Mortgage Daily

Published On: July 21, 2005
Georgia Broker Loses License

Dept. of banking revokes Preferred Mortgage’s license

July 21, 2005

By PATRICK CROWLEY

Hiring a convicted felon has cost a Georgia mortgage broker its license.The Georgia Department of Banking and Finance Department has revoked the license of Preferred Mortgage Services of Atlanta for alleged violations of the Georgia Residential Mortgage and Georgia Fair Lending acts, the department said in a statement.

The department said Preferred was cited for making numerous misrepresentations in loan files submitted to mortgage lenders; employing a convicted felon; transacting business with an unlicensed entity; and failing to comply with the state’s procedures for handling subprime loans.

The company could not be reached to comment.

“Our department is aggressively seeking to revoke the privilege to do business as a Georgia residential mortgage licensee for anyone consistently violating Georgia laws,” department Commissioner David Sorrell said in a statement. “Preferred Mortgage Services, Inc.’s numerous and serious violations do not meet the licensing requirement that activities and operations be in compliance with the laws of the state of Georgia and be conducted in a matter that protects the contractual and property rights of the citizens.”

Pressed for specifics, deputy mortgage Robert Braswell said he was restricted by state law from revealing too many specifics.

“Our privacy laws do not allow me to elaborate on the specifics of the action in any greater detail than what is actually listed in the official Order of Revocation,” Braswell said in an e-mail response to questions posed by MortgageDaily.com.

“However, I can tell you that the (Georgia) Residential Mortgage Act does not allow felons of any kind to be employed by a licensee,” Braswell said. “Whether the felony conviction involved financial crimes or not is irrelevant.”

Georgia has been identified as a hot bed for mortgage fraud. And while Preferred Mortgage Services is not accused of breaking any crimes the state has been tightening its oversight of the state’s mortgage industry.

According to Mortgage Asset Research Institute, Georgia is the top mortgage fraud state in the nation.

And the FBI has identified Georgia and neighboring Florida as the worst problems with mortgage fraud in the state.


Patrick Crowley is a MortgageDaily.com feature journalist and blogger, and a reporter and columnist for The Cincinnati Enquirer. e-mail Patrick at: [email protected]

FREE CALCULATORS TO HELP YOU SUCCEED
Tools for Your Next Big Decision.

Amortization Calculator

Affordability Calculator

Mortgage Calculator

Refinance Calculator

FHA Mortgage Calculator

VA Mortgage Calculator

Real Estate Calculator

Tags

Pre-Approval Resources!

Making well educated decions in a matter of minutes and stay up to date on the latest news Mortgage Daily has to offer. Read our latest articles to stay up to date on what’s going on…

Resource Center

Since 1998, Mortgage Daily has helped millions of people such as yourself navigate the complicated hurdles of the mortgage industry. See our popular topics below, search our website. With over 300,000 articles, we are guaranteed to have something for you.

Your mortgages approval starts here.

Add 1-2 sentence here. Add 1-2 sentence here. Add 1-2 sentence here. Add 1-2 sentence here. Add 1-2 sentence here.

Stay Up To Date with Today’s Latest Rates

ï„‘

Mortgage

Today’s rates starting at

4.63%

5/1 ARM
$200,000 LOAN

ï„‘

Home Refinance

Today’s rates starting at

4.75%

30 YEAR FIXED
$200,000 LOAN

ï„‘

Home Equity

Today’s rates starting at

3.99%

3 YEAR
$200,000 LOAN

ï„‘

HELOC

Today’s rates starting at

2.24%

30 YEAR FIXED
$200,000 LOAN