A complaint must be in writing and must be signed by the complainant. Board staff may initiate a complaint. (1) Upon receipt of a complaint, staff shall: (A) assign the complaint a case number in the complaint tracking system; and (B) send written acknowledgement of receipt to the complainant. (2) If the staff determines at any time that the complaint is not within the Board's jurisdiction or that no violation exists, the complaint shall then be dismissed with no further processing. The Board or the commissioner may delegate to Board staff the duty to dismiss complaints. (3) A complaint alleging mortgage fraud or in which mortgage fraud is suspected: (A) may be investigated covertly; and (B) shall be referred to the appropriate prosecutorial authorities. (4) Staff may request additional information necessary to proceed with the complaint. (5) A copy of the complaint and all supporting documentation shall be sent to the respondent unless the complaint qualifies for covert investigation and the Standards and Enforcement Services Division deems covert investigation appropriate. (6) The respondent shall submit a response within 20 days of receiving a copy of the complaint. The 20-day period may be extended for good cause upon request in writing or by e-mail. (A) The response shall include the following: (i) a narrative response to the complaint, addressing each and every element thereof; (ii) a copy of all requested records and any other relevant records; (iii) a list of any and all persons known to the respondent to have actual knowledge of any of the matters made the subject of the complaint and, if in the respondent's possession, contact information; and (iv) the following statement in the letter transmitting the response: EXCEPT AS SPECIFICALLY SET FORTH HEREIN, THE COPIES OF RECORDS ACCOMPANYING THIS RESPONSE ARE TRUE AND CORRECT COPIES OF THE ACTUAL RECORDS. (B) The respondent may also address other matters not raised in the complaint that the respondent believes likely to be raised. (7) The complaint shall be assigned to a staff investigator and shall be investigated by the staff investigator or peer investigative committee, as appropriate. (8) The staff investigator or peer investigative committee assigned to investigate a complaint shall prepare a report detailing its findings on a form approved by the Board for that purpose. Reports prepared by a peer investigative committee shall be reviewed by the Standards and Enforcement Services Division, which shall determine the appropriate disposition of the complaint. (9) Agreed resolutions of complaint matters must be signed by the respondent, a representative of the Standards and Enforcement Services Division, and the commissioner. |
