Elliott
Elite Member
- Joined
- Apr 23, 2002
- Professional Status
- Certified General Appraiser
- State
- Oregon
Appraiser in Rocket Mortgage lawsuit has license revoked
On Jan. 6, The Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies Director of the Division of Real Estate Marcia Waters executed a stipulation and final agency order for public censure, fines, and revocation of the appraisal license for Maksym Mykhailyna, according to a release on the site.
Mykhailyna is included in the lawsuit United States of America v. Rocket Mortgage, Solidifi, Maksym Mykhailyna and Maverick Appraisal Group. The suit followed the Department of Justice (DOJ) filing a complaint against Rocket Mortgage in October in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado.
The Colorado Board of Real Estate Appraisers (BOREA) directed the division of real estate to conduct an investigation in response to a complaint received by the division. After the investigation, the division found substantial evidence of license law violations, according to a release from the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies.
“In part, the investigation revealed that the licensee ran an appraisal firm that improperly retained the services of unlicensed individuals located outside of the United States to complete appraisal assignments and then affixed the signatures of credentialled appraisers to the reports, often without their knowledge,” the release stated. “This business model was not only misleading to the clients, but also to his credentialled appraisers on staff.”
In a second complaint investigation, Mykhailyna was found to have conducted substantially similar violations of license law, notably, by failing to supervise both licensed and unlicensed assistants and by submitting, and aiding and abetting the submission of, appraisals that contained signatures from appraisers who did not author the appraisals.
Mykhailyna was ordered to immediately surrender the above referenced licenses and was assessed a total fine of $97,500,which includes a fine and additional fee.
BOREA agreed the surrender of his licenses shall be treated as revocations under Colorado law. When asked about this matter, Waters indicated that “the division of real estate treats all investigations with the utmost care and holds all licensees to account for violations of license law.”
Waters also identified that federal regulatory agencies are aware of the allegations and violations uncovered by this investigation, specifically referencing a recent press release by the DOJ.
Monday, January 27, 2025
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The Rocket/Solidifi Lawsuit:
Justice Department Sues Rocket Mortgage, Appraisal Management Company and Appraiser for Race Discrimination in Mortgage Refinance Application
The Justice Department announced today that it has filed a lawsuit alleging that Rocket Mortgage LLC; Solidifi US Inc.; Maverick Appraisal Group Inc.; and Maksym Mykhailyna discriminated against a Black homeowner by undervaluing her home based on her race in an appraisal required as part of a home mortgage refinance application. The United States also alleges that Rocket Mortgage retaliated against the homeowner and interfered with her rights by cancelling her mortgage refinance application when she reported this discrimination.
“This lawsuit is part of our ongoing efforts to bring an end to appraisal bias which prevent Black communities and other consumers of color from accessing credit and benefitting from homeownership,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Appraisal bias exacerbates the racial wealth gap, and runs contrary to the principles of fairness, transparency and equity that we need in our housing market today. The Justice Department will continue to hold appraisers, lenders and others who discriminate against loan applicants accountable for their actions. No one should have to suffer the indignity and financial harm associated with appraisal bias.”
“The complaint alleges racially discriminatory practices by a lender and an appraiser that harmed a homeowner. These discriminatory practices have gone on for too long in Denver,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Matt Kirsch for the District of Colorado. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office is committed to addressing persistent inequities in housing through vigorous enforcement of federal laws prohibiting discrimination in housing and lending.”
The Justice Department’s complaint alleges that a homeowner applied for a mortgage refinance loan from Rocket Mortgage in January 2021, and Rocket Mortgage contracted with an appraisal management company, Solidifi US Inc., to complete the required home appraisal. Solidifi retained Mykhailyna and his company, Maverick Appraisal Group, to appraise the home, which is located in a neighborhood in Denver that is predominantly white. The complaint alleges that Mykhailyna used sales from properties in further-away neighborhoods with larger Black populations instead of closer neighborhoods that were predominantly white. In fact, the complaint alleges Mykhailyna failed to consider data from sales of homes less than a mile from the complainant’s property in an adjoining neighborhood, even though a few months earlier he had used sales of homes in that same neighborhood to support an appraisal of a home with a white owner in the complainant’s neighborhood. The complaint alleges that these and other errors demonstrate Mykhailyna undervalued the property because of race and color.
Mykhailyna appraised the property to be over $200,000 lower than an appraisal on the same property that had been completed less than a year before, a more than 25% decrease at a time of rising home values in the Denver.
..........................
The Lawsuit:
On Jan. 6, The Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies Director of the Division of Real Estate Marcia Waters executed a stipulation and final agency order for public censure, fines, and revocation of the appraisal license for Maksym Mykhailyna, according to a release on the site.
Mykhailyna is included in the lawsuit United States of America v. Rocket Mortgage, Solidifi, Maksym Mykhailyna and Maverick Appraisal Group. The suit followed the Department of Justice (DOJ) filing a complaint against Rocket Mortgage in October in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado.
The Colorado Board of Real Estate Appraisers (BOREA) directed the division of real estate to conduct an investigation in response to a complaint received by the division. After the investigation, the division found substantial evidence of license law violations, according to a release from the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies.
“In part, the investigation revealed that the licensee ran an appraisal firm that improperly retained the services of unlicensed individuals located outside of the United States to complete appraisal assignments and then affixed the signatures of credentialled appraisers to the reports, often without their knowledge,” the release stated. “This business model was not only misleading to the clients, but also to his credentialled appraisers on staff.”
In a second complaint investigation, Mykhailyna was found to have conducted substantially similar violations of license law, notably, by failing to supervise both licensed and unlicensed assistants and by submitting, and aiding and abetting the submission of, appraisals that contained signatures from appraisers who did not author the appraisals.
Mykhailyna was ordered to immediately surrender the above referenced licenses and was assessed a total fine of $97,500,which includes a fine and additional fee.
BOREA agreed the surrender of his licenses shall be treated as revocations under Colorado law. When asked about this matter, Waters indicated that “the division of real estate treats all investigations with the utmost care and holds all licensees to account for violations of license law.”
Waters also identified that federal regulatory agencies are aware of the allegations and violations uncovered by this investigation, specifically referencing a recent press release by the DOJ.
Monday, January 27, 2025
.....................................
The Rocket/Solidifi Lawsuit:
Justice Department Sues Rocket Mortgage, Appraisal Management Company and Appraiser for Race Discrimination in Mortgage Refinance Application
The Justice Department announced today that it has filed a lawsuit alleging that Rocket Mortgage LLC; Solidifi US Inc.; Maverick Appraisal Group Inc.; and Maksym Mykhailyna discriminated against a Black homeowner by undervaluing her home based on her race in an appraisal required as part of a home mortgage refinance application. The United States also alleges that Rocket Mortgage retaliated against the homeowner and interfered with her rights by cancelling her mortgage refinance application when she reported this discrimination.
“This lawsuit is part of our ongoing efforts to bring an end to appraisal bias which prevent Black communities and other consumers of color from accessing credit and benefitting from homeownership,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Appraisal bias exacerbates the racial wealth gap, and runs contrary to the principles of fairness, transparency and equity that we need in our housing market today. The Justice Department will continue to hold appraisers, lenders and others who discriminate against loan applicants accountable for their actions. No one should have to suffer the indignity and financial harm associated with appraisal bias.”
“The complaint alleges racially discriminatory practices by a lender and an appraiser that harmed a homeowner. These discriminatory practices have gone on for too long in Denver,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Matt Kirsch for the District of Colorado. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office is committed to addressing persistent inequities in housing through vigorous enforcement of federal laws prohibiting discrimination in housing and lending.”
The Justice Department’s complaint alleges that a homeowner applied for a mortgage refinance loan from Rocket Mortgage in January 2021, and Rocket Mortgage contracted with an appraisal management company, Solidifi US Inc., to complete the required home appraisal. Solidifi retained Mykhailyna and his company, Maverick Appraisal Group, to appraise the home, which is located in a neighborhood in Denver that is predominantly white. The complaint alleges that Mykhailyna used sales from properties in further-away neighborhoods with larger Black populations instead of closer neighborhoods that were predominantly white. In fact, the complaint alleges Mykhailyna failed to consider data from sales of homes less than a mile from the complainant’s property in an adjoining neighborhood, even though a few months earlier he had used sales of homes in that same neighborhood to support an appraisal of a home with a white owner in the complainant’s neighborhood. The complaint alleges that these and other errors demonstrate Mykhailyna undervalued the property because of race and color.
Mykhailyna appraised the property to be over $200,000 lower than an appraisal on the same property that had been completed less than a year before, a more than 25% decrease at a time of rising home values in the Denver.
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The Lawsuit:
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