OFR and 41 Other States Announce Mortgage Loan Originator Enforcement Action

Tallahassee, Fla. - The Office of Financial Regulation (OFR), along with financial regulatory agencies from 41 other states, today announced that settlement agreements were reached with more than 400 mortgage loan originators nationwide who falsely claimed to have completed their state and federal required annual continuing education. Instead, these mortgage loan originators paid an education provider to issue them false education certificates when the “students” had not attended any training classes.

OFR Commissioner Russell C. Weigel, III said, “The Office of Financial Regulation is committed to protecting Floridians from bad actors. We will continue to work tirelessly to ensure the financial marketplace is safe for Floridians. Those looking to evade Florida’s laws will be stopped.”

 Through the settlements, 441 mortgage loan originators agreed to surrender their licenses for a period of three months, pay a fine of $1,000 for each state they hold a license in, and take continuing education above and beyond the requirements of the Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act (SAFE Act).

 The SAFE Act requires states to implement and enforce minimum standards for the licensing and registration of state-licensed mortgage loan originators to enhance consumer protection and reduce fraud. Florida law requires mortgage loan originators to have at least 20 hours of pre-licensing education and eight hours of continuing education annually.

 Danny Yen, owner of Real Estate Educational Services, a Carlsbad, California-based course provider, faces administrative enforcement actions for allegedly providing false certificates and taking courses on behalf of mortgage loan originators through other education providers in violation of the SAFE Act.

 The irregular activity was discovered through a gesture-driven authentication tool called BioSig-ID, which is used to monitor all online courses approved under the SAFE Act.

 Floridians are encouraged to check the license status of any mortgage loan originator or other financial services provider that they plan to do business with by contacting the OFR online at www.flofr.gov or by calling (850) 487-9687. Consumers may also visit the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System & Registry (NMLS) consumer access webpage for more information on businesses and professionals in the financial lending industry.