender, mortgage correspondent lender, mortgage broker or mortgage servicer, provided that all applicable legal requirements for such license are satisfied; |
| 4. | Subject to and provided that there is no other cause or basis to refuse to renew the subject license, said license will be approved for renewal forthwith; and |
| 5. | This Consent Order shall become final when issued. |
Issued at Hartford, Connecticut
this 17th day of October 2016. ______/s/__________
Jorge L. Perez
Banking Commissioner
I, Royce Clay Lewis III, state on behalf of Siwell, Inc. d/b/a Capital Mortgage Services of Texas, 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 Siwell, Inc. d/b/a Capital Mortgage Services of Texas; that Siwell, Inc. d/b/a Capital Mortgage Services of Texas agrees freely and without threat or coercion of any kind to comply with the sanctions entered and terms and conditions ordered herein; and that Siwell, Inc. d/b/a Capital Mortgage Services of Texas 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: Royce Clay Lewis III
Title: Chief Executive Officer
Siwell, Inc. d/b/a Capital Mortgage Services of Texas
State of: Texas
County of: Lubbock
On this the 12th day of October 2016, before me, Sarah Ruehlen, the undersigned officer, personally appeared Royce Clay Lewis III who acknowledged himself to be the Chief Executive Officer of Siwell, Inc. d/b/a Capital Mortgage Services of Texas, a corporation, and that he as such Chief Executive Officer, 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 Chief Executive Officer.
In witness whereof I hereunto set my hand.
__________/s/___________
Notary Public
Date Commission Expires: 7-23-17