CFPB alleges deceptive advertising by NJ reverse-mortgage company

Federal Issues CFPB Deceptive TILA CFPA MAP Rule ECOA Enforcement Debt Collection Dodd-Frank

On April 27, the CFPB announced a consent order against a nationwide, New Jersey-based mortgage broker and direct lender for allegedly sending deceptive loan advertisements to hundreds of thousands of older borrowers. According to the CFPB, the respondent’s advertisements and letters violated the Mortgage Acts and Practices Advertising Rule (MAP Rule), TILA, and the CFPA, by, among other things; (i) misrepresenting the costs of reverse mortgages, including fees, associated taxes, and insurance; (ii) failing to inform borrowers that if they did not continue to pay taxes or insurance they were at risk of losing their homes; (iii) creating the impression that consumers had a preexisting relationship with the lender; and (iv) informing consumers that they were preapproved for specific loan amounts and likely to obtain particular terms or refinancing. Under the terms of the consent order, the respondent is required to pay a $140,000 civil money penalty. Additionally, an advertising compliance official must review the respondent’s mortgage advertisement template before it is put into use in an advertisement “to ensure that it is compliant with the MAP Rule, Regulation Z, TILA, the CFPA,” as well as the consent order. The respondent must also develop and provide the CFPB a “comprehensive compliance plan designed to ensure that Respondent’s mortgage advertising complies with all applicable Federal consumer financial laws and the terms of this Order.”