Last week, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)
announced that mortgage lender NewDay Financial LLC, which
specializes in Veterans Administration-backed loans available to
military personnel and veterans, had agreed to pay a $2 million
fine to resolve allegations of deceptive marketing tactics and
participation in a kickback scheme.
According the CFPB, NewDay advertised through direct mail
campaigns that it had been endorsed by an unnamed veterans group
without disclosing to its customers that NewDay had paid "lead
generation" fees to the group as well as a $15,000 monthly
licensing fee in exchange for being named the "exclusive
lender" for the group. The CFPB alleged that NewDay sent out
more than 50 million mortgage solicitations during the three-year
period between July 2011 and July 2014. In addition to the fine,
NewDay agreed to stop paying kickbacks and engaging in deceptive
marketing practices. A copy of the consent order in the case is
available on