LAT: States Follow Long Trail of Complaints Against Lender (Ameriquest) [View All]

[DeepModem Mom]

States Follow Long Trail of Complaints Against Lender
By E. Scott Reckard and Josh Friedman, Times Staff Writers


Ameriquest Mortgage Co. said Monday that authorities in 25 states had raised questions about its lending practices, including the accuracy of its appraisals and how loan terms are described in spoken statements to borrowers.

The Orange County-based company also said it had agreed to pay up to $50 million to settle a class-action lawsuit that alleges it defrauded thousands of borrowers in four states, including California.

Ameriquest, the nation's largest mortgage lender to people with spotty credit or modest incomes, said it had "valid responses" to the concerns raised by attorneys general and other regulators in the 25 states and was in discussions with them.

Still, the disclosure underscored the widespread interest in the company, which has been the target of consumer complaints and suits alleging a pattern of fraud, falsification of documents and bait-and-switch sales tactics.

Last month, The Times reported that former Ameriquest loan agents around the country had complained that pressure to write loans caused some employees to forge documents and push appraisers to inflate home values so that hard-pressed borrowers could qualify for mortgages....


http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-ameriquest15mar15,0,5806364.story?coll=la-home-headlines