States sanction mortgage loan officer for violation of SAFE Act education requirements

States sanction mortgage loan officer for violation of SAFE Act education requirements

Little Rock, AR. (December 22, 2025) - A mortgage loan officer has received serious sanctions and fines after settling with the Arkansas Securities Department and 20 other state financial agencies that accused him of directing another person to take required education on his behalf and taking the credit for himself.

Under the settlement, Patrick Terrance Donlon (NMLS ID 785311), who worked for Trusted American Mortgage LLC (NMLS ID 1329867), is barred from practicing in most of the states, is restricted from practicing in others, and is required to pay fines totaling $31,000.

"Mortgage loan officers assist Arkansans with one of the largest purchases of their lives," said Securities Commissioner Susannah T. Marshall. " Ensuring that these individuals are properly credentialed and knowledgeable is a duty we do not take lightly."

Mortgage loan officers are licensed through the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System (NMLS), which is owned and operated on behalf of state financial agencies by the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS). Donlon was licensed to practice as a mortgage loan officer in 19 states and had pending license applications in two additional states that participated in the settlement.

By claiming credit for the education classes he did not take, the state financial agencies alleged Donlon violated the SAFE Act, which Congress enacted to enhance consumer protection and reduce fraud through minimum standards for the licensing of mortgage loan officers. The law calls on the states to implement and enforce these standards, and every state has enacted its own version of the SAFE Act that requires mortgage loan officers to have at least 20 hours of pre-licensing education and an annual eight hours of continuing education.

State financial agencies in Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, and Texas led the settlement, following an investigation by the NMLS Mortgage Testing and Education Board.

Donlon is permanently barred from licensure as a mortgage loan officer by the state financial agencies in all the participating states with the exception of Colorado and Florida, where he may reapply for a license in two years if he pays all administrative penalties and completes additional education requirements

Additionally, Donlon cannot be a Qualified Individual or Control Person of any financial services entity registered with NMLS for two years and has been removed as a Qualified Individual and Control Person of Trusted American Mortgage LLC.

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Contact: Tyler Hale, [email protected]

The Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) is the national organization of financial regulators from all 50 states, American Samoa, District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and U.S. Virgin Islands. State regulators supervise 79% of all U.S. banks and a variety of non-depository financial services. CSBS, on behalf of state regulators, also operates the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System to license and register non-depository financial service providers in the mortgage, money services businesses, consumer finance, and debt industries.