In April 2015, the CFPB ordered RMK Financial Corporation to pay a $250,000 civil penalty, alleging it deceived consumers into believing it “was affiliated with the U.S. government” used “the names and logos of the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Federal Housing Administration” to falsely imply they were “sent or endorsed by” the federal government. The CFPB alleged RMK “mailed ads to more than 100,000 consumers, including thousands of military service members” tricking consumers into wrongly believing that certain mortgages “had fixed rates when the loans in fact had variable rates.”

• The CFPB issued a consent order to RMK Financial Corporation. [CFPB file no. 2015-CFPB-0007 (RMK Financial Corporation), filed 04/09/15]

• The CFPB ordered RMK Financial Corporation, which does business as Majestic Home Loan, to pay $250,000 for allegedly deceiving its consumers through advertising to believe that that “the company was affiliated with the U.S. government.” The CFPB claimed that RMK “mailed ads to more than 100,000 consumers in several states, including thousands of military service members.”

The CFPB claimed that “the mailers used the names and logos of the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Federal Housing Administration in a way that falsely implied that the advertisements were sent or endorsed by the VA or FHA.” [E. Scott Reckard, “CFPB sanctions Inland Empire home lender over allegedly deceptive ads,” Los Angeles Times, 04/10/15]

• The CFPB claimed “the company’s typical advertisement for VA mortgages featured the Department of Veterans Affairs seal and logo at the top of the page and described its loan products as part of a ‘distinctive program offered by the U.S. government. The ad instructed consumers to call the ‘VA Interest Rate Reduction Department’ at a phone number that in fact belonged to RMK. Some mailers were labeled ‘FHA Benefits’ and included an image of the Statue of Liberty on the outside, along with warnings citing the U.S. Code and threatening fines and imprisonment for tampering with the letter.” [Rachel Witkowski, “CFPB Cites Lender for False Advertising,” National Mortgage News, 04/20/15]

• In addition, the CFPB alleged that “the ads also led consumers to wrongly believe that certain mortgages had fixed rates when the loans in fact had variable rates.” [E. Scott Reckard, “CFPB sanctions Inland Empire home lender over allegedly deceptive ads,” Los Angeles Times, 04/10/15]