Brokers' incentives typical, mortgage lenders point out Tucson, Arizona | Published: 07.24.2008 Defunct mortgage lender First Magnus Financial Corp. broke a federal law by paying certain incentives to mortgage brokers, according to a report by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The report, issued by HUD's Office of Inspector General on July 14, states that First Magnus violated the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act by providing "volume-based" and "quality" incentives for Federal Housing Administration-insured loans. A former First Magnus executive said the loan program involved represented a fraction of the company's business and First Magnus did not believe any laws were violated. HUD found that First Magnus paid $58,571 in incentives from 2003 to 2006 to seven brokers for 169 FHA-insured mortgages totaling...
[read full story]