MONTEREY CO., Calif. -- A Monterey County mortgage brokerage company has been ordered to pay more than $300,000 in penalties for using an unlicensed employee to draw in Hispanic clients and engaging in illegal business practices in Salinas, according to the county district attorney's office.

Between June 2004 and June 2007, the Salinas office of Ed Veronick Mortgage Loans Inc. employed a man named Ronnie Esparza to help bring in Hispanic clients for the company's loans and other products.

Esparza, who was not licensed by the state's Department of Real Estate, managed the Salinas office and was paid using commission proceeds, according to the district attorney's office.

In November 2005, the Department of Real Estate sent a letter to Ed Veronick Mortgage, instructing the company to stop engaging in illegal marketing and stop sharing loan commissions with unlicensed persons.

The company continued with the illegal activities and eventually lost a civil suit in the case, the district attorney's office reported.

On Friday, the company was ordered to pay $315,000 in civil penalties, and several employees surrendered their real estate licenses.

The court also determined that Esparza committed acts of fraud that could entitle former clients to restitution.

Anyone who thinks they might be entitled to restitution can download a claims form at http://www.dre.ca.gov/frm--recovery.html or contact the Department of Real Estate at (916) 227-9458.