From the Los Angeles Business Journal:

Roland Arnall became known as one of the wealthiest Angelenos thanks to the subprime mortgage industry he helped create with his company, the former Ameriquest Mortgage.
He was also known for giving money to his favorite causes, particularly the one he had championed more than three decades – Chabad of California [...]

This is an excellent new book on the mortgage and credit meltdown.
The authors get inside the lives of the leading characters in the mortgage meltdown and explain what makes them tick and what makes their business work (or fail).
The Roland Arnall story begins on page 73.
You can read the whole book for free here.
Arnall [...]

Many of L.A.’s biggest rabbis were salivating at the shiva for subprime billionaire Roland Arnall.
Rabbi Cunin got the biggest jewish payout.
Roland’s son Daniel holds the $3 million note for the loan Roland extended to Shalhevet. Daniel could call it in and Shalhevet would be in big trouble.
From another report:
SHMAIS.com has learned that Chabad [...]

Roland Arnall was the godfather of subprime lending and Shalhevet’s major benefactor.
He left behind a wife and a blind son in Pico/Robertson who claims to be a rabbi.
Steve Katz emails:

I hope you are attending the memorial for Roland Arnall.  If so, you will certainly get your facts right.  If you read any of the numerous [...]

From the Orange County Register:
Established in 1979 by Roland Arnall, Long Beach Savings grew rapidly after Wall Street opened the credit tap. It moved to Orange in 1991 and gave up its banking license in 1994, converting to a pure mortgage company.
In 1997, Long Beach Savings split into privately-held Ameriquest and a publicly traded subsidiary, [...]

Glenn R. Simpson writes:
During the housing boom, the subprime industry succeeded at more than just writing mortgages. It also shot down efforts by some states to curtail risky lending to borrowers with spotty credit.
Ameriquest Mortgage Co., until recently one of the nation’s largest subprime lenders, was at the center of those battles. Working with a [...]