I received a tip from a reader that said “Sean Robert[s] as CEO doing mortgage loans again FYI.” They said the company was:
Premier Financial Marketing LLC
Entity: Limited Liability Company (LLC)
Industry: Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers
Location: Irvine, CA
Premier Financial Marketing LLC
18500 Von Karman Ave Ste 350
Irvine, CA 92612
Business Industry:
Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers
NAICS code 522310
The State of California does state that Premier Financial marketing was registered as an LLC on September 23, 2021. The address is as shown above.
The company is said to be a Wyoming company and a Sean R. Roberts from Newport Beach is the agent.
Apparently the tipster (send in your tips here) believes this is the same Sean R. Roberts that was named in a previous action, see this post.
California Records
In 2013 the Department of Business Oversight of the State of California said, “Roberts is not entitled to reinstatement of employment, management or control of a finance lender and/or broker for the following reasons:
Roberts’ history in the lending arena discloses that Roberts is not fit to be employed by or manage or control a finance lender and/or broker.”
The California Department of Financial Protection & Innovation has a number of documents relating to Sean R. Roberts.
In 2018 Sean R. Roberts petitioned again for reinstatement with the Department of Business Oversight to act in any position of employment, management, or control of any finance lender and/or broker.
The Commissioner of Business Oversight in 2018 found that Sean R. Roberts continued to be out of favor with the State.
The 2018 petition for reinstatment gave a number of updates and statements. It says “On or around April 7, 2017, Petitioner Sean R. Roberts (Petitioner) filed Sean Roberts’ Petition for Reinstatement (Petition) with the Department of Business Oversight (Department) regarding the Order Barring Sean R. Roberts From Any Position of Employment, Management or Control of Any Finance Lender and/or Broker issued on August 26, 2009 (Order Barring).
The Commissioner of Business Oversight (Commissioner), having considered the Petition and further arguments, finds that Petitioner has not met his burden of establishing rehabilitation and fitness to be employed by, or to manage or control a finance lender and/or broker for the reasons stated below.
Petitioner declared under penalty of perjury in the Supplemental Declaration of Sean Roberts in Support of Petition for Reinstatement on June 1, 2018 (Supplemental Declaration) that he started working at Settle It, Inc. (Settle It) in September 2016 through April 2018, serving as its President, CEO, and Executive Director. Yet, Petitioner’s statement of earnings submitted to the Commissioner with his Supplemental Declaration discloses his hire date as April 1, 2017.
On or around January 11, 2018, while Petitioner purportedly served as Settle It’s President, CEO, and Executive Director. Settle It submitted an application to the Commissioner for a CFL Lender and Broker license, listing Stephen Klopstock, as President/CEO and Director, and Ryan Devey as Secretary and Treasurer/CFO. Settle It’s application omitted Petitioner’s name as an officer or director.
Petitioner declared in his Supplemental Declaration that he acted as President and Corporate Secretary at Consolifi, Inc. (Consolifi) in January 2015 through February 2016. Yet, all filings made by Consolifi with the California Secretary of State (CA SOS) on September 23, 2015 and June 6, 2018 list Daniel J. Crenshaw as the CEO, Secretary, CFO, and Director of Consolifi. Petitioner’s Supplemental Declaration did not disclose Daniel J. Crenshaw as an officer or director of Consolifi. Petitioner is correspondingly not listed in the CA SOS’s records and filings for Consolifi.
Petitioner stated in his Supplemental Declaration that in May 2014 through March 2015 he served as President and CEO of Lateott, Inc. (Lateott) in Costa Mesa, California, which he described as “a debt settlement company that I formed in 2014 to assist consumers with unsecured debt who were experiencing, or had experienced, a severe financial hardship.” Yet, Lateott filed its Articles of Incorporation with the CA SOS on October 14, 2008, and a Statement of Information on January 14, 2009. As of August 23, 2018, no other filings have been made with the CA SOS, and no filings disclose Petitioner as an officer, director, incorporator, or agent for service of process.
Therefore, Petitioner filed documents with the Commissioner and the CA SOS regarding his employment at Settle It, Consolifi, and Lateott that conflict with his Supplemental Declaration, contradicting his claimed rehabilitation and fitness to be employed by, or to manage or control a finance lender and/or broker.
On March 2, 2009, the Commissioner issued an Accusation to bar Petitioner from any position of employment, management or control of any finance lender and/or broker pursuant to Financial Code section 22169 alleging, among other things: (i) falsely advertising that FiVanta Funding Corp. (FiVanta) was licensed to lend under the CFL in violation of Financial Code section 22161, and (ii) failing to amend FiVanta’s application to disclose Petitioner as its Corporate Secretary in violation of Financial Code section 22108 and California Code of regulations, title 10, section 1422 (Accusation). On August 26, 2009, the Commissioner issued to Petitioner the Order Barring.
Petitioner’s employment history since the Order Barring fails to demonstrate his claimed rehabilitation and compliance with the Order Barring as described in further detail below.
On June 1, 2011, the California Franchise Tax Board (CA FTB) suspended Lateott for failure to pay state taxes. Petitioner declared in his Supplemental Declaration that on or around April 13, 2017, he retained a tax and accounting specialist to resolve any and all former corporate issues still open. A letter dated May 24, 2018 from Petitioner’s tax and accounting specialist stated that he intended to resolve any and all unresolved issues “within the next 90 days subject to no major delays.” As of August 23, 2018, or 498 days after Petitioner retained the tax and accounting specialist, and 92 days after the May 24, 2018 letter, Lateott remained suspended by the CA FTB.”
It goes on to say, “Petitioner’s failure to resolve outstanding tax issues for a company he purportedly formed; performing essential functions such as coordinating day-to-day activities; maintaining records relating to compliance administrating and monitoring operational budgets, hiring and discharging personnel; “assist[ing] consumers with unsecured debt . . . and serv[ing] as a go-between for consumers and other affiliate debt-settlement companies to facilitate the affiliates’ client enrollment process,” etc., for a suspended CA corporation, while failing to disclose his name in any CA SOS filing all belie his claim of rehabilitation since the Order Barring was issued against him by the Commissioner on August 26, 2009.
Petitioner did not resolve the outstanding corporate and tax issues that were mentioned in the order denying his prior petition for reinstatement on or around July 16, 2013, as each of the following entities remain suspended by the CA FTB as of August 23, 2018: a) FiVanta Funding Corp., suspended since May 1, 2009; b) Debt Barter, Inc., suspended since April 1, 2011; c) Lateott, suspended since June 1, 2011.
Petitioner’s history of failure to pay state taxes contradicts his claim of rehabilitation since the Order Barring.
Petitioner declared in his Supplemental Declaration that in September 2016 through April 2018 he served as President, CEO, and Executive Director at Settle It, which is purportedly a “performance based, service-driven debt settlement company that offers innovative plans to resolve debts for consumers facing a financial hardship.”
Petitioner declared in his Supplemental Declaration that he performed the same eight responsibilities and duties referenced in Paragraph 11 above, which he had performed while serving as the President and CEO of Lateott in May 2014 through March 2015.
Petitioner declared in his Supplemental Declaration, In September 2016 through April 2018, I served as President, CEO, and Executive Director at Settle It, Inc. in Orange, California . . . In September 2016, when I first started working at Settle It, Inc., I informed the principals about the bar Order attached hereto as Exhibit 3 . . . Because Settle It, Inc. envisioned that at some point it might want to get its lender’s license, I submitted my Petition to the Department of Business Oversight of the State of California on April 7, 2017 . . . .
Yet, Settle It’s January 11, 2018 application to the Commissioner for a CFL Lender and Broker license, including all subsequent amendments, which requires disclosure of all officers, directors, and control persons and a completed Statement of Identity Questionnaire for each of them, failed to mention Petitioner entirely. Settle It also omitted an October 6, 2016 Statement of Information filed with the CA SOS, signed and certified as true and correct by Petitioner as its President, and which listed Petitioner as the CEO, Secretary, and a Director of the company. Stephen Klopstock, declared under penalty of perjury as Settle It’s CEO/President and Director that the statements in Settle It’s application, including all attached Exhibits, were true and correct.
To date, Settle It does not have any license under the CFL.
Moreover, in or around February 2018, during Petitioner’s purported service as President, CEO, and Executive Director at Settle It for which he received wages, a “Debt Specialist” at Settle It (Settle It Representative) responded to a California consumer’s (CA Consumer) inquiry made on Settle It’s website, settleit.com, regarding its services. On or around February 12, 2018, the Settle It Representative stated, The goal of the process is to improve your credit by quickly paying off your debt and making you eligible for the Fresh Start loan to pay off all of your debt. The program minimum payment is $200 per month, but that is based on how much debt you have and how fast you want to settle your accounts. (Emphasis added.)
In or around March 2018, the Settle It Representative asked the CA Consumer via email when he wanted to come in to their office, which he stated was “in Anaheim at the Block.” The Settle It Representative stated, We don’t have a store in the mall. Our company occupies the 9th floor of the One City Blvd building with the CashCall sign on it. If you choose to enroll in our Fresh Start program we work to resolve your debt for less than what you owe and you will not be making payments to the creditors directly. You and I will work out one monthly payment that we will use to resolve your debts. If you make 6 consecutive monthly payments then you may be eligible for the Fresh Start personal loan that we will use to resolve all of your debt and help you re-establish good credit. The effect on credit depends on what your credit looks like now. If you have bad credit, then it will improve it. If you have good credit, then the lenders would be lending you more debt, and they typically wouldn’t be referring you to us. Everything we do is designed to help you be lendable again in the future . . . . (Emphasis added.)
On or around March 28, 2018, the Settle It Representative stated in an email, I’m sure you are probably pretty busy but I need to move your file forward. When can I get the information I need to qualify you for the program? I need to do a soft inquiry into your Trans Union report for your debt list and get your budget from you so you can choose your payment . . . . (Emphasis added.)
Financial Code section 22004 defines “broker” as including any person who is engaged in the business of negotiating or performing any act as broker in connection with loans made by a finance lender.
Cash Call, Inc., located at One City Boulevard West, Suite 102, Orange, California 92868, is currently a CFL lender licensee. Its website at https://www.cashcall.com/settleit states, “Our Certified Debt Settlement Specialists can help you choose the repayment plan that’s best for you. Visit our friends at Settle It,” and provides a link to Settle It’s website at https://www.settleit.com/.
Conflicting with Petitioner’s claim in his Supplemental Declaration that he complied with the Order Barring, the Settle It Representative’s statements indicate that Settle It engaged in the business of a finance lender and/or broker by soliciting consumer information including, but not limited to a “soft inquiry” for a credit report to “qualify” the consumer for the Fresh Start personal loan program, purportedly to “use to resolve all of your debt and help you re-establish good credit,” and obtaining referrals from lenders.
Therefore, Petitioner’s Supplemental Declaration and documents submitted in connection with his Petition fail to support his claim of rehabilitation due to outstanding tax issues unresolved since the denial of his prior petition for reinstatement on July 16, 2013, and fail to support his claim of compliance with the August 26, 2009 Order Barring him from any position of employment, management, or control of any finance lender and/or broker in that while he served as Settle It’s President, CEO, and Executive Director, Settle It engaged in activities constituting a finance broker.” – Source
Wyoming Records
The State of California said Premier Financial Marketing was a Wyoming company. On March 28, 2022, Premier Financial Marketing in Wyoming did file an annual report that says the mailing address of the company is 18500 Von Karman Ave, #300, Irvine, CA 92612.
Interestingly, the same form lists contact information as sean.roberts@resmolending.com at the same California address. – Source
The name of the person signing the form is given as Sean Richard Roberts.
According to Wyoming, RESMO Lending was formed on October 2, 2022, as a tradename for Premier Financial Marketing, LLC. – Source
The application says the company provides residential mortgage loans.
Conclusion
I can not conclude it is the exact same Sean R. Roberts that is involved with RESMO Lending and Premier Financial Marketing but there does appear to be a connection through a name Sean R. Roberts.
The tipster (send in your tips here) may be correct but further investigation is warranted if concerns exist.
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