The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau today punished the nonbank mortgage producer and servicer Freedom Mortgage for presumably supplying prohibited rewards under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act to realty brokers and representatives in exchange for mortgage recommendations. The bureau bought Freedom to stop making kickbacks and pay $1.75 million into the firm’s victim relief fund.
Freedom offered realty representatives and brokers with rewards such as money payments, paid membership services and catered celebrations with the understanding they would refer potential property buyers to the company for home loan, according to the CFPB. Separately, the bureau provided an order versus a property brokerage company, Realty Connect U.S.A. Long Island, for presumably accepting prohibited kickbacks from Freedom. Realty Connect will pay a $200,000 charge.
