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IN THE MATTER OF: PATRIOT LENDING GROUP, INC. ("Patriot Lending") |
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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, Patriot Lending is a Connecticut corporation 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 March 16, 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 Patriot Lending 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 Patriot Lending employed or retained, during the period of June 6, 2008 through January 13, 2010, two (2) individuals as originators or mortgage loan originators without first registering them, or without such individuals being licensed, in violation of Sections 36a-486(b) and 36a-511(b) of the then applicable Connecticut General Statutes;
WHEREAS, the Commissioner believes that such allegation would support initiation of enforcement proceedings against Patriot Lending, including proceedings to revoke Patriot Lending ’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 Patriot Lending 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 Patriot Lending 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 Patriot Lending acknowledge the possible consequences of formal administrative proceedings, and Patriot Lending 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, Patriot Lending acknowledges that this Consent Order is a public record and, notwithstanding the foregoing paragraph, constitutes a finding by the Commissioner that Patriot Lending 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, Patriot Lending herein represents to the Commissioner that the individuals alleged to be unregistered originators or unlicensed mortgage loan originators in violation of Sections 36a-486(b) and 36a-511(b) of the then applicable Connecticut General Statutes, during the period of June 6, 2008 through January 13, 2010, are either currently licensed as mortgage loan originators under Part I of Chapter 668, Sections 36a-485 et seq., of the Connecticut General Statutes or are no longer engaged in any mortgage-related activity with Patriot Lending that would prohibit Patriot Lending from engaging the services of such individuals without licensure as mortgage loan originators under Part I of Chapter 668, Sections 36a-485 et seq., of the Connecticut General Statutes;
WHEREAS, Patriot Lending 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 Patriot Lending 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, Patriot Lending, 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, Patriot Lending, 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 Patriot Lending, Patriot Lending 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 Two Thousand Dollars ($2,000) 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 Patriot Lending 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 Patriot Lending 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 Patriot Lending and reflected herein is subsequently discovered to be untrue; |
| 3. | So long as this Consent Order is promptly disclosed by Patriot Lending on NMLS, nothing in the issuance of this Consent Order shall adversely affect the ability of Patriot Lending 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 19th day of May 2011. ________/s/_________
Howard F. Pitkin
Banking Commissioner
I, Christopher Winzig, state on behalf of Patriot Lending Group, 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 Patriot Lending Group, Inc.; that Patriot Lending Group, 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 Patriot Lending Group, 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: Christopher Winzig
Title: Secretary
Patriot Lending Group, Inc.
State of: Conn
County of: Litchfield
On this the 16th day of May 2011, before me, Dianne Lombardi, the undersigned officer, personally appeared Christopher Winzig who acknowledged himself to be the Secretary of Patriot Lending Group, Inc., a corporation, and that he as such authority, being authorized so to do, executed the foregoing instrument for the purposes therein contained, by signing the name of the corporation by himself as Secretary.
In witness whereof I hereunto set my hand.
________/s/_________
Notary Public
Date Commission Expires: 5-31-14