Massachusetts Closes Eight Mortgage Brokers Since August

In a continuing wave of crackdowns on misconduct in the Massachusetts mortgage industry, the state closed two brokers for alleged fraud on Tuesday, October 3 and issued orders to four others to cease operations because they lacked a proper license.

Confidence Mortgage Corp. and Middlesex Mortgage Co. joined six other companies closed since August. More than 110 companies have come in for unannounced reviews by examiners of the state's Division of Banks.

The actions in Massachusetts are part of an increasing awareness of mortgage fraud in the United States involving such activities as overstating applicants' income, misrepresenting information on applications, employing unapproved branch managers, and running unlicensed branch offices.

The brokers who were ordered to close branches on Tuesday included Mortgage Trust Group Inc. in Malden, Guaranteed Home Mortgage Co. in Lawrence, and Independent Mortgage Realty and Investments Inc. in Everett. All three companies operate branches legally in other parts of the state.

The investigation has also looked at mortgage companies that advertise online indicating they are licensed in Massachusetts when in fact they are not. Treasury Financial Group of Buffalo, N.Y. was also issued an order by the Division of Banks on Tuesday to halt such advertising.

The Massachusetts Commissioner of Banks, Steven L. Antonakes, commented on the closures, describing the apparently widespread problem of alleged fraud as "extremely troubling." According to Antonakes, "We have enough to see that it's happening far too frequently."

Mortgage companies that have been shut down by the state or ordered to close branches have 20 days under state law to serve notice of their plans to appeal the decision.

Responses from the affected businesses were mixed, with some claiming they did not operate branches in the cited locations and some defending their business practices as "open and above board." Others chose not to respond to the charges.