LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Roland Arnall, founder of subprime
pioneer Ameriquest Mortgage Co, died of cancer on Monday
morning in Los Angeles, his family said in a statement.
Arnall, 68, left his post as U.S. ambassador to the
Netherlands 10 days ago to tend to his ailing son, who had been
diagnosed with Hodgkins lymphoma. He died at UCLA Medical
Center, the statement said.
A major political donor with a net worth estimated by
Forbes magazine at $1.5 billion, Arnall faced opposition from
Senate Democrats to his 2005 confirmation as ambassador to the
Hague after accusations that his company had preyed on mortgage
seekers with subprime credit.
In January 2006, Ameriquest agreed to pay $325 million to
settle predatory lending investigations by state attorneys
general throughout the United States.
The company admitted no wrongdoing and agreed to several
reforms, and Arnall was confirmed later that year.
The allegations against Ameriquest were not the first to
surface in connection with an Arnall-owned business.
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger praised Arnall on
Monday for his work co-founding the Simon Wiesenthal Center and
promoting human rights and tolerance.
“Ambassador Roland Arnall worked each day to bring
tolerance and understanding to others, and for that he was a
great human being who will be missed,” Schwarzenegger said in a
statement.
Born in Paris shortly before World War Two, Arnall’s first
business was selling flowers on street corners of Los Angeles,
where he had moved with his family in the late 1950s. Continued…
