In May 2013, the CFPB issued a consent order to Paul Taylor Homes Limited, a homebuilding company, for receiving money from lenders in exchange for “referrals of home purchasers needing mortgages.” The lenders would “funnel kickbacks to Taylor” in exchange for these referrals; however, the lenders allegedly had “no separate employees, office space or real substance” and serviced “only Taylor purchasers.” The “under-the-table payments” allegedly increased the “‘financial burden of homeownership for consumers’ by raising their mortgage premium charges.” Paul Taylor settled and ordered to pay a $118,194 fine for “the amount of money the builder received from the alleged kickback scheme starting in 2010.”

• The CFPB issued a consent order to Paul Taylor, Paul Taylor Homes Limited, and Paul Taylor Corp. [CFPB file no. 2013-CFPB-0001 (Paul Taylor, Paul Taylor Homes, and Paul Taylor Corp.), filed 05/17/13]

• According to the CFPB’s allegations, Paul Taylor Homes Limited, a Dallas based homebuilding company, “created partnerships with two lenders — one a bank, the other a mortgage company.” The two lenders, Stratford Mortgage Services and PHT Mortgage Co., would “funnel kickbacks to Taylor for referrals of home purchasers needing mortgages.” However, both lenders allegedly had “no separate employees, office space or real substance” and serviced “only Taylor purchasers.

The CFPB alleged that the “under-the-table payments” increased the “‘financial burden of homeownership for consumers’ by raising their mortgage premium charges.”

Paul Taylor Homes agreed to settle and pay a $118,194 fine, “the amount of money the builder received from the alleged kickback scheme starting in 2010.” [Kenneth R. Harney, “Alleged kickbacks paid by home buyers get attention from federal agency,” The Washington Post, 05/31/13]