LendingTree agrees to pay SC counties $3 million

BEAUFORT, S.C. (AP) — National online mortgage broker LendingTree has agreed to pay $3 million in penalties to South Carolina counties for not disclosing information that state law requires.

Fourteenth Circuit Solicitor Duffie Stone announced Wednesday the Charlotte, N.C.-based mortgage broker has settled a lawsuit the state’s chief prosecutors filed in 2008, alleging unfair lending practices.

Prosecutors say LendingTree wasn’t following a 2005 state law that requires mortgage brokers to disclose certain information to consumers. For example, prosecutors say, LendingTree wasn’t telling customers it received money from banks for matching lenders to borrowers.

LendingTree revamped its Web site to comply within months of the lawsuit’s filing.

Counties are splitting the penalties based on the number of mortgages closed in them.

A LendingTree spokeswoman said it settled the lawsuit to avoid expensive litigation