CFPB Enters Into Consent Order with Mortgage Lender to Resolve Allegations of Deceptive Conduct Toward Veterans and Servicemembers

​​On August 29, 2024, the CFPB announced that it had entered into a stipulation and consent order with ​​​​a Florida-based mortgage lender, resolving allegations that the mortgage provider ​​had misrepresented the payment terms of​ cash-out mortgage refinance loans​ it offered to servicemembers and veterans.

In its consent order, ​the CFPB alleged that the mortgage lender committed ​​deceptive acts or practices in violation of the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010, 12 U.S.C. §§ 5531, 5536​. The CFPB also alleged that in offering Veterans Affairs-guaranteed mortgage refinancing services to borrowers, the mortgage provider misled borrowers into believing that their mortgages would be less expensive after a refinance by​​ omitting taxes and insurance amounts when representing to lenders what their monthly mortgage payment amount would be after refinancing, while including such amounts when representing their current ​mortgage payment amount.​​ The CFPB further ​alleged that while these omissions misled consumers into believing that their mortgages would be less expensive following a refinancing, in fact consumers’ mortgages would often become​​ more expensive following a refinancing.​

Under the consent order, the mortgage provider agreed to pay​ a civil money ​penalty of​ $2.25 million.