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IN THE MATTER OF: ADVISORS MORTGAGE ("Advisors Mortgage") |
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SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT |
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, Advisors Mortgage is a New Jersey limited liability company that is licensed as a mortgage lender under Part I of Chapter 668, Sections 36a-485 et seq., of the Connecticut General Statutes;
WHEREAS, on October 22, 2009, the Commissioner, through the Consumer Credit Division of the Department of Banking, conducted an examination pursuant to Section 36a-17 of the Connecticut General Statutes into the activities of Advisors 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, as a result of such examination, the Commissioner alleges that Advisors Mortgage employed or retained, during the period of January 7, 2009 through April 28, 2009, three (3) individuals as mortgage loan originators without licensing such individuals, in violation of Section 36a-486(b) of the Connecticut General Statutes;
WHEREAS, the Commissioner believes that such allegation would support initiation of enforcement proceedings against Advisors Mortgage, including proceedings to revoke Advisors Mortgage’s license pursuant to Section 36a-494(a) and subsections (a) and (b) of Section 36a-51 of the 2010 Supplement to the General Statutes, issue a cease and desist order against Advisors Mortgage pursuant to Section 36a-494(b) of the 2010 Supplement to the General Statutes and Section 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 Advisors Mortgage pursuant to Section 36a-494(b) of the 2010 Supplement to the General Statutes and Section 36a-50(a) 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 agreed settlement, unless precluded by law;
WHEREAS, both the Commissioner and Advisors Mortgage acknowledge the possible consequences of formal administrative proceedings;
WHEREAS, Advisors Mortgage agrees to voluntarily enter into this Settlement Agreement without admitting or denying any allegations set forth herein, and solely for the purposes of obviating the need for formal administrative proceedings concerning the allegation described above;
WHEREAS, Advisors Mortgage herein represents to the Commissioner that two (2) of the individuals alleged to be unlicensed mortgage loan originators in violation of Section 36a-486(b) of the Connecticut General Statutes, during the period of January 7, 2009 through April 28, 2009, are currently licensed as mortgage loan originators under Part I of Chapter 668, Sections 36a-485 et seq., of the Connecticut General Statutes, and that the other individual is no longer engaged in any mortgage-related activity with Advisors Mortgage that would prohibit Advisors Mortgage 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, Advisors Mortgage 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 Advisors Mortgage requires licensure from the Commissioner under Part I of Chapter 668, Sections 36a-485 et seq., of the Connecticut General Statutes;
AND WHEREAS, Advisors Mortgage, through its execution of this Settlement Agreement, voluntarily agrees to waive any rights to a hearing upon the allegations contained in this Settlement Agreement, and waives the right to seek judicial review or otherwise challenge or contest the validity of this Settlement Agreement.
NOW THEREFORE, the Commissioner and Advisors Mortgage enter into this Settlement Agreement as follows:
| 1. | No later than the date this Settlement Agreement is executed by Advisors Mortgage, Advisors Mortgage 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 Three Thousand Dollars ($3,000) as a civil penalty; |
| 2. | Upon entry of this Settlement Agreement, this matter will be resolved and the Commissioner will not take any future enforcement action against Advisors Mortgage based upon the allegations contained herein; provided that entry of this Settlement Agreement is without prejudice to the right of the Commissioner to take enforcement action against Advisors Mortgage based on the allegations contained herein if any representations made by Advisors Mortgage in this Settlement Agreement are subsequently discovered to be untrue or if Advisors Mortgage is not fully complying with any term or condition stated herein; |
| 3. | Nothing in the entry of this Settlement Agreement shall adversely affect the ability of Advisors 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, and for its mortgage loan originators to apply for or obtain licensure from the Commissioner; |
| 4. | Notwithstanding paragraph 2 herein, execution of this Settlement Agreement is without prejudice to the right of the Commissioner to take enforcement action against Advisors Mortgage to enforce this Settlement Agreement if the Commissioner determines that Advisors Mortgage is not fully complying with any term or condition stated herein. For purposes of this paragraph, a violation of this Settlement Agreement shall be deemed to be a violation of an order of the Commissioner. |
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Settlement Agreement to be executed by each of them or their duly authorized representatives on the dates hereinafter subscribed.
Dated at Hartford, Connecticut
this 12th day of August 2010. ________/s/_________
Howard F. Pitkin
Banking Commissioner
I, W. Steven Kaliff, state on behalf of Advisors Mortgage Group, LLC d/b/a AMG Mortgage, that I have read the foregoing Settlement Agreement; that I know and fully understand its contents; that I am authorized to execute this Settlement Agreement on behalf of Advisors Mortgage Group, LLC d/b/a AMG Mortgage, that Advisors Mortgage Group, LLC d/b/a AMG Mortgage agrees freely and without threat or coercion of any kind to comply with the terms and conditions stated herein; and that Advisors Mortgage Group, LLC d/b/a AMG Mortgage voluntarily agrees to enter into this Settlement Agreement, expressly waiving any right to a hearing on the matters described herein.
By: ________/s/_________
Name: W. Steven Kaliff
Title: Vice President
Advisors Mortgage Group, LLC
d/b/a AMG Mortgage
State of: New Jersey
County of: Ocean
On this the 10th day of August 2010, before me, Maria Hergert, the undersigned officer, personally appeared W. Steven Kaliff, who acknowledged himself/herself to be the Vice President of Advisors Mortgage Group, LLC d/b/a AMG Mortgage, a limited liability company, that he/she as such is, 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 Vice President.
In witness whereof I hereunto set my hand.
________/s/_________
Notary Public
Date Commission Expires: 4-14-2014