A Mount Laurel mortgage lender avoided a $109 million fine Thursday after a long-running case against them was dropped by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Acting CFPB Director Mick Mulvaney said in legal filing that PHH Corporation Mount Laurel did not violate the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act which bans kickbacks in exchange for referrals, AmericanBanker.com reported.

In 2014, PHH was accused by the CFPB of running a 15-year kickback scheme that enabled the company to collect hundreds of millions of dollars in illicit payments. CFPB said the mortgage lender collected illegal payments for referring business to mortgage insurance companies.

The CFPB sought a fine and restitution.

In 2014, an administrative law judge ruled that PHH violated the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act's ban on kickbacks for referrals and the company was ordered to pay more than $6 million.

Former CFPB director Richard Cordray overruled the judge's decision in 2015 and ordered PHH to pay $109 million. PHH then sued CFPB.

In January, the U.S. Court of Appeals dismissed the fine, saying the agency's application of the Real Estate settlement act was unconstitutional and violated PHH's right to due process.

PHH decided not to appeal the case to the Supreme Court, which left it in the hands of Mulvaney and the CFPB.

John Czwartacki, the CFPB's chief communications officer, told the New Jersey Law Journal that Thursday's dismissal of the case is a "matter of housekeeping."

"This dismissal just ends this embarrassing chapter that was premised on then-Director [Richard] Cordray's questionable legal theories, which never should have been pursued, and that the D.C. Circuit rightly rejected in January," Czwartacki told the Law Journal.

PHH said it was pleased with the dismissal.

"We are extremely gratified to have this matter fully resolved as a result of Acting Director Mulvaney's decision to dismiss this case," according to the statement. "Today's Order is consistent with our long-held view that we complied with RESPA and other laws applicable to our former mortgage reinsurance activities in all respects."

In February, Ocwen Financial Corporation announced it was buying PHH for $360 million in a deal that is expected to be finalized later this year.

While the company was able to avoid this hefty fine, in 2017, PHH and two of its subsidiaries agreed to pay $74 million to settle claims that they violated standards for underwriting government-backed mortgages.

Over the past year, the Trump administration has stripped the CFPB of some of its enforcement powers. Mulvaney, President Trump's budget chief, is its director.

Mulvaney fired the bureau's 25 member advisory board Wednesday after remarks from some of its members that criticized his leadership. New members are expected to be appointed in the fall.

Chris Sheldon may be reached at csheldon@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrisrsheldon Find NJ.com on Facebook.