Troy-based mortgage lender reaches $48 million settlement over bad loans

A Metro Detroit-based mortgage lender has reached a $48 million settlement with the federal government. Troy-based United Shore Financial Services was certified to make direct loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration’s mortgage insurance program. But according to the U.S. Justice Department, USFS knowingly violated a number of FHA program rules, and signed off on hundreds of bad loans between 2006 and 2011—leaving taxpayers on the hook. As part of the settlement, the company admitted that it “improperly pressured underwriters to approve FHA mortgages, and its compensation plan used a formula expressly tying underwriter compensation to the percentage of loans approved by the underwriter and closed by USFS. USFS also falsely certified that direct endorsement underwriters personally reviewed appraisal reports prior to USFS approving and endorsing mortgages for FHA insurance.” And when the company’s internal quality control reviews “showed severe problems with FHA insured