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IN THE MATTER OF: MATTHEW SMITH ("Smith") YOURMORTGAGERIGHTS.COM (collectively "Respondents") * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * |
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CONSENT ORDER |
WHEREAS, the Banking Commissioner (“Commissioner”) is charged with the administration of Sections 36a-671 to 36a-671d, inclusive, of the 2010 Supplement to the General Statutes, contained in Part II of Chapter 669 of the Connecticut General Statutes, “Debt Adjusters and Debt Negotiation”;
WHEREAS, ModPilot is a corporation with an office at 3186 Vista Way, Oceanside, California, and Smith is the founder of ModPilot and the registrant of the domain name “YourMortgageRights.com”;
WHEREAS, the Commissioner, through the Consumer Credit Division (“Division”) of the Department of Banking, conducted an investigation pursuant to Section 36a-17(a) of the Connecticut General Statutes into the activities of Respondents 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, as a result of such investigation, on March 3, 2011, the Commissioner, acting pursuant to Sections 36a-671a(b), 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 (collectively “Notice”) against Respondents, which Notice is incorporated herein by reference;
WHEREAS, the Notice alleges that from at least May 2010 to March 2011, Respondents offered to engage 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 March 3, 2011, the Notice was mailed to Respondents by registered mail, return receipt requested (Registered Mail Nos. RB028037779US, RB028037782US and RB028037955US);
WHEREAS, on March 11, 2011, ModPilot received the Notice sent by registered mail no. RB028037955US; on March 14, 2011, Smith received the Notice sent by registered mail no. RB028037779US; and on March 14, 2011, ModPilot received the Notice sent by registered mail no. RB028037782US;
WHEREAS, on March 24, 2011, the Department received an Appearance and Request for Hearing from Respondents;
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 Respondents now desire to resolve the matters alleged in the Notice and set forth herein;
WHEREAS, Respondents voluntarily agree to consent to the entry of the sanctions described below without admitting or denying any allegation contained in the Notice and set forth herein and 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, Respondents herein represent to the Commissioner that they have not offered to engage in debt negotiation activity in Connecticut following receipt of the Notice;
WHEREAS, Respondents agree that the 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 execution of this Consent Order, voluntarily agree to waive their procedural rights, including a right to a hearing as it pertains to the allegations contained in the Notice and set forth herein, and voluntarily waive their right 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. | No later than the date this Consent Order is executed by Respondents, Respondents 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; |
| 2. |
Respondents shall cease and desist from engaging or offering to engage in debt negotiation in Connecticut without a license, in violation of Section 36a-671(b) of the Connecticut General Statutes; |
| 3. | Smith shall not act as an officer or control person of any entity that engages or offers to engage in debt negotiation activity in Connecticut without a license, in violation of Section 36a-671(b) of the Connecticut General Statutes; |
| 4. | No later than the date this Consent Order is executed by Respondents, ModPilot shall add a disclaimer to all of its related websites stating that its debt negotiation program and services are not available in Connecticut. Further, such disclaimer shall be prominently displayed on such websites so long as ModPilot continues to offer debt negotiation programs and services via the Internet and does not maintain a license to engage or offer to engage in debt negotiation in Connecticut; and |
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No later than the date this Consent Order is executed by Respondents, Respondents shall: (1) Refund all monies paid to Respondent ModPilot by Connecticut residents for the ModPilot Package, including the book, from October 1, 2009 through the date this Consent Order is issued by the Commissioner, and (2) provide satisfactory evidence of such repayment(s) to Marlene M. Mannix, Director, Consumer Credit Division, Department of Banking, 260 Constitution Plaza, Hartford, Connecticut 06103-1800, or marlene.mannix@ct.gov.
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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 Respondents based upon the allegations contained herein; provided that issuance of this Consent Order is without prejudice to the right of the Commissioner to take enforcement action against Respondents 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 Respondents and reflected herein is subsequently discovered to be untrue; |
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This Consent Order shall become final when issued.
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Issued at Hartford, Connecticut
this 10th day of November 2011. ________/s/_________
Howard F. Pitkin
Banking Commissioner
I, Matt Smith, state on behalf of YourMortgageRights.com a/k/a YourMortgageRights.org a/k/a ModPilot.Inc. a/k/a ModPilot.com, 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 YourMortgageRights.com a/k/a YourMortgageRights.org a/k/a ModPilot.Inc. a/k/a ModPilot.com; that YourMortgageRights.com a/k/a YourMortgageRights.org a/k/a ModPilot.Inc. a/k/a ModPilot.com agrees freely and without threat or coercion of any kind to comply with the sanction entered and terms and conditions ordered herein; and that YourMortgageRights.com a/k/a YourMortgageRights.org a/k/a ModPilot.Inc. a/k/a ModPilot.com 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:
Title:
YourMortgageRights.com
a/k/a YourMortgageRights.org
a/k/a ModPilot.Inc. a/k/a ModPilot.com
State of: California
County of: San Diego
On this the 4 day of October 2011, before me, Nancy Lichtman, the undersigned officer, personally appeared Matt Smith who acknowledged himself to be the Owner of YourMortgageRights.com a/k/a YourMortgageRights.org a/k/a ModPilot.Inc. a/k/a ModPilot.com, a corporation, and that he as such Owner, 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 Owner.
In witness whereof I hereunto set my hand.
________/s/_________
Notary Public
Date Commission Expires: June 22, 2012
I, Matthew Smith, 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 sanction entered and terms and conditions ordered herein; 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/_________
Matthew Smith
State of: California
County of: San Diego
On this the 4 day of October 2011, before me, Nancy Lichtman, the undersigned officer, personally appeared Matthew Smith, 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.
________/s/_________
Notary Public
Date Commission Expires: June 22, 2012