Florida Statutes 494.0025 – Prohibited practices
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It is unlawful for any person:
(1) To act as a loan originator in this state without a current, active license issued by the office pursuant to part II of this chapter.
(2) To act as a mortgage broker in this state without a current, active license issued by the office pursuant to part II of this chapter.
(3) To act as a mortgage lender in this state without a current, active license issued by the office pursuant to part III of this chapter.
(4) In any practice or transaction or course of business relating to the sale, purchase, negotiation, promotion, advertisement, or hypothecation of mortgage loan transactions, directly or indirectly:
(a) To knowingly or willingly employ any device, scheme, or artifice to defraud;
Terms Used In Florida Statutes 494.0025
- Business purpose loan: means a mortgage loan, the proceeds of which the borrower intends to use primarily for a business purpose and not primarily for a personal, family, or household purpose. See Florida Statutes 494.001
- Commission: means the Financial Services Commission. See Florida Statutes 494.001
- Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Loan originator: means an individual who, directly or indirectly, solicits or offers to solicit a mortgage loan, accepts or offers to accept an application for a mortgage loan, negotiates or offers to negotiate the terms or conditions of a new or existing mortgage loan on behalf of a borrower or lender, or negotiates or offers to negotiate the sale of an existing mortgage loan to a noninstitutional investor for compensation or gain. See Florida Statutes 494.001
- Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
- Mortgage broker: means a person conducting loan originator activities through one or more licensed loan originators employed by the mortgage broker or as independent contractors to the mortgage broker. See Florida Statutes 494.001
- Mortgage lender: means a person making a mortgage loan or servicing a mortgage loan for others, or, for compensation or gain, directly or indirectly, selling or offering to sell a mortgage loan to a noninstitutional investor. See Florida Statutes 494.001
- Mortgage loan: A loan made by a lender to a borrower for the financing of real property. Source: OCC
- Mortgage loan: means any:(a) Residential loan primarily for personal, family, or household use which is secured by a mortgage, deed of trust, or other equivalent consensual security interest on a dwelling, as defined in…. See Florida Statutes 494.001
- Office: means the Office of Financial Regulation. See Florida Statutes 494.001
- person: includes individuals, children, firms, associations, joint adventures, partnerships, estates, trusts, business trusts, syndicates, fiduciaries, corporations, and all other groups or combinations. See Florida Statutes 1.01
- writing: includes handwriting, printing, typewriting, and all other methods and means of forming letters and characters upon paper, stone, wood, or other materials. See Florida Statutes 1.01
(b) To engage in any transaction, practice, or course of business which operates as a fraud upon any person in connection with the purchase or sale of any mortgage loan;(c) To obtain property by fraud, willful misrepresentation of a future act, or false promise; or(d) To misrepresent a residential mortgage loan, as described in s. 494.001(25)(a), as a business purpose loan.
(5) In any matter within the jurisdiction of the office, to knowingly and willfully falsify, conceal, or cover up by a trick, scheme, or device a material fact, make any false or fraudulent statement or representation, or make or use any false writing or document, knowing the same to contain any false or fraudulent statement or entry.
(6) To violate s. 655.922(2), subject to this chapter.
(7) To pay a fee or commission in any mortgage loan transaction to any person or entity other than a licensed mortgage broker or mortgage lender, or a person exempt from licensure under this chapter.
(8) To record a mortgage broker agreement or any other document, not rendered by a court of competent jurisdiction, which purports to enforce the terms of the agreement.
(9) To use the name or logo of a financial institution, as defined in s. 655.005(1), or its affiliates or subsidiaries when marketing or soliciting existing or prospective customers if such marketing materials are used without the written consent of the financial institution and in a manner that would lead a reasonable person to believe that the material or solicitation originated from, was endorsed by, or is related to or the responsibility of the financial institution or its affiliates or subsidiaries.
(10) Subject to investigation or examination under this chapter, to knowingly alter, withhold, conceal, or destroy any books, records, computer records, or other information relating to a person’s activities which subject the person to the jurisdiction of this chapter.