Hometown Lenders in Huntsville, Ala., and Sun West Mortgage Co. in Cerritos, Calif., are paying a hefty price for hiring and allowing convicted felons to do business in Georgia.
The Georgia Department of Banking & Finance has entered a consent order with Hometown Lenders and its owners, William E. Taylor Jr., William E. Taylor Sr. and Byron Heath Quick. The company has been ordered to surrender its mortgage lender license and pay $24,000 in fines for failing to abide by Georgia law, according to a regulatory filing issued on Oct. 1.
At the same time the order bans Hometown Lenders' owners from acting as branch managers of a Georgia-based mortgage broker or mortgage lender for five years.
Under Georgia's law mortgage brokers and mortgage lenders should not employ convicted felons or allow any such person to be involved in mortgage lending, the departments explained in a press release. In addition to the other penalties the lender is required to pay a fine of $5,000 per felon hired.
The order resolves a notice of intent to revoke and cease-and-desist orders issued to Hometown Lenders and its owners "for employing two felons and transacting business with an unlicensed mortgage processing company," the department explained in the release.
Similarly, following an order issued in September Sun West and its owners Hari S. Agarwal and Pavan Shunker Agarwal lost their Georgia lending license for employing nine felons and it will pay $45,500 in fines.
In addition, Sun West's owners will not be allowed to operate as a mortgage lender or mortgage broker in Georgia and "shall contribute $1,000 to the State Regulatory Registry" to support the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System.
Rod Carnes, Georgia's deputy commissioner for non-depository financial institutions, told this publication that while Sun West permanently lost its opportunity to do business in Georgia, Hometown Lenders has the option to reapply for a license in five years.
"But that doesn't mean their license will automatically be granted" he said. The order will be part of their record forever, so if Sun West reapplies, "the department will look at the application as a whole including what led to administrative action, there's no guaranty the company will be relicensed."
Hometown Lenders and Sun West have yet to respond to a request for comment.
