Mortgage lender banned by feds after targeting military and vets
U.S. veterans and the military have been a target of a predatory lending company that the federal government has now banned for its "deceptive" "practices."
Back in 2015, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said the lender used deceptive advertising practices to lure in military service members and veterans.
Court documents from late February show the federal watchdog group permanently banned RMK Financial, also known as Majestic Home Loan or MHL, from the mortgage lending business.
Here’s why: Majestic Home Loan was ordered to stop using logos in advertisements that made them appear to be from the Veterans Administration and the Federal Housing Authority. But the Bureau reports that even after the order, the company continued to send more than 7 million mortgage ads that made false or misleading claims, and inadequate disclosures.
Majestic Home Loan accepted the consent order, but did not admit any wrongdoing.
Targeting US military is big business. It’s often hard to tell who is there to help and who isn’t. The FTC reports there as a 162% increase in this fraud from 2020 to 2021. The AARP has something called "Operation Project Veterans" to help you wade through potential scams. The government also has a website called "Military Consumer" that is there to help.
Don’t make any big financial decision unless you double-check authenticity.