Among the first mortgage companies employing computers to solicit prospective borrowers and hasten the loan application process, Ameriquest was accused of predatory lending practices by United States banking regulators.

It advertised widely on television; flew blimps over football and baseball stadiums; and sponsored the Rolling Stones' A Bigger Bang tour, the Super Bowl XXXIX halftime show, and NASCAR drivers.

[5][6] In 1996, the company agreed to pay $3 million into an "educational fund" to settle a Justice Department lawsuit accusing it of gouging and predatory lending practices against older, female, and minority borrowers.

"[4] On August 1, 2005, Ameriquest announced that it would set aside $325 million to settle investigations by 30 state attorneys general into allegations that it had preyed on borrowers by offering loans with hidden fees and balloon payments.

Federal Housing Administration commissioner Brian Montgomery stated that the settlement reinforced his concern that the industry was exploiting borrowers and that he was "shocked to find those customers had been lured away by the 'fool's gold' of subprime loans".