WASHINGTON – Freedom Mortgage Corp. has agreed to pay a fine of nearly $2-million to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
According to the CFPB, from 2013-16, Mt. Laurel, N.J.-based Freedom originated more than 50,000 home-purchase loans, including refinancings of home-purchase loans for which it was required to collect, record, and report data on HMDA-covered transactions to comply with HMDA and Regulation C.
However, according to the consent order, the Bureau found Freedom violated HMDA and Regulation C by submitting mortgage-loan data for 2014 to 2017 that contained errors, and further found the company reported inaccurate race, ethnicity, and sex information. Much of Freedom’s loan officers’ recording of incorrect information was intentional, the Bureau said.
Misreporting Data
“For example, certain loan officers were told by managers or other loan officers that, when applicants did not provide their race or ethnicity, they should select non-Hispanic white regardless of whether that was accurate,” the Bureau said.
Under the terms of the consent order, Freedom must pay a civil money penalty of $1.75 million and take steps to improve its compliance management to prevent future violations.
The consent order is available here.