Terranova Responds To Report On State Fine

A story in the March 29 issue of the Lynnfield Weekly News discussed how selectman candidate Tom Terranova and his firm, the Mortgage Stop, were fined by the state division of banks for mortgage lending without a proper license.

The story noted that Terranova and the company paid a total of $19,000 in fines and agreed to a consent order (not admitting wrongdoing) for doing business with originators not holding an active Mass. license and for Terranova also not holding an active mortgage loan originator license.

PDF files stemming from the matter are attached to this story.

However, Terranova also provided a statement to local media outlets this week acknowledging that his company inadvertently missed a filing deadline and paid an administrative fine as a result. Below is the full text of Terranova's statement:

"In 2009, Massachusetts moved away from the procedure of providing a hard copy notification to mortgage licensees and  began the transition to  an electronic licensing system- National Mortgage Licensing System. This transitional phase required mortgage brokers and mortgage loan originators to move from paper notifications to electronic communications as the sole means of notification to licensees.

This procedure is  similar to how the Registry of Motor Vehicles stopped sending hard copy renewal notices to license holders whose licenses were due to expire.

My mortgage company missed the filing deadline during this transition. I was notified of this oversight, and made the choice to pay the administrative fine as requested. The matter has been resolved to the satisfaction of the Division of Banks and all licenses are compliant and in good standing."