ANDOVER — The state bank commissioner has ordered the shutdown of a local company, saying the firm improperly sold reverse mortgages to senior citizens and used deceptive business practices.

Headquartered in Brickstone Square in Andover, First Call Mortgage was one of four mortgage companies to receive cease and desist orders Sept. 24 from Bank Commissioner Steven Antonakes.

The three other companies are California-based.

First Call Mortgage is now banned from accepting any new mortgage applications.

The cease and desist order will become permanent if the company does not request a hearing within 20 days and successfully fight the order, said David Cotney, chief operating officer of the state Division of Banks.

Company President Carl McFadden of Reading did not return a call seeking his comment.

The state order is the result of an investigation that began July 14 into First Call Mortgage's books, accounts and records, according to the cease and desist order. A report on the investigation was issued Sept. 24.

Information in the report presents "sufficient grounds" for the revocation of First Call Mortgage's mortgage licenses and demonstrates a failure that the company will be "operated honestly, fairly, and soundly in the public interest," according to the report.

The report says First Call Mortgage violated state law by:

ÔÇ°Making reverse mortgage loans without approval from the state.

ÔÇ° Failing to ensure that consumers who obtained reverse mortgage loans were counseled through an agency approved by the Executive Office of Elder Affairs.

ÔÇ° Failing to notify the state in writing at least 15 days prior to a change in ownership.

ÔÇ° Providing potentially false or misleading language to consumers.

ÔÇ° Violating book and record-keeping standards.

McFadden sold 50 percent of his interest in the company to two outside owners on Aug. 27, 2007, according to the report.

Reverse mortgages are typically used to help senior citizens convert home equity into income, according to the state Division of Banks, which regulates and issues licenses to mortgage lenders and brokers in Massachusetts.

State law requires that reverse mortgage lenders provide a plan that includes mandatory counseling for applicants, according to the Division of Banks.