Housing And Civil Enforcement Cases Documents

Payment Distribution Begins to Borrowers Eligible for Payments from Lending Discrimination Settlement Between the Department of Justice and GFI Mortgage Bankers Inc. (United States v. GFI Mortgage Bankers Inc. (S.D.N.Y., August 2012))

Independent Settlement Administrator Simpluris, Inc. on January 23, 2014 began mailing checks to borrowers whom the United States has identified as entitled to payments from the GFI Mortgage Bankers lending discrimination settlement fund. Borrowers who returned their release forms should expect to receive their payment within approximately 30 days after Simpluris receives their signed release. The deadline for returning signed releases is February 28, 2014. Individuals with questions about the United States v. GFI Mortgage Bankers Inc. lending discrimination settlement may contact Simpluris, in English or Spanish, by telephone at 1-888-654-1265 or by email at GFIsettlement@simpluris.com.

The settlement fund being administered by Simpluris was created as part of resolving the United States' allegations that GFI Mortgage Bankers engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination against qualified Hispanic and African-American borrowers who received certain mortgage loans from 2005 through 2009.

The settlement, which was approved by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, provided for an independent settlement administrator (Simpluris) to contact and distribute compensation payments at no cost to borrowers whom the department identifies as victims of GFI Mortgage Banker's discrimination. Simpluris' activities are overseen by the Department of Justice, and all of Simpluris' costs and expenses will be paid by GFI Mortgage Bankers.

A copy of the United States' lending discrimination complaint against GFI Mortgage Bankers, the approved settlement order, and additional information about fair lending enforcement by the Department of Justice, can be found on the Department's website at www.justice.gov/fairhousing.

GFI Mortgage Bankers borrowers should treat with caution any mailings or phone calls that tell borrowers they must pay to participate in the settlement, or contacts that do not come from Simpluris related to the lending discrimination settlement, as such letters might be part of a scam. All mailings from Simpluris related to the lending discrimination settlement will use the return address "GFI Mortgage Bankers, Inc. Settlement Administrator, c/o Simpluris, Inc., PO Box 26170, Santa Ana, CA 92799," and will ask victims to return response forms to that address. Any potential scams related to the GFI Mortgage Bankers lending discrimination settlement should be reported to Simpluris by telephone at 1-888-654-1265, or to the Department of Justice at 202-514-4713.