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IN THE MATTER OF: WESTPORT MORTGAGE LLC ("Westport 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, Westport Mortgage is a Connecticut limited liability company that is currently licensed as a mortgage broker under Part I of Chapter 668, Sections 36a-485 et seq., of the Connecticut General Statutes;
WHEREAS, on August 25, 2010, 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 Westport 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 Westport Mortgage employed or retained, during the period of May 7, 2004 through November 12, 2008, three (3) individuals as originators or mortgage loan originators without registering or licensing them, 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 Westport Mortgage, including proceedings to revoke Westport 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 Westport 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 Westport 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 Westport Mortgage acknowledge the possible consequences of formal administrative proceedings;
WHEREAS, Westport Mortgage voluntarily agrees to enter into this Settlement Agreement without admitting or denying any allegation set forth herein, and solely for the purposes of obviating the need for formal administrative proceedings concerning the allegation described above;
WHEREAS, notwithstanding the foregoing, Westport Mortgage acknowledges that this Settlement Agreement is a public record and constitutes, for the limited purposes of satisfying Westport Mortgage’s disclosure obligations on its MU1, MU2 and MU4 Forms on the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System, as applicable to Westport Mortgage, a finding by the Commissioner that Westport Mortgage has been involved in a violation of a financial services-related regulation or statute;
WHEREAS, Westport Mortgage 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 May 7, 2004 through November 12, 2008, 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 Westport Mortgage that would prohibit Westport Mortgage 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, Westport 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 Westport Mortgage requires licensure from the Commissioner under Part I of Chapter 668, Sections 36a-485 et seq., of the Connecticut General Statutes;
AND WHEREAS, Westport Mortgage, through its execution of this Settlement Agreement, voluntarily agrees to waive any rights to a hearing upon the allegation 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 Westport Mortgage enter into this Settlement Agreement as follows:
| 1. | No later than the date this Settlement Agreement is executed by Westport Mortgage, Westport 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 Westport Mortgage based upon the allegation contained herein; provided that entry of this Settlement Agreement is without prejudice to the right of the Commissioner to take enforcement action against Westport Mortgage based on the allegation contained herein if any representations made by Westport Mortgage in this Settlement Agreement are subsequently discovered to be untrue or if Westport 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 Westport 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 Westport Mortgage to enforce this Settlement Agreement if the Commissioner determines that Westport 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 11th day of January 2011. ________/s/_________
Howard F. Pitkin
Banking Commissioner
I, Paul Lebowitz, state on behalf of Westport Mortgage LLC, 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 Westport Mortgage LLC; that Westport Mortgage LLC agrees freely and without threat or coercion of any kind to comply with the terms and conditions stated herein; and that Westport Mortgage LLC voluntarily agrees to enter into this Settlement Agreement, expressly waiving any right to a hearing on the matters described herein.
By: ________/s/_________
Name: Paul Lebowitz
Title: Managing Member
Westport Mortgage LLC
State of: CT
County of: Fairfield
On this the 30th day of December 2010, before me, Kate Randolph, the undersigned officer, personally appeared Paul Lebowitz who acknowledged himself to be the Managing Member of Westport Mortgage LLC, a member managed/manager managed limited liability company 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 Managing Member.
In witness whereof I hereunto set my hand.
________/s/_________
Notary Public
Date Commission Expires: 10/31/12