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IN THE MATTER OF: 1st AMERICAN HOME LOANS, LLC ("1st American") |
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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, 1st American is a Connecticut limited liability company that is currently licensed as a mortgage correspondent lender under Part I of Chapter 668, Sections 36a-485 et seq., of the Connecticut General Statutes;
WHEREAS, on November 29, 2011, the Commissioner, through the Consumer Credit Division of the Department of Banking, conducted an examination pursuant to Sections 36a-17 and 36a-498f of the Connecticut General Statutes into the activities of 1st American 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 1st American employed or retained, during the period of August 27 through November 17, 2010, one (1) individual as a mortgage loan originator who was not licensed, in violation of Section 36a-486(b) of the then applicable Connecticut General Statutes;
WHEREAS, the Commissioner believes that such allegation would support initiation of enforcement proceedings against 1st American, including proceedings to revoke 1st American’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 1st American 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 1st American 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 1st American acknowledge the possible consequences of formal administrative proceedings, and 1st American 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, 1st American acknowledges that this Consent Order is a public record and, notwithstanding the foregoing paragraph, constitutes a finding by the Commissioner that 1st American 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, 1st American 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 then applicable Connecticut General Statutes, during the period of August 27 through November 17, 2010, 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 1st American that would prohibit 1st American 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, 1st American 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 1st American 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, 1st American, 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, 1st American, 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 1st American, 1st American 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 One Thousand Dollars ($1,000) 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 1st American 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 1st American 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 1st American and reflected herein is subsequently discovered to be untrue; |
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So long as this Consent Order is promptly disclosed by 1st American on NMLS, nothing in the issuance of this Consent Order shall adversely affect the ability of 1st American 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 |
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This Consent Order shall become final when issued.
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Dated at Hartford, Connecticut
this 1st day of March 2012. ________/s/_________
Howard F. Pitkin
Banking Commissioner
I, Keith A. Wilcox, state on behalf of 1st American Home Loans, 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 1st American Home Loans, LLC; that 1st American Home Loans, 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 1st American Home Loans, 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: Keith Wilcox
Title: Managing Member
1st American Home Loans, LLC
State of: Connecticut
ss: Killingly
County of: Windham
On this the 24th day of February 2012, before me, Marcia Neff, the undersigned officer, personally appeared Keith Wilcox who acknowledged himself to be the Managing Member of 1st American Home Loans, LLC, a member managed/manager managed limited liability company, and that he as such Managing Member, 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 as Keith Wilcox.
In witness whereof I hereunto set my hand.
________/s/_________
Notary Public
Date Commission Expires: Sept. 30, 2016