Brokers on the fringe: Ex-convicts find niche
Gary Kafka, former body builder with a long rap sheet and violent past, wrote millions of dollars in mortgages in South Florida without ever applying for a state license.
Fresh out of prison after serving time for bank fraud, he never went through a criminal background check before selling loans. He never took a competency exam.
He never had to.
More than half the mortgage professionals registered in Florida — 120,563 — entered the industry this decade without being licensed by the state, The Miami Herald found.