The Georgia Department of Banking and Finance finalized a cease and desist order on Feb. 25 against the mortgage lending company Mortgage Direct Inc.
The Department issued the order because it allegedly obtained evidence that the Elmhurst, Ill.-based company engaged in residential mortgage brokering/lending activities without a license.
Pursuant to Georgia law, it is prohibited for any person to directly or indirectly make, originate, underwrite, or purchase mortgage loans or service mortgage loans. It is also prohibited for any person to directly or indirectly solicit, process, place, or negotiate mortgage loans for others, or offer to solicit, process, place, or negotiate mortgage loans for others without a mortgage license or pursuant to an exemption from licensure.
Sam Dahleh, CEO of Mortgage Direct Inc., said the direct lending company which offers a wide variety of loan programs for every type of borrower including FHA loans, VA loans, jumbo loans, Refi Plus loans and more, has never done any business in Georgia. Dahleh said he was looking into a state license but plans to withdraw the application within the next 30 days. He added that this state order is not going to stop his company from conducting business activities in other parts of the country that it is licensed for.
“We are a legal company with over 150 employees,” Dahleh said. “We have licenses in Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Florida, California, Texas, and are pending four other states. The order issued to us to not do business in Georgia is incorrect because we were never working here anyways.”
