The Florida Senate

494.0025  Prohibited practices.--It is unlawful for any person:

(1)  To act as a mortgage lender in this state without a current, active license issued by the office pursuant to ss. 494.006-494.0077.

(2)  To act as a correspondent mortgage lender in this state without a current, active license issued by the office pursuant to ss. 494.006-494.0077.

(3)  To act as a mortgage broker in this state without a current, active license issued by the office pursuant to ss. 494.003-494.0043.

(4)  In any practice or transaction or course of business relating to the sale, purchase, negotiation, promotion, advertisement, or hypothecation of mortgage transactions, directly or indirectly:

(a)  To knowingly or willingly employ any device, scheme, or artifice to defraud;

(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; or

(c)  To obtain property by fraud, willful misrepresentation of a future act, or false promise.

(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 ss. 494.001-494.0077.

(7)  Who is required to be licensed under ss. 494.006-494.0077, to fail to report to the office the failure to meet the net worth requirements of s. 494.0061, s. 494.0062, or s. 494.0065 within 48 hours after the person's knowledge of such failure or within 48 hours after the person should have known of such failure.

(8)  To pay a fee or commission in any mortgage loan transaction to any person or entity other than a mortgage brokerage business, mortgage lender, or correspondent mortgage lender, operating under an active license, or a person exempt from licensure under this chapter.

(9)  To record a mortgage brokerage agreement or any other document, not rendered by a court of competent jurisdiction, which purports to enforce the terms of the mortgage brokerage agreement.

(10)  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.

History.--ss. 16, 50, ch. 91-245; s. 4, ch. 91-429; s. 4, ch. 95-313; s. 7, ch. 99-213; s. 523, ch. 2003-261; s. 1, ch. 2004-340; s. 84, ch. 2004-390.