2006 Louisiana Laws - RS 6:1092 — Suspension and revocation of licensure; revocation of exemption; disposition of funds; commissioner\'s interpretations

§1092.  Suspension and revocation of licensure; revocation of exemption; disposition of funds; commissioner's interpretations

A.  After notice and an opportunity to be heard as provided in the Administrative Procedure Act, the commissioner may suspend or revoke the license of any residential mortgage lender and, as applicable, of any originator who:

(1)  Violates any of the provisions of this Chapter or any rule or regulation promulgated or any order, including a cease and desist order, issued pursuant to this Chapter.

(2)  Violates any provision of a voluntary consent or compliance agreement which has been entered into with the commissioner.

(3)  Has knowingly provided or caused to be provided to the commissioner any false or fraudulent misrepresentation of material fact or any false or fraudulent financial statement, or has suppressed or withheld from the commissioner any information which if submitted by him would have resulted in denial of the license application.

(4)  Refuses to permit an examination by the commissioner of his books and affairs, or has refused or failed within a reasonable time to furnish any information or make any report that may be required by the commissioner under the provisions of this Chapter.

(5)  Fails to maintain records as required by the commissioner after being given written notice and thirty days within which to correct the failure.  The commissioner may grant, on good cause shown, up to two thirty-day extensions within which to correct the recordkeeping violations.

(6)  Continues in office any individual with power to direct the management or policies of a person regulated by the Chapter, including but not limited to any officer, director, or manager, if such individual is convicted of, pleads guilty to, or is found guilty after a plea of nolo contendere of any felony under any state or federal law which involves moral turpitude or which involves any aspect of the business of making or brokering residential mortgage loans.

(7)  Violates any provision of a regulatory or prohibitory statute and has been found to have violated such statute by the governmental agency responsible for determining such violations.

(8)  Misrepresents material facts or makes false promises likely to influence, persuade, or induce an applicant into making a residential mortgage loan or a mortgagor into taking a mortgage loan, or pursues a course of misrepresentation through agents or otherwise.

(9)  Misrepresents or conceals material facts, terms, or conditions of a transaction to which he is a party, pertinent to an applicant for a mortgage loan or a mortgagor.

(10)  Knowingly engages in any transaction, practice, or course of business which perpetrates a fraud upon any person in connection with the making, purchasing, sale, or brokering of any mortgage loan.

(11)  Fails to account for or deliver to any person any personal property obtained in connection with a residential mortgage loan, including but not limited to money, funds, deposits, checks, drafts, mortgages, or other documents or things of value, which has come into his hands and which is not his property, or which he is not entitled by law to retain.

(12)  Fails to disburse, without just cause, any funds in accordance with any agreement connected with a residential mortgage loan.

(13)  Fails to pay any fee or assessment imposed by this Chapter or by any rule or regulation promulgated in accordance with this Chapter.

(14)  Violates the written restrictions or conditions under which the license was issued.

(15)  Fails, after notice and without lawful excuse, to obey any order or subpoena issued by the commissioner.

(16)  The commissioner discovers any fact or condition currently exists which, if it had existed at the time of the original application for licensure, would have warranted the denial of the application.

(17)(a)  Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, and in addition to any other authority conferred upon the commissioner by any other provision of law, the commissioner may order an immediate suspension of the license of a residential mortgage lender or originator who:

(i)  Fails to maintain financial responsibility as required by R.S. 6:1088(C).

(ii)  Commits serious violations of this Chapter such that, in the opinion of the commissioner, the public safety and welfare demand that emergency action be taken.

(iii)  Submits a check covering the fee for any application, notification, examination, late fee, or penalty which is returned by the licensee's depository institution.

(b)  A person for whom a license is suspended under this Paragraph shall have thirty days from the date of the order to request a hearing in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act.  Failure to timely request a hearing shall constitute a waiver of appeal rights regarding the suspension.

B.  After notice and an opportunity to be heard in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act, the commissioner may revoke the exemption from licensure of any person who:

(1)  Has knowingly filed an annual registration statement with the commissioner containing a false or fraudulent misrepresentation of  a material fact, or has suppressed or withheld from the commissioner any information which if submitted by him would have resulted in denial of the exemption.

(2)  After examination of a written complaint filed with the commissioner, is found to have knowingly engaged in any transaction, practice, or course of business which perpetrates a fraud upon any person in connection with the making, purchasing, sale, or brokering of any residential mortgage loan.

C.  In addition to any other authority conferred upon the commissioner by this Chapter or this Title, the commissioner may order refunds of the unauthorized portion of any fee or charge a mortgage broker or originator collects in violation of this Chapter, and may impose a fine or penalty not exceeding one thousand dollars upon any residential mortgage lender who is found in an administrative proceeding to have violated any of the provisions of this Chapter or any rule or regulation promulgated in accordance with this Chapter.  Each separate violation shall subject the violator to such fine or penalty and each day the violator acts as a residential mortgage lender without complying with the provisions of this Chapter, or the rules or regulations promulgated in accordance with this Chapter, shall constitute a separate violation.

D.  Repealed by Acts 2003, No. 875, §2.

E.  The commissioner may report egregious violations to the attorney general or to the district attorney of the appropriate parish, who may institute the proper proceedings to enjoin the violation and enforce the penalties provided for in this Section.

F.  No act done or omitted in conformity with any advisory opinion or interpretation issued by the office of financial institutions at the time of the act or omission or subsequent to the act or omission  shall constitute a violation of this Chapter, notwithstanding that after such act or omission has occurred, such advisory opinion or interpretation is amended, rescinded, or determined by judicial or other authority to be invalid for any reason.  Advisory opinions and interpretations of the office of financial institutions shall not be considered rules requiring compliance with the rulemaking process of the Louisiana Administrative Procedure Act.  The commissioner and the employees of the office of financial institutions shall have no liability to any person with respect to an advisory opinion or interpretation issued in connection with this Chapter.

G.  Any person who acts as a mortgage broker or originator without complying with the licensing provisions of this Chapter shall be subject to forfeiture of the compensation attributable to and received by the mortgage broker or originator in connection with residential mortgage lending activity occurring on or after August 15, 2001; provided that the forfeiture of such compensation by the mortgage broker or originator shall not impair the validity of the note and mortgage.

H.  All of the grounds for license suspension or revocation listed in Subsection A of this Section are violations of this Chapter and may serve as the basis for any other enforcement action provided to the commissioner by this Title.

I.  The commissioner may share information about any particular entity which is chartered, licensed, or registered by the commissioner with any state or federal agency having concurrent jurisdiction over such entity with the Office of Financial Institutions.

J.  The commissioner may make public any final administrative action instituted against a licensee or exempt registrant for a violation of this Chapter, including cease and desist orders, civil money penalty assessments, license suspension, revocation, or application denials.

K.  Any person whose license under this Chapter has been revoked for any reason may not reapply for a license until at least five years have elapsed from the date of the order of revocation, unless the commissioner, in his sole discretion, prescribes an earlier or later date.  For purposes of this Subsection, the order shall be considered to be the commissioner's notification of revocation of the person's license, and a person shall include the applicant, its owners, and its members if the applicant is a limited liability company, its partners if the applicant is a partnership, its officers and directors, if the applicant is a corporation, and any other person determined by the commissioner, in his sole discretion, to be closely related to the person.

Acts 1999, No. 1098, §1, eff. July 9, 1999; Acts 2000, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 34, §1, eff. April 14, 2000; Acts 2001, No. 617, §1, eff. June 22, 2001; Acts 2003, No. 875, §§1 and 2; Acts 2006, No. 237, §1.