The Department yesterday announced it has settled four cases involving alleged violations of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA). The cases involved a variety of business practices that violate RESPA's anti-kickback and unearned fees provisions, which drive-up the costs consumers pay when buying or refinancing a home.

• TitleVentures.com, a title insurance agency located in Kingsport, Tennessee, which established dozens of sham title insurance companies in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia and Ohio for the purpose of paying kickbacks to real estate and mortgage brokers for the referral of title business.



• Real estate agents for two companies, Coldwell Banker United and Coldwell Banker Richard Smith Realtors, who HUD alleged accepted virtual tours from Austin, Texas, title companies in exchange for the referral of business.



• World Savings Bank, a California-based lender with operations nationwide, paid real estate agents for filling out and submitting on-line loan applications for prospective borrowers. HUD has long ruled that a real estate agent may not be compensated for simply filling out a loan application.

Secretary Martinez last year proposed a sweeping reform of RESPA's regulatory requirements in an effort to greatly simplify and clarify the homebuying process for consumers.