Consent Order  Village Capital and Investment, LLC, dba Village Home Mortgage

Date:	07/18/2011
Organization:	Division of Banks
Docket Number:	2011-019-CO
Location:	Mount Laurel, NJ

Village Capital and Investment, LLC, dba Village Home Mortgage, Mount Laurel, NJ - Consent Order

COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS

Suffolk, SS.

COMMISSIONER OF BANKS
MORTGAGE LENDER AND
MORTGAGE BROKER
LICENSING
2011-019-CO

CONSENT ORDER

In the Matter of

VILLAGE CAPITAL AND INVESMENT, LLC
D/B/A VILLAGE HOME MORTGAGE

Mount Laurel, New Jersey

Mortgage Lender License No(s): ML3317 et al.

WHEREAS VILLAGE CAPITAL AND INVESTMENT, LLC D/B/A VILLAGE HOME MORTGAGE, ("Village Capital and Investment" or the "Company"), with its main business office located at 700 East Gate Drive, Suite 520, Mount Laurel, New Jersey, has been advised of its right to Notice and Hearing pursuant to General Laws chapter 255E, section 7(a), and having waived those rights, entered into a STIPULATION AND CONSENT TO THE ISSUANCE OF A CONSENT ORDER ("CONSENT AGREEMENT") with representatives of the Division of Banks ("Division") dated July 18, 2011, whereby, solely for the purpose of settling this matter, Village Capital and Investment agrees to the issuance of this CONSENT ORDER ("Consent Order") by the Commissioner of Banks ("Commissioner");

WHEREAS, the Division of Banks ("Division"), through the Commissioner, has jurisdiction over the licensing and regulation of persons and entities engaged in the business of a mortgage lender and mortgage broker in Massachusetts pursuant to Massachusetts General Laws chapter 255E, section 2;

WHEREAS Village Capital and Investment is, and at all relevant times, has been a foreign corporation conducting business in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Village Capital and Investment's main office is located at 700 East Gate Drive, Suite 400, Mount Laurel, New Jersey;

WHEREAS, on July 20, 2010 the Division issued a Temporary Order to Cease and Desist and Notice of Administrative Penalty, Docket No. 2010-249 (the "2010 Order") against Village Capital and Investment based upon information reflected in a consumer solicitation received by Massachusetts consumers from Village Capital and Investment.

WHEREAS, the 2010 Order required Village Capital and Investment required the Company to cease mailing Massachusetts consumers any solicitations that contained any representations or statements that could be considered false, misleading, or have the tendency or capacity to be misleading including solicitations that had the tendency to make false promises to influence, persuade or induce a consumer to sign a mortgage loan application

WHEREAS, on May 25, 2011, pursuant to General Laws chapter 255E, section (7)(b) and General Laws chapter 255E, section 11 the Commissioner issued a Temporary Order to Cease and Desist and Notice of Administrative Penalty ("Order"), Docket No. 2011-019 based upon information reflected in two consumer solicitations received by Massachusetts consumers from Village Capital and Investment subsequent to the issuance of the 2010 Order;

WHEREAS, the parties now seek to resolve by mutual agreement, the matters identified in the Order;

WHEREAS, without this Consent Order constituting an admission by Village Capital and Investment of any allegations made or implied by the provisions of the Order; solely for the purpose of settlement of all alleged violations without protracted administrative proceedings and judicial review, Village Capital and Investment hereby waives its right to complete the hearing process relative to this proceeding and affirms that it is willing to take all necessary action as set forth in this Consent Order; and

WHEREAS, in recognition of the Division and Village Capital and Investment having reached the following mutual agreement under this Consent Order to fully resolve the matters raised by the Order, the Commissioner has terminated the Order on this 18th day of July, 2011.

ORDER

NOW COME the parties in the above-captioned matter, the Division and Village Capital and Investment, and stipulate and agree as follows:

1. Village Capital and Investment shall revise its advertising practices and procedures to ensure that all solicitations and advertising materials used by the Company do not contain any representations or statements that could be considered false, misleading, or have the tendency or capacity to be misleading.
   1. Village Capital and Investment shall take all necessary steps to ensure that the Solicitations or any similar solicitations are not published or distributed to consumers in Massachusetts;
   2. Village Capital and Investment shall implement, establish and maintain a system of internal controls to monitor the Company's compliance with the laws and regulations applicable to advertising practices including, but not limited to Massachusetts General Laws chapter 140D, the Division's regulations 209 CMR 32.00 et seq. and 209 CMR 42.12A; and the Office of the Attorney General's regulation 940 CMR 8.04;
   3. Village Capital and Investment shall establish, implement and maintain policies and procedures to ensure that all advertisements are thoroughly reviewed by senior management prior to publication or distribution to consumers. Such procedures shall include a review of the criteria utilized to generate mailing lists to ensure that targeted solicitations are appropriate for the consumers to whom such solicitations are distributed; and
   4. A copy of each advertisement used by the Village Capital and Investment shall be retained in the Company's books and records and shall be made available to the Division at its examinations/inspections of the Village Capital and Investment.
2. Village Capital and Investment agrees to submit a payment of forty thousand dollars ($40,000.00) in satisfaction of an administrative penalty collected in consideration of Village Capital and Investment's distribution of the solicitation referenced in the preamble of this Consent Order. Village Capital and Investment shall remit payment in full of the amount indicated above, payable to the "Massachusetts Office of Consumer Affairs Expendable Trust" with the executed copy of this Consent Order, to the Office of the Commissioner of Banks, 1000 Washington Street, 10th Floor, Boston, Massachusetts 02118-6400.
3. Village Capital and Investment shall review and revise as necessary all direct mail advertisements and the Company's webpage to ensure that Village Capital and Investment's license type and number are disclosed therein, in accordance with the Division's regulation 209 CMR 42.15 and the Attorney General's regulation 940 CMR 8.04(2).
4. Nothing in this Consent Order shall be construed as permitting Village Capital and Investment to violate any law, rule, regulation, or regulatory bulletin to which Village Capital and Investment is subject.
5. In consideration of the foregoing Consent Order, the Division agrees not to pursue formal measures, relative to this matter, to suspend or revoke Village Capital and Investment's mortgage lender license under General Laws chapter 255E, section 6, while this Consent Order is in effect.
6. Failure to comply with the terms of this Consent Order shall constitute grounds for license suspension and/or revocation pursuant to applicable provisions of the General Laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
7. This Consent Order shall become effective immediately upon the date of its issuance.
8. The provisions of this Consent Order shall be binding upon Village Capital and Investment and its officers and directors, and their successors or assigns.
9. The provisions of this Consent Order shall remain effective and enforceable except to the extent that, and until such time as, any provisions of this Consent Order shall have been modified, terminated, suspended, or set aside by the Commissioner or upon an order of a court of competent jurisdiction.
10. This Consent Order and the Consent Agreement are the complete documents representing the resolution of this matter. There are no other agreements between the Division and Village Capital and Investment.

BY ORDER AND DIRECTION OF THE COMMISSIONER OF BANKS.

Dated at Boston, Massachusetts, this 18th day of July, 2011

David J. Cotney
Commissioner of Banks
Commonwealth of Massachusetts