| Senator Rob Kane (R-32) helped secure
Senate passage of legislation intended to protect consumers
by creating the new crime of residential mortgage fraud.
The legislation, Senate Bill 949, An Act Concerning
Mortgage Practices, is now subject to further action
by the House of Representatives. Senator Kane, the leading
Republican Senator, or Ranking Member, of the General
Assembly’s Banks Committee, said this legislation
is a natural expansion of the mortgage reform law adopted
last year (PA 08-176, An Act Concerning Responsible
Lending And Economic Security).
“Last year, we passed a comprehensive mortgage
reform law that, among other things, is intended to
protect people with poor credit from purchasing loans
that they cannot afford. The legislation we just passed
in the Senate expands upon that protection by making
it clear that lenders who knowingly mislead potential
borrowers will face serious criminal and civil legal
penalties. I am optimistic that the House will pass
this bill this year,” said Senator Kane, a co-sponsor
of Senate Bill 949.
Under Senate Bill 949, a person commits mortgage fraud
when, for financial gain and the intent to defraud,
he or she knowingly makes a written statement, misrepresentation
or omission that those involved in the mortgage process
will rely upon. Receiving, or attempting to receive,
funds resulting from residential mortgage fraud are
also covered under this bill. Under this proposed legislation,
a person who commits a single act of residential mortgage
fraud is guilty of a class D felony, while anyone who
commits two or more acts of residential mortgage fraud
is guilty of a class C felony.
“I am convinced that most mortgage lenders in
Connecticut are honest, hard-working people who do everything
in their power to make sure that their customers understand
the terms of their mortgages. However, we need a law
on the books that will reassure and protect all borrowers
by making it clear that predatory lending practices
are not tolerated in our state,” said Senator
Kane.
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