Baywood Lending Center; Augusta, ME - Cease and Desist and Order of Sanctions

April 24, 2014

NOW COMES the Superintendent, State of Maine, Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection, and enters the following Order to Cease and Desist and for affirmative sanctions for regulatory penalties and costs of investigation:

WHEREAS the Maine Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection (the Bureau) is established to, among other things, receive and act on complaints of violations of the Maine Consumer Credit Code (MCCC) (see 9-A M.R.S. ? 6-104(1)(A)),and may issue orders that direct a person or entity to cease and desist from violating the MCCC, ? 6-108(1); and

WHEREAS Title 9-A M.R.S. ?1-301(39) & (40) define the terms ?supervised lender? and ?supervised loan?; and

WHEREAS Title 9-A M.R.S. ? 2-301 provides that a person or entity may not make or offer to make supervised loans in this state without being licensed by this Bureau, and Title 9-A M.R.S. ? 2-302(2) provides that the issuance of such license depends on a finding that a supervised loan business be operated honestly and fairly; and

WHEREAS on December 2, 2013, the Bureau received information from a caller from Alabama inquiring about the legitimacy of a business offering loans to consumers and purportedly located in Augusta, Maine; and

WHEREAS the caller from Alabama reported that she had, as instructed by a representative of Baywood Lending Center representing that the company was located in Augusta, Maine, sent the sum of $875.00 to Baywood Lending Center through use of ?Vanilla Cards? to secure a loan with which to move and set up her family?s mobile home; and

WHEREAS the Bureau Staff found the website for ?Baywood Lending Center? and immediately recognized it as being identical in all respects, except for the name of the ostensible lender, with a website previously maintained by ?Wynnfield Finance Center? (see; http://wwwconsumercredit.maine.gov/pfr//Pictures/WynnfieldFinanceattachment.pdf), claiming to be located at 25 Pool Street, Biddeford, Maine; and

WHEREAS the Bureau previously issued, on March 1, 2013, a Cease and Desist Order against ?Wynnfield Finance Center? after the Bureau determined no such entity existed or occupied that address; and

WHEREFORE the Bureau also issued another Cease and Desist Order against ?Brooksville Finance Center? purportedly located at 174 Main Street, Suite 201, Biddeford, Maine on March 26, 2013 which used an identical website with the exception of the name of the ostensible lender, after which the same website with the exception of the name was used by Langford Lending Solutions allegedly of 308 Water Street, Gardiner, Maine 04345 until a cease and desist order was entered against Langford Lending Solutions on December 3, 2013; and

WHEREAS on December 3, 2013, the Bureau Staff contacted HostGator, of Houston, Texas, the host for the websites maintained by ?Langford Lending Solutions? and ?Wynnfield Finance Center,? and sought to have HostGator remove the websites from its server; and

WHEREAS on December 3, 2013, HostGator removed from its server the websites for both Wynnfield Finance Center and Langford Lending Service;

NOW, THEREFORE, ?Baywood Lending Center? is hereby: ORDERED to forthwith cease and desist all advertising and contact with Maine consumers or any consumers while using any address purporting to be a Maine address; and it is further

ORDERED to forthwith cease and desist offering loans to Maine consumers or offering loans from any purported address in Maine; and it is further

ORDERED to refund, within 30 days of the date of this Order, any and all payments or down payments, collected from Maine consumers or from consumers of any other state while it has used any purported Maine address; and it is further

ORDERED to make refunds directly to the Bureau for distribution to consumers, whose names and addresses must be provided to the Bureau by ?Baywood Lending Center? within 30 days of the date of this Order; and it is further

ORDERED to pay the sum of $5,000 to the Bureau for the costs of this investigation, pursuant to 9-A M.R.S ?6-106(6); and it is further

ORDERED to pay a civil penalty of $1,500 pursuant to 10 M.R.S. ? 8003(5)(A-1)(3) for violation of 9-A M.R.S. ? 2-301.

Date: April 24, 2014	/s/William N. Lund
	William N. Lund
	Superintendent
	Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection

NOTICE OF APPEAL RIGHTS Any party aggrieved by this Order may appeal to the Superior Court pursuant to 9-A M.R.S.A. ?6-108(1) and 5 M.R.S.A. ?1001 et seq. within 30 days of issuance of this decision. Any other person aggrieved shall have 40 days from the date the decision was rendered to petition for review.

Date: April 24, 2014	/s/William N. Lund
	William N. Lund
	Superintendent
	Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection

Consumer Credit Protect

»Return to Enforcement Action List