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Fidelity Home Mortgage Corp. - Agency, FHA/VA, Jumbo/Alt-A, Subprime

2008-03-28

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stories: usdoj.gov

Update - 2009-04-28: Seems the story surrounding Fidelity Home Mortgage Corporation has not yet drawn to a close. In response to a recent inquiry, we went in search of any recent news on the company and found some interesting developments.

Previously unbeknownst to us, there had been a class action lawsuit filed 2008-01-28 by employees of Fidelity Home Mortgage Corp.'s Maryland branch office alleging violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) for unpaid overtime (view complaint as amended 2008-06-05). A judgment on behalf of the plaintiffs was awarded on 2009-02-05. Defendants Fidelity Home Mortgage Corp., owner Stilianos ("Stan") Mavroulis, and branch manager Terry Parker were ordered to pay compensation of $133,796.03 together with an equal amount in liquidated damages, for a total of $267,592.06. The court also awarded reasonable attorneys' fees and costs in the amount of $29,794.46 on behalf of the plaintiffs.

We also have news as to the indictments against Stilianos Mavroulis, son Kyriakos ("Kirk") Mavroulis, and Fidelity Home Mortgage Corp.'s accountant Joseph Poole. Poole's trial, which was contingent upon the outcome of the Mavroulis' cases, has been granted a continuance and is now scheduled for 2009-07-13. Both of the Mavroulis' entered into plea agreements in January of 2009.

Kyriakos Mavroulis plead guilty to a "one-count Superseding Information" which charges him with willfully failing to file a tax return for 2002 and was scheduled for sentencing on 2009-04-09. The Court noted: "Although he had sufficient income from FHMC to trigger the requirement to file federal income tax returns for tax years 1999 through 2002, the Defendant did not file a federal individual income tax return any of those tax years."

Stilianos Mavroulis plead guilty to the fourth count of the indictment, filing a false individual income tax return for 2002 (although the Court contended that Stan Mavroulis "failed to report approximately $1,682,326.05 in income on his Forms 1040 for 1998 through 2003, and understated the amount of tax due by at least approximately $471,000 during those same tax years." Stan Mavroulis was similarly scheduled for sentencing on 2009-04-17.

As luck would have it, the Baltimore, MD office of the Attorney General had been closed due to a water main break when we called to inquire about the sentencings.

Update - 2008-12-10: After a tipster wrote in to inquire about the current status of Fidelity Home Mortgage Corp., we did some looking. "As noted on your site there have been previous issues but were back in business per the site. Unable to reach by phone at several different numbers and not receiving any replies by email." The web site is gone also.

As it turns out, seems they weren't "back in business" for very long.

Fidelity Home Mortgage Corp. surrendered its license in Connecticut in accordance with a Settlement Agreement with the State's Dept. of Banking dated June 9, 2008:

"Prior to the date this Settlement Agreement is executed by the Commissioner, Fidelity will surrender its first mortgage correspondent lender/broker license No. 20375 and cease engaging in the business of a first mortgage correspondent lender/broker in Connecticut from 730 North Broad Street, Suite 100, Woodbury, New Jersey"

On the same date, Maryland issued a "Temporary Order to Cease & Desist" citing the Federal Grand Jury indictments of Stilianos and Kyriakos Mavroulis, as well as an attempt to transfer ownership of the company:

"By a letter dated March 27, 2008, which was received by the Division on or around March 28, 2008, Fidelity Home Mortgage filed a written notice with the Division proposing changes among the ownership and officers of Fidelity Home Mortgage. The request indicated that as of April 1, 2008, Stilianos Mavroulis would be transferring the ownership of the Corporation, in its entirety, to his spouse on April 1, 2008.

As of the effective date of this Temporary Order, the Division has neither approved nor denied the proposed changes in the ownership and officers of Fidelity Home Mortgage."

Maryland's order provided for a 20-day window to appeal. "If no hearing is requested within this twenty (20) day period, this Temporary Order shall become permanent and final." Fidelity Home Mortgage Corp. is no longer listed as an approved broker/lender on the State's licensee list. In addition, the company has been removed from HUD's database of FHA-approved lenders, and both of the Mavroulis' are listed on the government's Excluded Party List System as of October 9, 2008.

Update - 2008-04-03: We have been informed by company CEO Edward I. Simmons III that Fidelity Home Mortgage Corp. is back in business:

"Additionally, please note that our forecast to commence wholesale operations by April 2, 2008 was in deed accurate as we have resumed wholesale lending effective April 1."

In a full page Letter of Explanation available here (.doc), Fidelity explains they voluntarily decided "not to accept new applications until such time as all loans on our line had been funded/purchased." (read more)

Original Post - 2008-03-28: We learned that Fidelity Home Mortgage Corp. (FHMC) in Baltimore, MD has suspended their wholesale operations and are not funding any loans. In a 2008-03-03 announcement sent out to brokers, FHMC stated "Due to funding capacity issues, Fidelity Home Mortgage is temporarily suspending its wholesale operations." The memo goes on to say "We foresee a resumption of wholesale lending activities by April 2nd 2008."

Numerous brokers across the country have emailed to tell us FHMC continued to close loans despite not being able to fund them. One wrote "This company lost their warehouse line and has 108 loans they cannot fund ... and the most incredible fact they are still drawing docs on loans they cannot fund ..." Another said "The following FHA lender closed loans the end of February although they did not have the funds to fund the loans. They laid off their staff at that time and were not accepting new submissions. No one would answer the telephone at any extension." In Ohio (a "good funds" state), one broker told us they were just notified last night "they do not have the money or the investors at this time to fund loans." All told us they had signed deals that should have been funded by the end of February.

We received a copy of the following complaint that was sent to HUD:

"Please be advised that Fidelity Home Mortgage Corp., 1012 North Point Road, Baltimore, Maryland 21224 Tel# 888-354-3794 Tel# 443-503-0300 closed FHA loans the end of February 2008 and were unable to fund the loans. They suspended their operations and terminated or laid off their staff. They claimed their investors did not make funds avaliable or did they have any funds avaliable to fund loans. Do to their negligence they have jepordized the borrowers credit. Their FHA license should be suspended at this time and an investigation in to their loan policies and practices should be initiated. They obviously do not have funds or assets to sustain their operation. Please advise if you need additional information Received an up date from The Implode that the owner "Stan" Mavroulis and his son were indicted for tax fraud 2/28/08. This can be found on The Dept. of Justice Web site for documentation. Thank you for your assistance."

There's also the matter of a federal indictment filed against Owner Stilianos ("Stan") Mavroulis, his son Kyriakos ("Kirk") Mavroulis, and Accountant Joseph Poole for allegedly diverting over $1.9 million from the company for personal expenses. The U.S. Dept. of Justice has this press release on their web site.

According to their web site, FHMC offers FHA/VA, Agency, Jumbo/Alt-A and Subprime loan products in 44 states.

Please contact us if you can provide additional details about the layoffs and any other info for this company. See the forum discussion here



Comments:

frmrfhmc at 12:17 2009-01-05 said:
Let me tell you Fidelity Home Mortgage doesn't care about any of its prior employees. You can contact them all you want and they will not respond. They have no phone. It's been disconnected for awhile now. They never were up and running by April 1 st like their comment says. They never came back. When they laid people off back in March their wholesale department went out the window. It never regained. They were still telling brokers and customers that they were waiting on funds and so forth. They were putting brokers off right and left and were still accepting new loans even after they knew they did not have funds. I know. They were scrambling to get warehouse lines. But no one would approve them. And what they did get approved on wasn't enough to handle the loans that they needed to fund. They had meetings after the lay off and made promises that they certainly couldn't keep. Hey, what about those indictments against Stilianos and Kirk Mavroulis? What ever happened to that mess? They probably got away with it. They are sneaky and they worry about others cheating them out of dime. It's called greed. But they still ride around in there BMW's and Porches. And the rest of the former employees scramble to pay their bills. They didn't care about any of their employees while they diverting that money. Or for their employees families and lives for that matter. They claim to be religious people. Only religious when they want to be. Here's to the Mavroulis' "What comes around goes around." I hope they all have to work for a living and have a boss that's not family and see how it really is to come to work on time and leave on time. See how it feels not to be so privledged and take advantage of what they did have. One in particular walked around like he was in the same catergory as Trump and the Hiltons. Get over yourself Kirk. You'll never even get close to having that kind of money. I hope that you get jail time out of the greed that you had. You made a lot of people "almost" give up hope. But luckily most of the people that worked for FHMC were good people. And those people know who you all are! !! Permalink
noone at 15:45 2009-01-20 said:
Don't think they treat blood relatives any better. Did you know that Stan has a granddaughter? That she is now 18? Probably not. She never benefitted from the money allegedly taken either. Permalink
frmrfhmc at 11:30 2009-01-22 said:
Oh, yes I do know about the granddaughter. I know a lot. I know her name and the situation as well. But I won't share that info as it would not be fair to her. It's a blessing she's not involved with them much. She seems like a good kid. And not much like the Mavroulis' other than looking like her father (Bill). She is a beautiful girl. Permalink
frmrfhmc at 21:42 2009-01-30 said:
http://research.scottrade.com/public/markets/news/news.asp?docKey=100-027x9767-1&section=headlines

Anyone gets a chance check out the link above. Looking forward to the month of April!!! Permalink

honestjohn at 17:01 2009-02-06 said:
As a former employee, a non-relative of this family and a longtime supporter of loyalty and truth, let me respond to a few things you claim make FHMC and its executives such terrible greedy people...

Let me tell you Fidelity Home Mortgage doesn't care about any of its prior employees.
Ok.. anyone who has worked for this company should know that despite he pus and downs, the Mavroulis' have made every attempt to rehire, sometimes even after gross inefficiency, the same loyal employees they have had to lay off. I have seen employees take money from payroll on loan, to pay rent and keep electric on. I know personally loan officers asking or and receiving draws on Stans permission, and then never produce the revenue to recoup. At the end, when every Mavroulis' was coming to work, without pay, they continued to pay thier employees WHATEVER they could and made sacrifice to make sure these folks , who worked loyal and hard, kept thier homes and had some sort of income while knowingly searching for a new job.. It was no secret that the ship was sinking. It's just a shame that some of you supposed 'disgruntled and'or disadvantaged' jumped into the very first life raft before letting the women and children off.

They were putting brokers off right and left and were still accepting new loans even after they knew they did not have funds.
Simpleton. OK.. when you work off of a warehouse line... you are hedging that you will be selling your loans to your investors based on the commitments they give you. When this doesnt happen, sometimes you end up with a stalemate where es, you can take loans, but no you cannot fund them until you free up your credit lines. Things were changing in the mortgage world and sharply investors were no longer honoring thier commitments ad it took its toll on a lot of the industries reputable lenders. FHMC always had a commitment to provide the broker with the best possible service and unfortunately some loans coulodnt close. We all had hoped to open otherwise but unfortunately that just did not happen. Thats why brokers have thier choice of lender to deal with. Kudos to any broker who stuck with us. It was a fun ride and maybe we'll cross paths again on the way up.

They were scrambling to get warehouse lines. But no one would approve them.
Well... if you were indicted on Federal charges I guess you would have a tough time getting credit too wouldn't you? The personal business of the executive staff played an obvious role in the creditors already shaky outlook on extending credit. Guilty or not guilty, it would have been difficult to grant them a large warehouse line. If my best freind, even if I knew in my heart was innocent, asked me for a large loan with that sort of monkey on his back, id say no as well and you would too.

They are sneaky and they worry about others cheating them out of dime.
I guess you weren't their when they were servicing loans for people who had only made a partial mortgage payment for months because they lost thier job. Or when the charges came about, the whole darn company was called together and Stan, humbly aired his personal finances, including compensation to him and his children which were none of anyones business. How sneaky is it to know how much your boss gives to his family? The IRS personally came after these people, but it had nothing to do with the company or its employees but they chse to disclose fully the nature and severity of the situation. If you feel like you got burned then shame on you because you should have left sooner.

But they still ride around in there BMW's and Porches.
have you ever owned a BMW? great cars.... thats why everyone in the family drives one THATS AT LEAST 10 YEARS OLD AND HAS 200000 MILES ON IT!! Man its amazing that you can get a 2 nice used beemers for about the same price as a brand spankin new KIA.... Oh and by the way, you can lease a Porsche Boxster for roughly 300 a month, hardly lifestyles of the rich and famous. Again, shame on you for thinking owning something nice means you have to lie, cheat or steal to get it.

More to follow.... just stay tuned! Permalink

frmrfhmc at 12:50 2009-02-10 said:
Yes I am disgruntled but not disadvantaged. I'm just one of the MANY. NO I did NOT jump into the very first life raft. You don't know me so don't ASSume that you do! I gave the Mavroulis' the benefit of the doubt numerous times. I backed them and tried to protect FHMC's reputation and the their name. But it came to an end and a point that excuses were no more......As far as the good deeds they have done for past employees yes I witnessed those but I also, witnessed more dodging and shafting of the employees. Just check out some of cases brought against by some of the former loan officers. I can name names but I won't out of respect to them. As for the loans not being funded and working off of warehouse lines and so forth......BULL- They knowingly accepted loans that they were not going to be able to fund. Even well after the fact of knowing they hand NO FUNDS and were having trouble getting approved for more warehouse lines. They treated the brokers with disrespect, led them on and eventually ignored any and all calls from any broker. Using the word "some" loans couldn't close is stretching it to say the least. I mean not only did they lie to brokers, their employees but just think how the borrowers felt when they thought or went to settlement only to discover that FHMC could not fund the loan. After all that anticipation, effort, time and patience of waiting for settlement on their first home, new home or a refinancing only to be lied to. Lets see.....Accepting 1/2 a mortgage payment from borrowers in financial turmoil that was great! I am very happy those borrowers had that opportunity. But again, I saw more wrong than good. Onto the next.........Stan did NOT "humbly" air his personal financials out in "THAT" meeting. He and Kirk stepped down whoohoo!!! They had no choice! DUH! Stan instead stood their and pointed his finger at Joe Poole and others including the IRS and claimed his innocence! He even used a popular quote "I am not a crook." Well, well who admitted to guilt just a short time ago.....Stan and Kirk sounds and smells like a crook to me. He gave several excuses as to why it was right for him to give his children the money he gave them and not pay taxes on any of the money. Excuse after excuse. The IRS did not personally attack and come after the Mavroulis.... admit it they got greedy and they got caught. Moving on.....How can you say this had nothing to do with the company or employees? Because of their actions and poor choice and decision making they caused the company to go under. YES they did. Had they made better choices maybe they would have survived and stayed afloat in this economy. I know several other mortgage company's doing well. It's a matter of choices made. Employees had health care premiums deducted from their paychecks only to learn later that FHMC did not pay the premiums and therefore everyone was cancelled. Oh, yeah they got it reinstated later. But of course their reasoning as to why it was cancelled. It was the health insurance carrier's fault. Again, not the Mavroulis' or FHMC's. Sure, tell me another one. Let me ask you.....What IF?! Someone or one of their family members that was a dependent on the health coverage had a or had gotten a serious medical issue or an accident. A CHILD??!! Who would have paid the medical bills? I highly doubt the Mavroulis family. So, DON'T tell me this had nothing to do with the employees or company. It had a lot to do with them. The cars....well, the BMW's and the Porsche Boxster nope never owned one and don't plan on it. Yeah, real realiable....Saw them replace more tires and have them in the shop for more mechanical things than I care to count. As for paying $300 to lease a Porsche....yes Kirk leased his but paid much more to lease his...I know. I did not say, that you have to lie, cheat or steal to get nice things in life. I know because I have nice things as well. Thing is I worked hard for those things. But I must say, the nicest things I have are my morals and conscience. I also, would like to add I believe I have more supporters of my feelings and thoughts on the Mavroulis' and their actions than that of your feelings and thoughts. And last but not least would you make up your mind? You stated that if I got out early and jumped on the first life raft out and didn't stay and show loyalty and support for the Mavroulis' it = wrong. (By the way again, I didn't jump ship) And then you state later that if I stayed and got burned well than I should have gotten our earlier but would'nt that have = wrong? So, I ask who's the SIMPLETON now? Permalink
MyNameIsChrisRichardson at 19:40 2009-02-10 said:
I really love seeing people slander others so openly...so openly that they do it anonymously. Saying things like: "Stan and Kirk sounds and smells like a crook to me." Well my good friend, you smell like one of the people that inhaled cigarettes every 15 mintues, bitching about how you hate your life, while telling the next what you're going to eat from McDonalds that day. I don't know who you are though, b/c you are a typical coward that wants to trash other people, yet do it anonymously.

I worked at Fidelity for 7 years. You know my name..i'm not a coward..and I will display it openly. I speak to Kirk and Stan weekly...if not, daily. I have learned more from that family than I did while getting my degree at Towson. They prepared me for my future, and with their training, I was able to obtain an investor services job at a company that had over 3billion in sales last year.

My point is, while you were here writing novels that trash others, some of us were looking forward. You may have a job now..you may make a lot more than me....but you are clearly an unhappy person. Get over it.

p.s. don't respond to me...i don't care what you have to say. i will not be back. i read about 2 lines of your posts, and then realized that i had already read it all. have a nice day. Permalink

frmrfhmc at 17:08 2009-02-11 said:
I am writing back for the people that have feelings the same as I do. I really could care less what Chris Richardson says. He wasn't anyone important to me when I was at FHMC and he's still not. He's entitled to his opinion. Just as I am mine. I feel the way I feel and he feels the way he feels. I'm not revealing who I am because it would only cause shock waves. THE END! Permalink
veryrepublican at 23:37 2009-02-11 said:
OK This has gone far enough. We have so many other things to worry about in life. The radicals haven taken over in Washington and our tax dollars are going to go sky high! Who cares what Kirk drives and lets focus on getting Republicans to start winning again! Now I am not going to give my identity away either ... no one has to know I was an employee, very close to the bosses daughter and sucked at processing. No one. It does make me sad of what happened to the company though. We all had good times there while making a living. We all make mistakes except President Reagan. My suggestion is to stop with the posts or else get really mean and make things more interesting to read.

Sincerely, Not Chris Defeo

I would kill to hear Mr. Stan call the name of the front end manager over the loud speaker again ......those were the days. Permalink

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Important: This company is on our list of lending operations that have "imploded". However, please note that "imploded" is a somewhat subjective and does not necessarily mean operations are ceased permanently: it can mean bankruptcy filing, temporary but open-ended halting of major operations, or "firesale" acquisition. All information here is provisional, and may contain inaccuracies (especially newer information). If you are planning on doing business with this company or any other one listed on this site, you should inquire with them directly on whether they can still meet your needs. Many are still operating in some capacity.