More than 3,100 refund checks mailed to alleged victims of mortgage discrimination by Bakersfield company
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More than 3,100 refund checks totaling $1.5 million have been sent to Latinos who were allegedly charged higher prices for home loans by a Bakersfield mortgage company, the Federal Trade Commission said.
The checks were part of a settlement announced last year between the agency, Golden Empire Mortgage Inc., and its owner, Howard D. Kootstra, of charges that the company illegally charged Latino customers more for mortgages than non-Latino borrowers. The practice violated the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, which bars creditors from discriminating against loan applicants on the basis of race, color, national origin or other factors.
Golden Empire Mortgage operates in California and six other Western states.
The FTC filed suit against the company in 2009, alleging it charged Latinos ‘substantially, statistically significant’ higher prices for mortgages that ‘cannot be explained by factors related to underwriting risk or credit characteristics of the applicants.”
Loan officers allegedly received a percentage of the higher prices.
The company and its owner agreed last year to settle the charges. A $5.5 million judgment would be suspended when $1.5 million in refund checks were distributed by the company to borrowers who allegedly were discriminated against.
On Friday, an administrator working for the FTC mailed out 3,162 checks.
People who received the checks should cash them by June 21, the agency said. Golden Empire customers with questions about the settlement can call the administrator, Gilardi & Co. LLC, at (888) 292-6875, or find information on the FTC’s refund website.
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-- Jim Puzzanghera
