Mortgage Scam Ends with Prison
The Morning Call
A judge didn't hold back when Shirley Matthews appeared before him Tuesday to be sentenced for stealing from a Monroe County man instead of helping him save his home from foreclosure, as she was hired to do.

Woman Gets Prison Time After Mortgage Scam Conviction
Pocono Record
A New Jersey woman will be spending two to five years in state prison after she was sentenced on Tuesday for promising to help homeowners avoid foreclosure and then keeping the money she was given for their mortgages.

2 Indicted in Mortgage Scam Face New Charges
Newsday.Com
Prosecutors add extra charges to two who are charged in LI mortgage fraud with county legislator, dominatrix and her husband

Untangling Mortgage Fraud in Chicago Condo Buildings
Chicago Public Radio
Why did so many units go into foreclosure all at once? In some cases, the reason can be traced to mortgage fraud.

No Contest Plea Entered in Real Estate Fraud Case
Northbay Business Journal
Juan Carlos Alcala of Windsor pleaded no contest to nineteen felony counts and admitted three special allegations for defrauding real estate investors, money laundering and elder fraud.

Bedford Woman Sentenced to a Year in Prison for Mortgage Fraud
Plain Dealer
Sharon Cox, 49, of Bedford, was sentenced today to a year in prison for mortgage fraud involving money laundering, theft and receiving stolen property from August 2008 through March.

CITIZEN JOURNALISM: Mortgage Fraud High in Area
Washington Times
According to the FBI, Virginia, Maryland and the District are among the top 10 jurisdictions experiencing mortgage fraud.

Former Vegas Resident Charged with Mortgage Fraud in Nevada
National Mortgage Professional Magazine
A former Las Vegas resident has been charged with federal conspiracy and fraud charges for his involvement in a Nevada mortgage fraud scheme involving straw buyers and falsified mortgage loan documents...

Missouri Man Sentenced for Mortgage Fraud
Belleville News Democrat
A suburban St. Louis mortgage company operator has been sentenced to more than 11 years in prison for a mortgage fraud scheme.

12-Year Prison Term in Mortgage Swindle
Washington Post
A Maryland woman who stole millions from Washington area homeowners trying to avoid foreclosure is a "vulture" whose case should serve as a warning to other con artists...

Home Appraisals Turn Into a Hazard
News & Observer - Raleigh, NC
The regulations, called the home valuation code of conduct, are designed to prevent mortgage fraud by eliminating direct contact between appraisers and lenders.

Bear Managers’ Acquittal May Hamper U.S. Fraud Prosecutions
Bloomberg
Simon said the government took a risk by relying on electronic communications to try to convict Cioffi and Tannin of defrauding investors.

Former Nevada Businessman Faces Fraud Charges
The Associated Press
A federal prosecutor says the former owner of a Nevada property firm faces conspiracy and fraud charges in a mortgage fraud scheme involving so-called "straw buyers" and false loan documents.

St. Louis Prosecutors Charge Two with Preying on Real Estate Owners
St. Louis Today
Two men who officials said posed as wealthy real estate investors have been charged with 25 counts of stealing or other felonies

Real-Estate Broker Arrested After Keeping Escrow Funds
Orlando Sentinel
Orange County investigators arrested a Central Florida real-estate broker on a grand theft charge Wednesday, accusing him of keeping $392,350.00 in escrow money from a couple after their purchase of a property fell through.

Mortgage Fraud: Preying On the Distressed
The Ledger
When federal authorities announced last month that a nine-month crackdown had led to dozens of prosecutions for mortgage fraud in Florida, the news raised a question...

McDonough Attorney Sentenced
Fayette Daily News
Attorney Steven H. Ballard of McDonough was sentenced this week to serve more than five years in prison after he pled guilty to a wire fraud scheme that bilked more than $2 million from investors.

Mortgage Fraud Scheme Earns Jacksonville Man Seven Years Behind Bars
National Mortgage Professional Magazine
For each property, Gonzalez directed an appraiser to significantly inflate the property's value and submitted the inflated price to a lender to support a mortgage loan based on that price.

Mortgage President Admits to Fraud
KTAL
A mortgage-firm owner could face up to 30 years behind bars after pleading guilty to cheating a Sabine Parish bank out of $2.9 million.

Lender Recalls Kickbacks, Pressure to Close
Greeley Tribune
The former lender for a Greeley builder now charged with 23 felonies involving mortgage fraud said he was under pressure to get homes closed, regardless of the buyers' abilities to qualify for loans.

Eight People Sentenced in Federal Court
Marshall News Messenger - Marshall,TX
Ms. Elrod falsely inflated levels of earned income and forged signatures on a Request for Verification of Employment form as part of a loan application package.

Defense Argues There Were No Damages in Mortgage Fraud Case
The Jackson Citizen Patriot - MLive.com
Mehalco argued the amount of the money lost equaled the value of the loans because, according to testimony, financial institutions never would have given the loans if not for the forged information.

Homeowners Left in a Lurch After Mortgage Refinancing Checks Bounce
Chicago Tribune
Franson was current on his mortgage with SecurityNational. But the $93,702.51 check cut by Counselors' Title Co. to pay off the Chase loan bounced.

Mortgage Fraud Risk Index Jumps 11 Percent, According to Verisk Analytics Subsidiary Interthinx
CNNMoney.com
The report...indicates that the overall Interthinx Mortgage Fraud Risk Index surged more than 11 percent from the previous quarter...

Mortgage Fraud Case Appears Headed to Jury in Jackson County Circuit Court
The Jackson Citizen Patriot - MLive.com
The prosecution and defense rested Thursday in the mortgage fraud cases against Teresa Marie WIlson and Angelo Surveo Williams.

Wyoming Woman Charged with Mortgage Fraud After Allegedly Stealing Sister's Identity
MLive.com
A Wyoming woman is facing felony charges accusing her of stealing her sister's identity to obtain a mortgage...then defaulting on that mortgage, leaving taxpayers on the hook.

U.S. Attorney Targets White-Collar Crime
Wall Street Journal
In San Francisco, Mr. Russoniello said he is trying to crack down on cases like mortgage fraud, though he doesn't have the budget to hire additional white-collar prosecutors.

Arrests Made in Orlando Mortgage Fraud Roundup
MyFoxOrlando.com
During the real estate boom two years ago, some units were going for a half million dollars. Now some are short selling for just 50 grand.

10 Accused of Mortgage Fraud at PR Coastal Resort
Forbes
A developer and nine other people, including a former salsa singer, have been charged in an alleged $14 million mortgage fraud in Puerto Rico...

Strodtman Jury Selected in Mortgage Fraud Trial
Greeley Tribune
Attorneys will deliver opening statements this morning in the trial of Mark Strodtman, who is accused of bilking homeowners in a mortgage scheme years ago.

FHA Digging Out After Loans Sour
Wall Street Journal
Most banks rejected Ms. DeForte because her debt level was too high and her credit score too low. But Lend America put Ms. DeForte into a $402,000 loan backed by the Federal Housing Administration...

Mortgage Fraud Probe Nets 105 Across State
Bradenton Herald
At least one local man is among 105 people arrested across the state following a nine-month investigation into organized mortgage fraud.

Mortgage Fraud Increases
MortgageRates.co.nz
The number of frauds involving professional advisors, such as accountants and lawyers, has increased from two to four since March 2008.

Father-and-Son Developers Admit Fraud
St. Louis Business Journal
In order to obtain financing, they lied about their financial health and the likelihood that the properties would be quickly sold, according to the indictment.

Feds to Talk About Surge in Mortgage Fraud
MiamiHerald.com
Federal authorities are using a series of news conference to talk about the surge in mortgage fraud in Florida.

Woman With Autistic Son Asks Home Detention In Mortgage Fraud Case
The Chattanoogan
A Franklin County woman who pleaded guilty to mortgage fraud is asking home detention because she has a child with autism.

Ex-Broker Pleads Guilty to Fraud in Dreier Case
Wall Street Journal
A broker accused of helping disgraced lawyer Marc Dreier carry out a scheme to sell millions of dollars in fake promissory notes pleaded guilty to criminal charges on Monday.

Campaign Launched to Inform People About Mortgage Fraud
Bills.com
Recently, Fannie Mae announced it is partnering with NeighborWorks America in order to inform people about scams associated with mortgage modifications.

Top 3 Real Estate Mortgage Scams: What You Need to Know
RisMedia.com
Mortgage frauds and scams can make you lose thousands of dollars on interest as a minimum because of excessive fees and other hidden costs.

Agent accused of real estate fraud at center of bizarre condo foreclosure
St. Petersburg Times
Salazar was stunned to learn that Clearwater lawyer Bruce Harlan had been filing motions in the case since August 2008. Yet, Salazar says, he had never met Harlan, never talked to him and certainly never hired him.

Tampa Judge Sends Couple to Federal Prison in $79-Million Mortgage Fraud Case
Tampa Bay Online
...Corey and Sandi Brower were involved in a conspiracy from 1999 to 2001 in which they used money from fraudulent mortgages to repay earlier loans fraudulently obtained.

Couple Get Federal Prison Time in Mortgage Fraud
Tampa Bay Online
The former president of GreatStone Mortgage and his wife, an officer in the now-defunct company, were sentenced to federal prison today for their role in a $79 million Ponzi scheme.

Title Agent Gets Four Years for Mortgage Fraud
The Newark Advocate
Granville title agent was sentenced to four years in prison Friday for her role in a mortgage-fraud scheme after she had pleaded guilty to 10 felony counts of theft, falsification and money laundering.

Freddie Mac Applauds New Coalition Against Loan Modification Fraud
Reuters
Attacking loan modification fraud has been a top priority at Freddie Mac long before the current housing crisis began.

Lend America Mortgage Fraud, 20 Years in the Making?
Housing Wire
The civil lawsuit filed against Lend America parent company Ideal Mortgage Bankers takes aim at 40 FHA-backed mortgages that HUD and the Justice Department claim were fraudulently approved by the New York-based lender.

Real Estate Developer Pleads Guilty to Fraud
NJBIZ
Monmouth County real estate developer, Solomon Dwek, pleaded guilty to trying to defraud PNC Bank of more than $50 million...

Ex-Mortgage Broker to Plead Guilty in Ponzi Scheme
Tampa Tribune
...Bakowski sold mortgages to more than one investor at a time.

East Naples Home Builder Charged With Mortgage Application Fraud
Naples Daily News
An East Naples home builder was charged Tuesday with mortgage fraud as part of a wide-sweeping federal investigation that began last year.

Federal Help Sought for Fighting Mortgage Fraud
The San Francisco Examiner
Bay Area prosecutors, including District Attorney Kamala Harris, are calling for federal oversight of financial providers in the hopes of fighting mortgage and investment fraud.

Mortgage Broker Given Probation, Not Prison
9NEWS.com - Denver, CO
Zach Magalei and his brother, Issiah, were implicated in a mortgage fraud investigation last year.

Feds Targeting North Florida Real Estate Fraud
Florida Times-Union
In the past two weeks federal prosecutors have charged at least eight real estate professionals with some type of mortgage fraud in Duval and St. Johns counties.

Jamaican Woman Fined for Mortgage Fraud in Florida
radiojamaica.com
A Jamaican woman was sentenced Monday to nearly six years in prison and ordered to pay US$110,000 in restitution for her part in a multimillion-dollar mortgage fraud scheme dubbed 'Operation Whose House'.

Sandown Man Sentenced for Mortgage Fraud
Eagle Tribune
A local man was sentenced yesterday to five years of probation and six years of home confinement after he pleaded guilty to making false statements on federal housing documents as part of a mortgage fraud scheme.

Six Individuals Charged in Multi-Million Dollar Mortgage Scheme Against Flaherty Funding
New York RealEstateRama
Ebhomielen and the other defendants participated in a scheme to obtain large mortgage loans from Flaherty Funding by submitting false information and documents to Flaherty Funding during the mortgage loan approval process.

Dozens Arrested for Alleged Mortgage Fraud
Wall Street Journal
Dozens of people were arrested Thursday in several alleged mortgage-fraud schemes by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other federal law-enforcement agencies, the FBI confirmed.

Battle for Dominance in Mortgage Fraud Analytics Space
Gerson Lehrman Group
The First American Corp. (FAF) and Verisk Analytics are competing aggressively for leadership in the mortgage fraud analytics space.

Interthinx Fraud Report Links Mortgage Fraud, Foreclosure: DBRS
Housing Wire
Mortgage fraud risk migrated westward over the last year, as the states with the highest levels of foreclosure activity corresponded with higher fraud risk alerts, according to independent rating agency DBRS‘ analysis of a recent Interthinx’s Fraud Risk Report.

Ex-Property Appraiser Pleads Guilty To Fraud
News4Jax.com
A 60-year-old former real estate appraiser pleaded guilty in federal court Thursday to wire and bank fraud in a scheme that involved 55 properties and mortgages worth $29.2 million.

3 Lawyers Among 12 Charged in $9M Mortgage Fraud Case
ABA Journal
Add three more lawyers to the lengthening list of attorneys named as defendants in criminal mortgage fraud cases.

Marin Broker Gets 2 Years Jail for Embezzlement
San Jose Mercury News
A Marin County real estate broker has been sentenced to two years in jail for swindling nearly $1.4 million from six people, including several elderly people.

Suspects in Statewide Mortgage Fraud Arrested in Peru
Brandon News and Tribune
The owners of a Tampa company have been arrested in Peru in a scheme to defraud nearly 300 Florida homeowners, most of them Hispanic, with offers to help them avoid foreclosure.

Ex-Property Appraiser Pleads Guilty To Fraud
News4Jax.com
A 60-year-old former real estate appraiser pleaded guilty in federal court Thursday to wire and bank fraud in a scheme that involved 55 properties and mortgages worth $29.2 million.

Indianapolis Man Pleads Guilty in Mortgage Fraud Scheme
WTHR
He was indicted in July, accused of buying over 100 homes from 2003 to 2005 using straw buyers, inflated prices and bogus appraisals.

MERS and Interthinx Collaborate on New National Fraud Prevention Solution
Reuters
MERSCORP, Inc. (MERS) and Interthinx announced,,,the launch of a national fraud prevention database that will, for the first time, allow lenders to seek, identify, and share suspected fraudulent activity in loan applications from the point of origination.

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Charges 12 in Massive Mortgage Fraud Scheme
New York RealEstateRama
Mortgage fraud is a continuing threat to our nation’s financial system...

Man Sentenced to 30 Months for Mortgage Fraud
93.1 WIBC Indianapolis
An Indianapolis man has been sentenced to 30 months in prison for his role in a large mortgage fraud scheme in the Indianapolis area.

Guilty Pleas Entered in Mortgage Fraud Scheme
News-Leader.com
The mortgage fraud schemes involved a total of 20 houses with home mortgage loans ranging from about $200,000 to $500,000.

Interthinx® Integrates New Income Analytics into FraudGUARD®
Business Wire
According to the Interthinx Mortgage Fraud Risk Report for second-quarter 2009, the employment and income fraud index decreased by 33 percent from second-quarter 2008.

Directors of Firm Sentenced in Md. Mortgage Fraud Scheme That Cost More Than $6M in Losses
Washington Examiner
Two top officers from a Maryland financial firm have been sentenced to prison for a multimillion-dollar mortgage fraud scheme.

The Fight Against Mortgage Fraud
Lawyers Weekly
Mortgage fraud has been around for a long time. It has many facets — it can be a very sophisticated operation or a simple and efficient transaction.

Robust Oregon Real Estate Market Poisoned by Fraud
The Atlantic
So much discussion about the real estate boom and bust focuses on irresponsible buyers, who overextended themselves in purchasing homes they couldn't actually afford, often with dreams of re-selling and making fortune off ever-increasing market values. But during a seminar Richard Hagar gave in Bend Tuesday evening, he pointed his expert finger at one insidious culprit: fraud.

Nemazee Brother-In-Law Charged in Citigroup Fraud
Bloomberg
The brother-in-law of Hassan Nemazee, a top political fundraiser for U.S. President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, was arrested on charges that he helped defraud Citigroup Inc. and HSBC Holdings Plc

Sex, Murder and Real Estate: Notorious Homes a Hard Sell
ABC News
Yet the home has another distinctive feature. It was owned by notorious Wall Street swindler Bernard Madoff.

Pastor, Wife Sentenced in Mortgage Fraud
Bizjournals.com
A Jensen Beach pastor and his wife who were sentenced Tuesday for their roles in a multimillion-dollar mortgage fraud scheme face additional charges for allegedly continuing to engage in criminal activity while behind bars.

TV Advertiser Sentenced for Foreclosure Fraud
United Press International
A participant in a Maryland scheme that targeted financially vulnerable homeowners with television ads promising they could save their homes from foreclosure but instead defrauded homeowners and mortgage lenders was sentenced...

Developer Takes Part In Mortgage Fraud
WSMV
A local developer has admitted to taking part in a mortgage fraud scheme that caused families to lose their homes.

20 Arrested in Fairfax Mortgage Fraud Bust
WJLA
Authorities say real estate agents and mortgage brokers used straw buyers with good credit ratings and low income to fraudulently obtain loans. Properties were sold and resold within the alleged ring.

Mortgage Fraud Leads to 10-Year Prison Term
Minneapolis Star Tribune
Despite the defendant's pleas that the world needs a Christian man like him, a Hennepin County judge Thursday gave Marlon Pratt 10 years in prison, more time than the prosecutor sought for 17 theft by swindle and two racketeering convictions.

Man Gets 30 Months in Mortgage Scheme
Indianapolis Star
A federal judge has sentenced a Carmel man to 30 months in prison for his role in a massive $20 million mortgage fraud scheme involving duplexes on Indianapolis’ Eastside.

Va. Family Targeted in 'McMansion' Mortgage Fraud Scam
Washington Post
But they were surprised when a dozen or more people would then move into the new house, living in tight spaces and parking numerous cars up and down the street.

Rancho Cucamonga Real Estate Agent Pleaded Guilty to Four Counts of Grand Theft
NewsBlaze
Nazabal promised his victims he would invest the funds and purchase fixer-upper homes and then re-sell them at a profit.

Keizer Mortgage Broker Arrested on Fraud Accusation
StatesmanJounal.com
A Keizer man was arrested this morning on an accusation that he used stolen personal information to finance at least two homes in the Salem area.

Loan Officer Admits Guilt in Mortgage Fraud Case
CharlotteObserver.com
A loan officer for a Charlotte mortgage company has agreed to plead guilty in a mortgage fraud operation involving seven pricey Mecklenburg and Union county neighborhoods.

Marco Man Indicted by Federal Grand Jury on Mortgage Fraud Charges
Naples Daily News
A Marco Island businessman already facing state charges involving shady mortgage deals has been indicted on federal offenses accusing him of defrauding lenders, brokers and buyers out of more than $1 million.

Greeley Man Faces 12 Felony Charges for his Alleged Role in Mortgage Fraud
Greeley Tribune
The grand jury handed down the 20-page indictment against Todd in late August, alleging he participated in a kickback scheme on six home sales in February 2006.

Foreclosure Frauds And Fakes
Hartford Courant
The scam artist offers to act as an intermediary between you and your lender to negotiate a repayment plan or loan modification and may even "guarantee" to save your home from foreclosure. In reality, the scammer may pocket your money and leave you in worse shape on your loan.

Samir Cabrera Gets 10 Years
The News-Press
His conviction stems from land deals on Fiddlesticks Boulevard in 2006 when Cabrera sold — on the same day — two parcels of land he owned to other companies he owned.

SoCal Pastor Sued for Fraud, Cheating Parishioners
San Francisco Chronicle
Parishioners invested in a Texas real estate development through a company created by Maffe, who promised 7 percent returns.

Fired Accountant Guilty Of $1M Theft And Arson
WBAL Radio - Baltimore,MD,USA
Perez was accused of transferring $1,044,309 into personal accounts, using the money to pay gambling debts and buy real estate.

State Officials Arrest Mortgage Brokers Involved in Scam
Lake County News
Last week agents...arrested three people involved in a refinancing scam, some of whom also were involved in a property reassessment scam that was sent out to property owners around Lake County and the rest of the state.

Investigations of Mortgage Fraud Soar 63%
NSBNEWS.net
Mortgage fraud cases under investigation by the FBI have jumped by about 63% in the past year, according to bureau director Robert...

Man Sentenced In Mortgage Fraud Scheme
Barre Montpelier Times Argus
The former owner of a Vermont bed and breakfast pleaded guilty Monday for his lead role in an $11 million dollar multi-state mortgage fraud scheme.

CEO Surrenders to FBI for $11 Million Mortgage Fraud Scheme
American Chronicle
A criminal complaint filed today in Newark charges Findel, of Colts Neck, New Jersey, with submitting false documents to financial institutions in a mortgage reselling scheme.

FSA Bans Mortgage Broker for Mortgage Fraud Risk
Mortgage Solutions
The FSA has banned mortgage broker Arthur Kirk, trading as Grosvenor Mortgage Advice Centre, for failing to establish proper systems and controls at his business based in Manchester.

Phoenix Cash-Back Scheme Investor Convicted
Arizona Republic
Phoenix real estate investor Mario Bernadel has been convicted of 19 counts of fraud and money laundering as part of a cash-back mortgage scheme.

Pastor, Wife Sentenced in Mortgage Fraud
Bizjournals.com
A Jensen Beach pastor and his wife who were sentenced Tuesday for their roles in a multimillion-dollar mortgage fraud scheme face additional charges for allegedly continuing to engage in criminal activity while behind bars.

Denver Real Estate Agent and Mortgage Broker Indicted in Mortgage Fraud Scheme
American Chronicle
Lipsey and Martinez arranged for these so-called "investors" to use their good credit to obtain mortgage loans to purchase the properties.

Theft of Fixtures Becomes Major Risk in Foreclosures
Arizona Republic
Thieves made off with the home's $30,000 custom-kitchen and other fixtures after it went into foreclosure.

New Attorney General Digs In
Concord Monitor
"The last eight years, there's been almost no systemic prosecution of economic crimes - people committing mortgage fraud after mortgage fraud,"...

Beware of Mortgage Fraud and Foreclosure Recovery Scams
Suburbanite
Mortgage Fraud and Foreclosure Recovery Scams continue to be a problem for all homeowners and especially those who are having trouble making their mortgage payments.

Mortgage Fraud Case Dismissed
Delaware Gazette
A man accused of taking part in a multi-million dollar mortgage fraud ring in Central Ohio is free after a Delaware County judge dismissed the case against him.

Former Pro Football Player and Others Charged in Mortgage Fraud Scheme
American Chronicle
A federal grand jury has indicted Eugene Lockhart, Jr., 48, a former player with the Dallas Cowboys, and eight others on various charges related to a mortgage fraud scheme he and the others allegedly ran in the Dallas area...

Maryland Woman Pleads Guilty to Her Role in Extensive Mortgage Fraud Scheme
American Chronicle
Canty and others conspirators perpetrated this scheme by identifying distressed homeowners whose properties in Washington, D.C., and Maryland were facing imminent foreclosure and offering to purchase their properties.

Tough Times Boost Mortgage Fraud
Omaha World-Herald
Federal authorities from the Omaha area and southwestern Iowa are more aggressively investigating mortgage fraud because they say the area's housing troubles have spawned some criminal behavior.

Nine Indicted in Elaborate Mortgage Fraud Scheme
Bizjournals.com
Nine people...are alleged to have defrauded two banks out of more than $3 million in fraudulent loans...

Prosecutors Claim Fraud for Fraudulent Loan
New York Times
Now, prosecutors say that Mr. Nemazee engaged in another fraud — to get the money to repay the loan.

South Floridians Charged in Land Scam
Bizjournals.com
Three South Floridians have been indicted in a land scheme that authorities say defrauded more than 1,000 mostly Haitian victims out of some $10.6 million.

Hearing in Real Estate Scam
Monterey County Herald
The defense attorney for one of two Monterey County people accused of real estate fraud argued Friday that Gonzales police should have informed his client of her Miranda rights before they questioned her in June.

Collin County is Attacking Mortgage Fraud
Dallas Morning News
Get-rich schemes come in many forms, and one of the most lucrative, mortgage fraud, has flourished in Collin County.

12 People Accused of Mortgage Fraud Involving High-Priced Homes
The Plain Dealer - cleveland.com
Eleven people were arraigned Friday in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court on 96 charges in what prosecutors say was a $14.7 million mortgage fraud scheme involving seven upscale houses, some with waterfront views.

Ex-Judge: Help With Feds Delayed His Jail Time
SunHerald.com
Three years after pleading guilty to a mortgage scam, a former Greenwood judge and city attorney says he remains free because he's still cooperating with federal authorities.

Is Angelo Mozilo a Villain or Just Vilified?
Los Angeles Times
...the Bronx native is preparing to defend himself against a civil suit by federal regulators alleging fraud and insider trading.

HUD Helps to Set the Ground for Next Round of Mortgage Fraud
Cato @ Liberty
Just when you were thinking it was safe to go back into the mortgage market, today’s Wall Street Journal is highlighting the next source of mortgage fraud, the Federal Housing Administration’s (FHA) reserve mortgage program.

Western States Crowned "Riskiest" for Mortgage Fraud
DSNews.com
Mortgage fraud risk over the last year seems to have migrated westward, with Nevada and California dominating the 10 riskiest metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs), according to a new study released by Interthinx this week.

Two Plead Guilty to Mortgage Fraud Scheme
Chicago Tribune
A Missouri man and an Iowa woman have pleaded guilty to a scheme to defraud mortgage lenders for $3 million.

Missing Miami Beach Developer May Face Arrest
MiamiHerald.com
For months, Stern has resisted demands to testify and turn over documents in the bankruptcy case, in which creditors and former business partners have accused the one-time real estate titan of fraud.

AllRegs Announces the Legal Issues in Loss Mitigation Roundtable
MarketWatch - USA
The landscape of loss mitigation is changing at an alarming rate. Now is the time to connect with leaders in the industry. Attorneys, Compliance Officers, Regulatory Compliance Professionals and anyone with a stake in the legal compliance arena of loss mitigation are invited...

Interthinx Sees Mortgage Fraud Rise Since 2008
Housing Wire
Mortgage fraud is expected to increase over the next three years as a large number of adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) reset between now and Q112, according to a recently established quarterly fraud index by Interthinx.

Attorney Maintains Innocence in Real Estate Deal
Jamaica Observer
Oswald James on Monday refuted allegations that he had defrauded a client in a real estate transaction, for which he is now facing a charge of fraudulent conversion.

Investigators Suspected Hidden Payoff, Real-Estate Fraud
Victorville Daily Press
County prosecutors suspected former San Bernardino County Assessor Bill Postmus committed real-estate fraud and tried to conceal a $100,000 payment for helping facilitate a $102 million county settlement...

Mortgage Scammers Must Repay Millions
Star Tribune
The two men who masterminded a huge mortgage fraud scheme that lay waste to parts of north Minneapolis are in prison and say they're broke.

Foreclosure Scams Prey on Ohio Residents
Record Herald
Fayette County officials recently attended a conference hosted by State Attorney General Richard Cordray, warning every county of foreclosure rescue scam operations.

Ariz. Man Pleads Guilty in Mortgage Fraud Scheme
Forbes
...the scheme involved 19 unimproved residential properties in the Phoenix metropolitan area and mortgage loans were obtained that were substantially larger than the actual value of the properties.

Title Insurer Charged With Embezzlement
Courthouse News Service
The president of a title insurance company was charged with embezzling $4.7 million from three agencies he controlled in New York.

In Appraisal Shift, Lenders Gain Power and Critics
NY Times
Brokers and real estate agents can no longer order appraisals. Lenders now control the entire process.

Sberbank Uncovers Loan Fraud Scheme That May Total $182 Million
Bloomberg
OAO Sberbank, Russia’s largest bank, said it uncovered a loan-fraud scheme perpetrated by an “organized criminal group” with the possible help of former employees.

Robert Penn and Keven Lafavers Indicted for Mortgage Fraud Crimes Involving Over $12,500,000.00...
RealEstateRama
...between November 2003 and August 2005, at least 112 fraudulent loans, totaling $12,621,500.00, were allegedly obtained...

Do Not Pay for Foreclosure Counseling
Gwinnett Gazette
...The IMPACT! Group reminds homeowners in danger of foreclosure that they should never pay for help, and should instead seek assistance from HUD-approved nonprofit housing counseling agencies...

Man Behind Real Estate Scams Back in Jail
NBC2 News
A man accused of masterminding a multi-million dollar real estate fraud scam is back in a Lee County Jail.

Former NBA Player Guilty of Mortgage Fraud
Victoria Advocate
Former NBA player Grant Gondrezick has pleaded guilty in a mortgage fraud case that involved the sale of 24 homes in Houston suburbs.

Mortgage Consultant Larry P. Nardelli Received Prison Sentence
Triangle Business Journal
...a Hillsborough County mortgage consultant, was sentenced to four years in federal prison for his role in a massive mortgage fraud scheme.

Former Underwriter Sentenced for Role in Citywide Mortgage House Flipping Scam
American Chronicle
...devised a "housing flipping" scheme and their respective roles in that scheme.

Lawmaker, Attorney, Others In $82M Mortgage Fraud
North Country Gazette - Chestertown, NY
A former Suffolk County legislator is among four defendants arraigned Tuesday on grand larceny, forgery, conspiracy and fraud charges in a 130-count indictment alleging approximately $82 million in mortgage fraud involving 60 houses, more than 50 of them located in the Town of Southampton.

7 Long Islanders Indicted in Mortgage Scam
Newsday
A group of attorneys, bank employees and real estate appraisers participated in the scheme...

Owner of Southern Funding Mortgage in Alexandria to Remain in Jail Pending Trial
The Town Talk
The two-count indictment alleges Nichols and others prepared fraudulent promissory notes by forging signatures of borrowers and notaries...

Louisiana Woman Sentenced in Federal Court for Role in House Flipping Scheme
Examiner.com
...while employed at Citywide, she participated in a house flipping scheme...

The Lowdown on Downpayment Programs
Boston Globe - Boston, MA
...Homes USA Inc. will pay as much as $53 million to settle mortgage fraud charges...

Two Men Get Lengthy Sentences for Real Estate Fraud
Fontana Herald-News
Two men were sentenced to prison for real estate fraud-related crimes recently...

Asset Freeze Stays Put in $53M Mich. Fraud Case
Chicago Tribune
They told investors their money would be going into real estate

Former Rancho Cucamonga Residents Sentenced in Online Fraud Scheme
San Bernardino Sun
...they conducted on an Internet chat line where they obtained personal information to sell a house the owners had been living in for more than 30 years.

Mortgage Company President Accused Of Defrauding Warehouse Lender
Mortgageorb
...Nichols and others forged borrowers’ and notaries’ signatures of borrowers...

Victim in Mortgage Fraud Happy With Fugitive's Arrest
Winknews.com
Copeland lost thousands of dollars and his home in this mortgage scam.

Finally, The Feds Are Cracking Down On Mortgage Fraud
The Business Insider
They took down a crew in Miami, charging 41 in separate fraudulent mortgage schemes in six separate cases, resulting in more than $40 million in bad loans.

Four Sentenced in Mortgage Fraud Case
Bizjournals.com
Four South Florida men have been sentenced for their roles in obtaining fraudulent home loans totaling about $1 million.

Economy Project: Prosecuting Foreclosure Rescue Scams
KERA
Some homeowners desperate to avoid home foreclosure can fall victim to criminals promising their help.

New Type of Mortgage Fraud
Santa Rosa Press Democrat - Santa Rosa, CA
Mortgage borrowers looking to game the system earlier this decade puffed up incomes and understated debts to qualify for loans they wouldn't otherwise get.

Mortgage Fraud Suspect Arrested in Costa Rica
WZVN-TV
A Lee County man at the center of a $3.8 million mortgage fraud scheme is in jail.

Cracking Down on Inland Empire Mortgage Fraud
San Bernardino Sun - San Bernardino, CA
Prosecutors in the war on mortgage and real-estate fraud in the Inland Empire are making headway, but the number of cases will heavily outweigh the resources available to investigate them for years to come.

Lawsuits Pile Up in Las Vegas Real Estate Investment Scam
Las Vegas Sun
Investor lawsuits are piling up against a Las Vegas man who was arrested last week in what investigators are calling a massive real estate investment scam involving dozens of victims worldwide.

Officials Discover Shredded Documents as Foreclosure Rescue Operations Shut Down
Sun-Sentinel.com
Investigators last week went to a Deerfield Beach storefront that once was the address for at least two of the businesses and found bags of shredded paperwork...

Former Lee’s Summit Man Admits $2.7 Million in Mortgage Fraud
Kansas City Star - MO
A former Kansas City area mortgage broker pleaded guilty today to fraudulently obtaining nearly $2.7 million in mortgage loans.

Fix Flipping's Ugly Side
Sarasota Herald-Tribune - Sarasota, FL
The Florida real estate market was near its apex. It seemed that everyone...was riding the wave of rising property values and all the money they generated.

Upper St. Clair Man Gets Seven Years for Mortgage Fraud Schemes
Tribune Review - Pittsburgh, PA
An Upper St. Clair man said Tuesday he was "deeply sorry" for his role in several multimillion-dollar mortgage fraud schemes that prompted the creation of a special task force to investigate such crimes.

Broker Pleads Guilty in Ongoing Mortgage Fraud Investigation
Springfield Business Journal - Springfield, MO
One of six area individuals indicted late last year for alleged mortgage fraud pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday to participating in a scheme to defraud lenders.

District Attorney Steps Up Real-Estate Fraud Investigations
OCRegister - Santa Ana, CA
The Orange County District Attorney has expanded efforts to combat foreclosure rescue scams and other real estate fraud cases, as the worst housing downturn in decades results in thousands of potential victims.

Tenth Person Admits Guilt in Raymore, Lee’s Summit Mortgage Fraud
Kansas City Star - MO
California woman pleaded guilty today as part of a $12.6 million mortgage fraud scheme involving upscale homes in Lee’s Summit and Raymore.

Slain Real Estate Agent Involved in Fraud?
abc7.com - Los Angeles, CA
Investigators have learned that the real estate agent found murdered in a Westchester home Saturday may also be accused of fraud.

Real Estate Agents Face 38 Counts of Fraud
WLBT-TV - Jackson, MS
Former real estate loan closing agents charged in connection with millions in mortgage loan fraud were arraigned in federal court Tuesday.

Jensen Beach Pastor and Wife Convicted of Mortgage Fraud Scheme
WPEC - West Palm Beach, FL
A Jensen Beach Pastor and his wife have been convicted of mortgage fraud by a Martin County Jury.

Ozark Woman Pleaded Guilty to Federal Mortgage Fraud
KSPR - Springfield, MO
...a former mortgage broker pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday to her role in a $500,000 mortgage fraud scheme.

San Jose Couple Suspected of Real Estate Loan Fraud Arrested in Canada
San Jose Mercury News - CA
San Jose police say Amir Rashidifar, 25, and Mary Delvecchio, 28, opened their business, Legal Support Services, in September and offered to modify real estate loans for homeowners facing default and foreclosure.

FBI Busts Manvel Couple, Katy Daughter In Alleged $2.5M Mortgage Fraud
FortBendNow - Richmond, TX
FBI agents arrested a Manvel man, his wife and his Katy daughter this morning on conspiracy and wire fraud charges related to an alleged mortage scam.

Real Estate Agent Accused of Taking Advantage of System for her Profit
Fairfaxtimes.com - USA
Diane Atari, a 42-year-old real estate agent from Ashburn, was indicted July 13 on 12 felony charges related to a $50 million mortgage and credit scam.

New Appraisal Rules Trouble Realtors
OPB News - Portland, OR
“Where a house that sold for $250,000 re-sold the same calendar month for $800,000. Obviously that second sale was not an arms length transaction, was not documented by the market and was totally fraudulent.”

'Flip That House' Fraud Cost Billions
Herald Tribune - Florida
Fraudulent property flipping ran rampant during this decade's housing boom, with $10 billion in suspicious deals in Florida alone, a Herald-Tribune investigation has found.

Woman Accused of Fraud in Chino Hills
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin - Ontario, CA
Anita Mendoza, 44, was arrested Wednesday by investigators with the San Bernardino County District Attorney's Real Estate Fraud Unit for grand theft, forgery, and filing forged documents with the County Recorder's Office, according to a news release from the district attorney's office.

Ohio Tackles Foreclosure 'Rescue' Operator
Courthouse News Service - Pasadena, CA
A telemarketer is pitching bogus claims that it can stop foreclosures through federal bailout programs, the Ohio Attorney General says. The state says U.S. Homeowners Assistance charges $1,800 up front with a "100% money-back guarantee," then abandons its victims.

Real Estate Agent Indicted for Falsifying Credit Documents
Loudoun Independent - Leesburg, VA
An Ashburn real estate agent stands accused to profiting from falsifying financial documents to enable clients to qualify for homes they could not afford.

FBI Warns of Growing Mortgage Fraud
creditfyi.com - Des Plaines, IL
The current economy may be presenting some opportunities for buyers with sufficient credit scores, but the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is warning that mortgage fraud remains a growing problem.

Jury Convicts Former Twin Cities Loan Officer in Mortage Fraud Case
Star Tribune - Minneapolis, Minnesota
Marlon Pratt was accused of inflating the prices of homes on loan applications and taking kickbacks. Five others have been convicted or pleaded guilty in the scheme.

Homebuilder Miller’s Party Days May Be Over Soon
Kansas City Star
An alert reader, Nancy Seats in St. Louis, pointed out still more trouble for the now thrice-indicted Kansas City area homebuilder F. Jeffrey Miller.

FBI: L.A. Leads in Mortgage Fraud
Los Angeles Times - CA
The FBI's annual mortgage fraud review says Los Angeles leads the nation in mortgage fraud, measured by reports from the agency's field offices.

Suspected Mortgage Fraud Pushes SAR Filings Up 13 Percent
Financial-Planning.com - New York, NY
An increase in suspected mortgage fraud at banks and thrifts helped push suspicious activity report filings by financial institutions to a record last year, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network said Tuesday.

25 Charged in $100 Million Mortgage Fraud
CNNMoney.com - USA
The Manhattan district attorney indicted 13 suspects and a mortgage company on Wednesday for running a $100 million mortgage fraud, in which they allegedly fooled banks into financing sham sales.

Falling House Prices Drive up Mortgage Fraud
The Associated Press
Falling housing prices are driving up reports of mortgage fraud, with the FBI saying Tuesday that reported losses are up 83 percent last year and climbing even higher in 2009.

SF Supervisors Aim To End Mortgage Fraud
CBS 5 - San Francisco, CA,
Two San Francisco supervisors introduced legislation Tuesday to help address what they said is the growing problem of mortgage fraud, particularly among low-income residents and communities of color.

Ocala Home Builder Pleads Guilty to Scam
Ocala - Ocala, FL
An Ocala home builder pleaded guilty to one count of organized scheme to defraud Monday for his role in a real estate scam in which dozens of members of Miami's Cuban community were duped into signing falsified loan documents toward purchasing new homes in Marion Oaks.

Law Designed to Prevent Home Appraisal Fraud Causing New Problem
WKRC TV Cincinnati - Cincinnati, OH
It's intended to take fraud out of the appraisal process. But many complain its led to appraisals coming in unrealistically low.

Carol Smith Gets Five Years in Prison for Mortgage Fraud
The Plain Dealer - cleveland.com - Cleveland, OH
Carol McGlothan-Smith, 68, of Aurora, pleaded guilty to 13 felony charges for mortgage fraud involving $2.9 million in fraudulent loans for three houses in Solon.

Kansas Attorney General Launches Effort to Combat Mortgage Fraud, Including 5 Lawsuits
fox4kc.com - Kansas City, USA
Kansas' attorney general has launched a new campaign against mortgage fraud that includes lawsuits against five companies.

$13M Mortgage Fraud Schemer Gets 10 Years
Washington Examiner - Washington, DC
A 39-year-old Fort Washington man who pleaded guilty to ripping off homeowners headed into foreclosure has been sentenced to 10 years in prison and ordered to pay back the more than $13 million he stole.

New Appraisal Rules Tangle Home Sales
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Put some distance between lenders and home appraisers, so they can't collude to say a home is worth more than it should be.

Otis Bevel Due in Court Today to be Sentenced for Mortgage Fraud, Conspiracy
The Plain Dealer - cleveland.com - Cleveland, OH
Bevel, 49, of Shaker Heights, was a real estate broker. He, his family and friends fraudulently bought houses using fictitious loan documents they submitted to title companies and lenders, Assistant Prosecutor Dan Kasaris said.

Erie Area Mortgage Broker Gets Prison in Fraud Case
GoErie.com - Erie, PA
Shortly before receiving a nearly three-year federal prison sentence, former mortgage office manager Francis R. Conti told the judge he never meant to defraud any of the homeowners caught up in a widespread local mortgage-fraud scheme.

Three Former Portland-Area Mortgage Brokers Face Fraud Charges
OregonLive.com - Portland, OR
Joel D. Surprenant, Michael Duc Han and Benjamin Lucian Lucescu all were charged with one count of obtaining mortgage loans through materially false and fraudulent pretenses.

Shaker Pair Pleads Guilty to Mortgage Fraud Charges
Cleveland.com - Cleveland, OH
Two Shaker Heights residents recently pleaded guilty to charges involving a mortgage scheme with seven area houses and $3 million in fraudulent loans.

Feds File Charges in Five Mortgage Fraud Cases
Chicago Breaking News - Tribune - Chicago, IL
Federal charges were filed today against 37 people and four companies in five separate mortgage fraud cases.

Feds Fighting Back
Contra Costa Times - Walnut Creek, CA
Mortgage fraud has increased so dramatically in the San Joaquin Valley that a task force of federal, state and local agencies has been formed to fight back.

Private Investigator Sees Rise in Mortgage Fraud Due to Economy
PR Web - Ferndale, WA
In the past 12 months his firm has been retained to conduct over 300 mortgage fraud investigations, a 100% increase from 2007.

Former UGA, NFL Football Player Arthur Marshall Charged With Mortgage Fraud Claims
WJBF-TV - Augusta, GA
He is also accused of defrauding three banks in obtaining loans for seven different properties in Columbia and Richmond Counties.

Cuomo Subpoenas Loan Modification Companies
New York Times - United States
“The entire industry is a scam, in my opinion,” Mr. Cuomo said Tuesday. “These are services that homeowners don’t need to pay for in the first place.”

Defendant Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud Relating to Mortgage Fraud Scheme
Imperial Valley News - Holtville, CA
Scavitti admitted that between 2003 and August 2008 he unlawfully diverted mortgage funds that were wire transferred into his client office account to his own personal benefit, resulting in losses in excess of $2.5 million.

Fed Drug Report: Double Trouble for Metro Chicago
ABC7Chicago.com - IL
...Chicago street gang members run a network of legitimate businesses and have engineered mortgage fraud schemes, both to launder drug proceeds...

County Man Tied to Mortgage Fraud
Ocala - Ocala, FL
A loan review specialist in Ohio uncovered a $2.4 million Florida mortgage fraud conspiracy...

Program Helps Heal Wounds Of North Side Housing Fraud
Minneapolis Star Tribune - Minneapolis, MN
Mukiibi's tidy home was part of the TJ Waconia real estate scam that washed through the North Side.

18 People Charged with Scamming Foreclosure Victims
San Diego 6 - San Diego, CA
...a scam in which homeowners were falsely told that "land patents" would protect their properties from foreclosure.

Two Maine Men Indicted on Theft Charges
MPBN News - Portland, ME
Shields solicited payments from people seeking commercial loans, after falsely claiming that he had the ability and intent to obtain the loans.

Insurer Blames N.J. Lawyer for Blot on Title
The National Law Journal - USA
Veteran real estate lawyers say that they've heard of suits by title insurers against lawyers who weren't diligent but that this is the first they know of to allege an attorney failed to research previous sales in the property's history -- a job usually thought to be the role of title professionals.

Rice Seeks Lower Sentence in Mortgage Fraud
GoErie.com - Erie, PA
Mortgage-fraud defendant Keith A. Rice's lawyer sees several reasons why Rice should receive less prison time than his co-conspirators.

Florida Courts Urge Mortgage Renegotiations
MiamiHerald.com - Miami, FL
With Florida accounting for one of the highest foreclosure rates in the country and legislators showing little interest in addressing the crisis, a handful of judges are exploring ways to keep borrowers and lenders out of an increasingly congested court system.

Mortgage Fraud Cases Cover State
Amarillo.com - Amarillo, TX
Last week, a San Antonio man was sent to prison for six years and three months after pleading guilty to running a mortgage scam that bilked lenders out of nearly $1.7 million. In February, his wife and partner in crime received a similar sentence.

Foreclosure, Loan Scams on the Rise
San Francisco Chronicle - CA
The FBI is currently investigating more than 2,100 mortgage fraud cases, a 400 percent increase since 2004...

Foreclosures Fuel Home Stripping by Ex-Owners
Arizona Republic - Phoenix, AZ
When Surprise police arrested a man for stripping his foreclosed home of a dishwasher, oven and air-conditioning units last week, officials highlighted a rash of problems that have gone largely unsolved across the Valley.

Florence Retirees Say Loan Scam Stripped Them of Millions
The Register-Guard - Eugene, OR
return for purchasing the loans, investors say they were promised twice-monthly payments and interest yields of 10 percent.

Beware of Scams From So-Called Foreclosure Rescue Firms
Palm Beach Post - FL
The problem with some of these foreclosure rescue firms is that once the big, upfront fee is paid, not much else happens.

Foreclosure and Loan Modification Scams on the Rise
RisMedia.com - Norwalk,CT
National Short Sale Center, a large short sale company, has warned homeowners of the rise in foreclosure and loan modifications scams.

State Regulators Discuss Ways to Combat Increasing Loan Fraud
Inside Mortgage Finance - MD
Law enforcement agencies are prosecuting more and more mortgage fraud cases, but as long as it remains profitable, mortgage fraud will never slow down, according to state regulators.

Two Guilty in Mortgage-Inflation Scheme
Courthouse News Service - Pasadena, CA
Two men pleaded guilty to federal charges of inflating the price of more than 250 properties, costing lenders $7 million to $20 million court in a mortgage scheme that artificially inflated appraisals.

Feds: Millionaire Indicted in $90M Fraud
Newsday - Long Island, NY
Thomas Kontogiannis and eight others are accused of using staged sales, straw buyers and inflated appraisals on two tracts of land in East New York and Queens to defraud Washington Mutual Bank and DLJ Capital, a Credit Suisse subsidiary.

Belleville Woman Faces Federal Wire Fraud, Identity Theft Charges
Carmi Times - IL, United States
Schoenbeck would apply to consumer loan companies for loans on-line, by completing applications over the internet. In applying for consumer loans,

Matsui Bill to Combat Foreclosure and Loan Modification Scams...
OBSNews.com - Sacramento, CA
Rep. Matsui introduced her bill, H.R. 2666, the Mortgage Foreclosure Rescue and Loan Modification Services Fraud Prevention Act of 2009, earlier this week in an effort to crack down on these destructive scams...

Former Escrow Officer Guilty of Extensive Fraud
San Francisco Chronicle - San Francisco, CA
The scam involved real estate agents who either personally purchased or used "straw buyers" to buy properties in Oakland.

Five Indicted in Mortgage Fraud Scheme that Targeted Banks and Home Sellers
Seattle Times - United States
A federal grand jury in Seattle has indicted five people in an alleged mortgage-fraud scheme that prosecutors say involved dozens of falsified real-estate sales used to scam banks and innocent sellers in the Puget Sound area out of at least $18 million in loans.

2 Plead Guilty to Committing Mortgage Fraud in Southeast Missouri
fox4kc.com - Kansas City
Two suburban St. Louis men have pleaded guilty to federal charges of committing mortgage fraud in southeast Missouri.

Defendant in Largest Mortgage Fraud Could Get Retrial
Columbus Dispatch - Columbus, OH
A loan officer convicted in one of the largest mortgage-fraud cases in central Ohio history could receive a new trial on two of seven guilty verdicts returned last year by a federal-court jury.

Woman Pleads Guilty in Mortgage Case
Columbus Ledger-Enquirer - Columbus, GA
A Savannah woman has pleaded guilty to wire fraud in connection with what federal prosecutors call a mortgage fraud scheme.

Feds Get Tough on Mortgage Fraud
MiamiHerald.com - Miami, FL
This week a federal judge sentenced Jose G. Martin, who had onced posed as a renter in the home, to 65 months in prison for orchestrating a $6.6 million mortgage fraud scheme...

Press Room: Inside the FBI
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Our Latest 'Inside the FBI' Podcast Focuses on Mortgage Fraud.

Congress funds mortgage fraud crackdown
Los Angeles Times - CA
The FBI, Justice Department, Secret Service and Postal Service will get a combined half a billion dollars to investigate and prosecute those who engage in mortgage fraud.

Nutritionist Charged With Mortgage Fraud
Washington Examiner - Washington, DC
The owner of a Silver Spring-based nutrition company has been charged with lying on mortgage applications to obtain nearly $600,000 in loans.

Consumers Invited to Comment of FTC Rulemaking on Deceptive Mortgages
Ecommerce Journal - Boston, MA
Last week the Federal Trade Commission reported that it is seeking public comment to determine whether certain practices by companies providing foreclosure rescue...

The Trouble With Appraisal Reform
DealBreaker.Com - New York, NY
Cuomo is, of course, all over this new twist, pushing matters all the way into the GSEs, which he insists knowingly bought loans tainted with fraudulent appraisals.

Another Suit Filed in Real Estate Scam
FayObserver.com - Fayetteville,NC
For the second time this month, a Fayetteville businessman has been sued in connection with a real estate scam.

State Targeting Scam Artists in Foreclosures
Arizona Republic - Phoenix, AZ
An ever-increasing number of home foreclosures creates the perfect breeding - and hunting - grounds for scam artists.

Former Isleworth Man Heads to Prison After Real Estate Projects Turn Sour
Orlando Sentinel - Orlando, FL
Former Isleworth resident Patrick Kirkland begins prison term on charges of defrauding 100 investors and lenders of $70 million through the development of senior housing.

Businessman Denies Any Misconduct in Fraud Case
Deseret News - Salt Lake City, UT
Rick Koerber, who earlier this week was indicted by federal prosecutors for allegedly defrauding investors in a multimillion-dollar real-estate business, struck back Friday and strongly denied any misconduct

Pennsylvania Mortgage Scammer Charged With Trying to Hire Hit Man
FOXNews - USA
A man who has been cooperating with authorities after pleading guilty in a Philadelphia-area mortgage scam case has been charged with trying to hire a hit man to kill two people and maim a third.

6 Punished in Dallas-Area Mortgage Fraud Case
Dallas Morning News - Dallas, TX
Charges against two men have been dismissed, while six other people were sentenced to federal prison or received probation in a mortgage fraud case brought by federal prosecutors in 2007.

Charlotte attorney files N.C. mortgage fraud suit
Trading Markets - Los Angeles, CA
A Charlotte lawyer Thursday filed a second federal suit in a case alleging sweeping real estate fraud in Eastern North Carolina.

Mortgage Pimp Bilks Borrowers, Lenders
JS Online - Milwaukee, WI
Michael Lock orchestrated a mortgage fraud that cost banks millions of dollars, destroyed people's finances and heaped misery on Milwaukee's already battered inner-city neighborhoods.

Corsicana Officer's Hard Work Uncovered Huge Mortgage Scam
Fort Worth Star Telegram - Fort Worth, TX
In the end, Sgt. Mark Nanny uncovered what authorities say was a four-county, family-run fraud operation that cost the federal government’s FHA-guaranteed mortgage program more than $3 million.

Fire Captain Wanted By Feds For Mortgage Fraud
CBS 4 - Miami, FL
Gamaliel N. Souffrant Wanted On Mortgage Fraud Charges.

10th Defendant Pleads Guilty To Mortgage Fraud
WJZ - Baltimore, MD
Federal prosecutors say 34-year-old Ronald Chapman Jr. of Washington faces up to 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine for conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud.

Alexandria Man Faces Wire Fraud Charges
Park Rapids Enterprise - Park Rapids, MN
...indicted Monday in federal court on nine counts of wire fraud and one count of money laundering in connection with a scheme to conceal payments from mortgage loan proceeds.

House Clears Bill to Crack Down on Financial Fraud
Kansas City Star - MO
The committee also wrote the problem goes beyond simple mortgage fraud, since mortgages often became securities "bought and sold in largely unregulated markets on Wall Street."

Some Borrowers Try to Cheat for Better Mortgage Deal
Newsday - Long Island, NY
One man with an adjustable rate loan even insisted he was suffering due to the high, reset interest rate, the executive recounted, but he was just parroting the now-familiar complaint about exotic loans.

Maryland Loan Officer Admits Role in $35 Million Scam
Washington Examiner - Washington, DC
A Maryland loan officer pleaded guilty Monday in connection with a $35 million mortgage fraud scheme.

After Months in Jail, Pair Plead Not Guilty To Fraud
San Luis Obispo Tribune - San Luis Obispo, CA
He and his wife Colleen may have lost an estimated $600,000 in their dealings with the Paso Robles hard-money real estate lending company.

Massive WaMu Shareholder Lawsuit Lacks Substance, Federal Judge Says
Seattle Post Intelligencer - USA
A federal judge ruled Friday that fraud charges leveled against the former officers of Washington Mutual are not sufficient to go forward with the case.

On way to prison, Yanchek runs afoul of the Bar
Sarasota Herald-Tribune - Sarasota, FL
This month, a federal judge told John Yanchek that he did not appear cut from the "cloth" of a fraudster as the Sarasota attorney awaited his sentence for his part in the largest mortgage scam in Southwest Florida history.

Man Ordered to Trial in Alleged House-Flipping Scam
phillyBurbs.com - Philadelphia, PA
...District Justice Maggie Snow ruled Friday that there is enough evidence against a New Hampshire man for him to stand trial on charges he swindled nearly $550,000 from local investors in an alleged property-flipping scam.

Offering Some Information About Mortgage Scams
Cape Coral Daily Breeze - Cape Coral, FL
Foreclosure "rescue"...A finance company representative claims that his firm can help you save your home from foreclosure.

99 Years For Mortgage Fraud
OCRegister - Santa Ana, CA
In a recent case that even raised the eyebrows of a spokesman for the Texas attorney general’s office, a woman in the Lone Star State was sentenced to 99 years in prison for mortgage fraud.

Texas AG Sues Mortgage Rescue Companies
Houston Chronicle - United States
Several foreclosure rescue companies have been sued by the state's top prosecutor, who accuses them of running mortgage rescue scams.

Mortgage Fraud a Crime, in Bill
Ventura County Star - Camarillo, CA
The Tuckers have become poster criminals for mortgage fraud, a white-collar crime wave that victimized thousands of California families as the real estate market soared...

Man Hurt in Stabbing Sentenced for Mortgage Fraud
Washington Examiner - Washington, DC
A 52-year-old Temple Hills man, who his lawyers say is suffering from major nerve damage after he was nearly stabbed to death in September, was sentenced to nearly three years for his role in a $4 million mortgage fraud scheme.

Charlotte-Area Developers Face Mortgage Fraud Accusations
CharlotteObserver.com - Charlotte, NC
Two Charlotte area developers are defendants in a lawsuit over what some say could be one of the largest mortgage fraud cases in state history.

Washed Up Coastal Developer Drowning in Fraud Claims
McClatchy Washington Bureau - Washington, DC
...a Charlotte lawyer is about to file a suit on behalf of 45 more buyers in what could become one of the largest mortgage fraud cases in state history.

Man Ordered to Trial in Alleged House-Flipping Scam
phillyBurbs.com - Philadelphia, PA
Departing from an earlier ruling by another judge, District Justice Maggie Snow ruled Friday that there is enough evidence against a New Hampshire man for him to stand trial on charges he swindled nearly $550,000 from local investors in an alleged property-flipping scam.

Gresham Couple Avoid Suspected Mortgage Scam
kgw.com - Portland, OR
A mortgage scheme nearly snagged a Gresham couple.

9 Investigated for Mortgage Rip-Offs
WBBM Newsradio
The state of Illinois is investigating nine real estate and mortgage professionals who are allegedly responsible for ripping off at least three homeowners in the Chicago area.

HAR Warns of Real Estate Scams
Bizjournals.com - Charlotte, NC
According to HAR, the Craigslist scams involve the posting of properties for sale or rent at discounted prices. People responding to the ads are then asked to mail or wire funds to the person posting the ad.

Local 'Bernie Madoff' No Show in Court, Dies in Crash
KOMO News - Seattle, WA
Lull worked as the manager at the Kaua’i branch of U.S. Financial Mortgage Corp. from 1994 to 2006 during which time he conducted what he referred to as his “side-line business.”

Neth Facing Charges in Land Fraud
Pahrump Valley Times - Pahrump, NV
He is charged with five counts of securities fraud and one count of embezzlement in connection with a land sale scheme.

First Magnus, Star Equity Bury Loan Fraud Claims
Securities Law 360 - New York, NY
Now-defunct First Magnus Financial Corp. has buried the hatchet with Star Equity Funding LLC and several of its brokers over claims that Star Equity fraudulently inflated the value of residential properties and misappropriated borrower information...

AG Targets Houston-Based Foreclosure 'Rescue' Firms
Houston Chronicle - United States
A Harris County judge this week froze the assets of several Houston-based foreclosure rescue companies after the state’s top prosecutor filed a lawsuit accusing them of taking money from financially troubled homeowners but doing nothing for them.

SEC Poised to Charge Mozilo With Fraud
Wall Street Journal - USA
The Securities and Exchange Commission staff is readying civil fraud charges against Countrywide Financial Corp. co-founder Angelo Mozilo, in what would be the highest-profile government legal action against a chief executive connected to the financial crisis.

Court Orders Foreclosure Rescue Scammer To Pay $3.2 Million To Victims
Seattle Medium - Seattle, WA
The Washington Attorney General’s Office declared a major victory for consumers this week in response to a judge’s order that a notorious foreclosure rescue scammer must pay more than $3.2 million to victims he wronged plus $179,000 in penalties for violating the Consumer Protection Act.

Obama Broadens Foreclosure-Rescue Plan
Sun-Sentinel.com - Fort Lauderdale, FL
Banks reducing the principal on mortgages would make it harder for everyone to get loans in the future because of the added risk to lenders, said Alex Sanchez, head of the Florida Bankers Association.

Real estate agent admits mortgage fraud
United Press International - USA
A Maryland real estate agent admitted Thursday to participating in a $16 million scheme that defrauded homeowners trying to fend off foreclosure.

Two Milpitas Mortgage Brokers Sentenced in $8M Theft, Forgery Case
San Jose Mercury News - CA
Two Milpitas mortgage brokers who were convicted of multiple counts of grand theft and forgery in an $8 million fraud case involving sub-prime mortgages will spend most of the next two decades in state prison.

Trial Begins in Mortgage Fraud Case
Daily Press - Newport News, VA
A federal mortgage fraud trial opened in Newport News Wednesday, among the first of what could become many housing-related prosecutions in the coming years.

Rogers Woman Pleads Guilty in Bank Fraud Case
KARK - Little Rock, USA
She also altered Stephens account statements and provided false documentation to Pulaski Bank and Trust as well as a forged control agreement in order to obtain the loans.

Avoid a Foreclosure Rip-Off
KARK - Little Rock, USA
With thousands of Americans now scrambling to forestall foreclosure, the scam artists are coming out of the woodwork.

Two More Plead Guilty in Mortgage Fraud Case
Dayton Daily News - Dayton, OH
A Dayton father and son pleaded guilty Monday, May 11, to federal charges in connection with an extensive mortgage fraud scheme that affected 210 residential properties, including 205 in Montgomery County.

Road to Ruin: Mortgage Fraud Scandal Brewing
Real News Network - New York, NY
In this "Road to Ruin" report, former subprime lenders from Ameriquest, once the country's largest lender, describe a system rife with fraud.

Convicted Felons Approved As Licensed Mortgage Brokers
NewsChannel5.com - Nashville, TN
Yet, an exclusive NewsChannel5 investigation found bank robbers and identity thieves working in the mortgage business.

Lawsuit Alleges That Loan Originator Stole Money From a Client
The Times-Picayune - NOLA.com - New Orleans, LA
A lawsuit filed in civil district court in New Orleans accuses a loan originator and branch manager at Allied Home Mortgage Capital Corp. of stealing money during a mortgage refinance and then conspiring with their employer to cover it up.

Trial set for June in alleged mortgage scheme
San Francisco Examiner
Monday marked the deadline for attorneys to strike a plea agreement in the case against 51-year-old Mark Strodtman. No deal was reached.

Hearing Ordered on Evidence in PL Murder Case
Bonner County Daily Bee - Sandpoint, ID
Prosecutors alleged Brown and his wife, Tyrah, murdered Breaw and stole a $56,000 escrow check belonging to the dead man before fleeing to Fort Myers Beach, Fla.

$1 million Real Estate Scheme Leaves Families Hurting
Victorville Daily Press - Victorville, CA
With money flowing in and the real estate boom still in full swing, Oulman again refinanced the Apple Valley properties, Asdel said, using the equity to buy what was to become Stonehedge above Hesperia Lakes.

KB Home & Countrywide Overappraised Homes by $3 Billion, Say Owners
Courthouse News Service - Pasadena, CA
KB Home, Countrywide Financial and LandSafe fraudulently overappraised KB homes in California and Nevada by nearly $3 billion, homebuyers say in a federal class action.

Attorney John Yanchek Sentenced for Bank Fraud, Money Laundering
Bizjournals.com - Charlotte, NC
Sarasota attorney John Yanchek must forfeit $7.6 million and spend five years in prison for his role in conspiring to defraud banks, U.S. District Judge James D. Whittemore ruled Monday.

Home Loan Quagmire
Boston Herald - United States
His concerns are underscored by reports of fraud and abuse related to FHA-backed loans.

$2M Fine in Mortgage Fraud Case
Bizjournals.com - Charlotte, NC
The Minnesota Department of Commerce on Monday said it revoked the mortgage originator license of Michael Prieskorn, fining him $2.2 million for his role in an alleged mortgage fraud scheme.

Exclusive: Confessions of a Mortgage Scammer
ABC News - USA
Now, he has been sentenced to state prison for at least five years for running an elaborate mortgage scam.

New Fraud Claims Dog Real Estate Investors
Lower Hudson Journal news - West Harrison, NY
Two friends who said they were duped by a pair of Mount Vernon businessmen to invest in foreclosed properties in Georgia have asked the Westchester District Attorney's Office to investigate.

Dominican Watchdog's Annual Report on Real Estate Fraud in the Dominican Republic
PR Web - Ferndale, WA
We are urging property buyers, who have been victims of real estate fraud in the Dominican Republic, to come forward in an exposé of the deplorable condition for international real estate investors.

Ponzi Scheme Brings Guilty Plea From Former Edmond Resident
NewsOK.com - Oklahoma City, OK
She claimed the company would provide short-term, high-interest loans for clients to use as down payments. Quiroga promised investors high returns when the loans were repaid.

Two Locals Face Charges in Mortgage Fraud Scheme
Kenosha News.com - Kenosha, WI
Two Kenosha County residents and three others have been indicted on 24 counts of federal wire fraud and money laundering charges in a scheme to allegedly steal mortgage funds.

Housing Loan Help Attracts New Scams
Arizona Republic - Phoenix, AZ
Faulty oversight and outright scams helped send the housing market into a tailspin. Efforts to bring the market back are attracting new scams.

Calif. Attorney Pleads no Contest in Loan Scheme
San Jose Mercury News - CA
Prosecutors say Hastert secured $20 million from investors to make high return loans with risky borrowers seeking to develop real estate in six Northern California counties.

Lavon Ivy will be Sentenced Today for Mortgage Fraud
The Plain Dealer - cleveland.com - Cleveland, OH
Property appraiser Lavon Ivy will be sentenced today for theft by deception, securing a writing by deception, forgery, communications fraud, receiving stolen property and falsification.

Waynesville Man Indicted in Alleged Mortgage Scheme
Dayton Daily News - Dayton, OH
A Waynesville man accused of running a mortgage fraud scheme was indicted Wednesday, April 29, on federal charges, including a single count of money laundering.

U.S. Senate Votes To Create Nationwide Mortgage Fraud Task
South Florida Caribbean News - Pembroke Pines, FL
The Nationwide Mortgage Fraud Task Force, which will operate under the U.S. Attorney General, will address mortgage fraud in the U.S.

Mortgage Foreclosure ‘Rescue’ Defendants Settle FTC Charges for Deceiving Homeowners
RealEstateRama - Washington, USA
Two individuals who lured homeowners into high-cost, short-term loans secured by an additional mortgage on their homes have settled FTC charges that they violated federal law – and a previous court order against them. Thomas C. Little, an attorney, also settled contempt charges based on his role in facilitating the scam.

Countrywide’s Mozilo Faces Trial in Florida
Tampa Bay Business Journal
A federal judge has ruled that Angelo Mozilo, former chairman and chief executive of Countrywide Financial Corp., should be tried in Florida in a civil case focused on deceptive trade practices.

Mortgage Company Accused of Fraud
CharlotteObserver.com
First Metropolitan Mortgage’s parent company, Empire Equity Group, has already paid out more than a million dollars after a judge ruled the company was liable of mortgage fraud.

Some of Us Still Think They Can Get Rich Quick from the Real Estate Bubble
AlterNet - San Francisco, CA
In a country where over 6,000 homes now enter foreclosure every day, and where millions of people's retirement income has been wiped out thanks to a financial house of cards built on dubious home loans, I found it curious that the best advice about how to cash in on the collapse of the real estate market might be found in a newspaper ad or on late-night TV.

New Appraisal Rule Stirs Opposition
Arizona Republic - Phoenix, AZ
New regulations designed to reduce home-appraisal fraud could result in lower-quality appraisals and make it more difficult for consumers to shop around for the best mortgage rates, loan officers and appraisers say.

Home Valuation Code of Conduct: Fix or Fraud?
CNBC - Englewood Cliffs, USA
Today is the official start of a new policy at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, to only buy loans that were appraised under the Home Valuation Code of Conduct.

Foreclosure Prevention Bill Shields Mortgage Lenders From Fraud
The Market Oracle - London, UK
Inquiring minds are investigating provisions of a foreclosure prevention plan working its way through Congress. The plan throws away more taxpayer money while shielding servicers from misconduct. In other words, the bill does exactly what one might expect from this Congress and this administration.

Bad Loans Hit Fulton Banks
KOMU-TV - Columbia, MO
“In our situation, we had two loans that went bad,” Harris said. “They’re done. We’re working with them. We believe that, in both cases, there was substantial fraud involved.”

D.C.-based company took investors for $70M in mortgage scheme, prosecutors say
Washington Examiner - Washington, DC
Federal authorities say a District-based company promising to pay off the mortgages of its investors, was actually a Ponzi scheme that robbed more than 1,000 home owners of $70 million.

Major Mortgage Fraud Is Alleged
Washington Post - United States
It was a mortgage fraud and a Ponzi scheme, and it was, prosecutors say, a moneymaker.

Are Free Cars with Condo Purchases a Form of Mortgage Fraud?
WalletPop - VA
But there's one important difference: These "Free x with the purchase of a home" deals allow buyers to basically roll the cost of a luxury item into the price of a home. And we're not just talking about Pintos.

DOJ:Mortgage Lender Agrees To Be Barred From Writing FHA Loans
ASDAQ - New York, New York
A Long Island lender and its president have agreed to be permanently barred from writing loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration, ending a civil lawsuit by the U.S. Justice Department that claimed the company submitted false mortgage-insurance applications for more than $4 million in loans.

Unlicensed Broker Gets 5 Years in Mortgage Fraud
Tampa Tribune - Tampa, FL
Victor Clavizzao said he accepted responsibility for his actions in a multimillion-dollar mortgage fraud scheme.

Moore, Six Urge Action to Fight Mortgage Scams
Kansas City Kansan - Kansas City, KS
...But that desire has become fuel for a spate of mortgage scams, and public officials say they are taking steps to make sure people have resources they need to stay in their homes without being subject to fraud and unscrupulous business practices.

S.E.C. Charges California Money Manager with Fraud
New York Times Blogs - New York, NY
The Securities and Exchange Commission has temporarily frozen assets controlled by Danny Pang, a money manager in Newport Beach, Calif., who the agency contends defrauded investors out of hundreds of millions of dollars in a scheme that began in 2003.

Realtors, Mtge Brokers Push For Delay In New Appraisal Rules
Wall Street Journal - USA
Realtors and mortgage brokers are in an 11th-hour push to delay by a year new Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE) rules governing real-estate appraisals.

TARP Inspector General Barofsky Weighs In
Washington Post - United States
The SIG's mandate leans more toward ferreting out waste, corruption, and fraud, but the report also deals with more economic questions such as what banks are doing with TARP money and what Treasury can do to minimize expected losses to taxpayers.

Busted: Alleged $70M Mortgage Fraud Ponzi Scheme
Business Gazette - Gaithersburg, MD
Four people have been indicted for running a $70 million mortgage fraud Ponzi scheme through Maryland companies and spending the stolen money on big salaries, a fleet of chauffeured luxury cars and trips to the NBA All-Star game and Super Bowl in 2007.

Facing Foreclosure, Landlord Allegedly Looked to Arson
SeattlePi.com
Prosecutors have filed solicitation to commit arson charges against a Woodinville contractor who was allegedly caught on tape offering to pay his tenant $10,000 to burn down a house in foreclosure.

How Mortgage Modification Scammers Dupe Desperate Homeowners
Huffington Post - New York, NY
The California DRE's website warns consumers to be wary of individuals or companies who offer to help negotiate a loan modification...

Mortgage Fraud Index Doubles
R Newswire - New York, NY
Among notable cases was one where a California mortgage broker admitted he originated $1 billion in fraudulent loans throughout six states. He was caught at the Canadian border with $70,000 stuffed in his boots.

Avoid Mortgage Scams
Daytona Beach News-Journal - Daytona Beach, FL
Foreclosure rescue fraud, or fraud involving loan modifications related to foreclosures, is the complaint topic most commonly reported to the Attorney General's Office and involves the charging of an up-front fee for foreclosure rescue services before any services are provided, if they are provided at all.

Ga Man Pleads Guilty to Mortgage Fraud
WALB-TV - Albany, GA
Federal prosecutors in Atlanta say a Georgia man has admitted scheming to acquire millions of dollars in fraudulent mortgages and other loans while he was between prison sentences for other crimes.

Turnpike Accounting Manager Accused Of Fraud
Central Florida News 13| - Orlando, FL
The money was in an escrow account for Preferred Alliance Title. They reportedly covered their fraud by altering bank statements.

Predatory Lending Bill Could Undo Ohio Law
The Plain Dealer - cleveland.com - Cleveland, OH
Congress's attempt to reel in wayward mortgage lending could bar Ohio from stepping in to protect homeowners from predatory loans.

Convictions Upheld in Mortgage Fraud
Jackson Clarion Ledger - Jackson, MS
Fransene Berry, of Jackson, Miss., was one several people charged in 2006 with participating in a multimillion dollar scheme to get loans on properties purchased and sold on the same day.

Linda Vista Condos Tied to Alleged Scheme
San Diego Union Tribune - San Diego, CA
A wave of loan defaults that has swamped a 42-unit Linda Vista condo-conversion project makes it the fourth complex in the county linked to a Bay Area man to be overwhelmed by pending foreclosures.

Seller may be Loser in Land-Contract Gamble
San Francisco Chronicle - CA
Having done some research on quitclaim forgery, I have found that this is becoming a more prevalent crime with people preying especially on the elderly...

Treasury Picks Ocwen for Foreclosure Mitigation
Forbes - NY
The government has named a seventh mortgage company to participate in a $75 billion program designed to help millions of struggling homeowners escape foreclosure.

Irvine Man Convicted in $1 Million Mortgage Fraud Scheme
OCRegister - Santa Ana, CA
The fourth of four defendants in a federal mortgage fraud case was convicted Monday of conspiracy, wire fraud and money laundering for collecting more than $1 million in fraudulent loans to purchase two properties that weren't for sale.

Calif. Woman Convicted for Mortgage Scheme
United Press International - USA
The last in a group of Southern California mortgage fraud defendants has been convicted in federal court, officials said.

Koster: Beware Mortgage Scams
Kansas City Star - MO
Attorney General Chris Koster filed lawsuits today accusing two businesses of sending consumers misleading direct-mail ads for mortgage refinancing.

Former accountant charged in $67 million Ponzi scheme
AZ Central.com - AZ
Authorities believe the former certified public accountant targeted his clients in a multi-million dollar real estate investment scheme, according to a SEC statement.

Pair gets prison for one of Twin Cities' largest mortgage fraud schemes
Minneapolis Star Tribune - Minneapolis, MN
Saying their north Minneapolis mortgage fraud scheme was founded on lies and based in an impossible "dream world" of ever-rising prices, a federal judge on Thursday concluded one of the Twin Cities' largest real estate fraud cases by sentencing a pair of former investors to prison.

Mortgage Fraud, Let's Not Just Talk About it This Time, Take Action!
Gerson Lehrman Group - New York
1.Mortgage Fraud continued to climb up by 26% in 2008...

2 Men Sentenced in $35M Metro Mortgage Scheme
KSTP.com - Saint Paul, MN
The two owners of a Roseville real estate company were sentenced Thursday in federal court for mortgage fraud in connection with an estimated $35 million scheme involving at least 162 properties in the Metro.

Falls Man Pleads Guilty to Charges in Connection With Mortgage Fraud Case
Cuyahoga Falls News Press - Ravenna, OH
A Cuyahoga Falls man who worked as a lending officer with Carnation Banc pleaded guilty April 14 to felony charges in connection with his role in what the county prosecutor called a "complex mortgage fraud system."

Parkland Man, 4 Others Arrested in $4.5 Million Mortgage Scheme
Sun-Sentinel.com - Fort Lauderdale, FL
A Broward County accountant was among five people arrested in connection with a mortgage fraud operation that defrauded several financial institutions of more than $4.5 million, Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum announced Thursday.

New Scam Targets Titles on Homes
93.1 WIBC Indianapolis - Indianapolis, IN
Indiana's county recorders are warning of a new scam to steal your house out from under you.

Beware the 'Property Fraud' Scam
Consumer Affairs - USA
Homeowners are sometimes worried about thieves breaking into their house, but they rarely worry about criminals actually stealing their house. Maybe they should.

Man Pleads Guilty to Fraud
Honolulu Advertiser - Honolulu, HI
A Honolulu man faces five years in prison, a $250,000 fine and payment of restitution to an evicted homeowner after pleading guilty yesterday to aiding a Honolulu mortgage company accused of orchestrating a foreclosure bailout scheme and stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from banks and distressed homeowners.

Mortgage Fraud Crackdown Is Gathering Steam in Florida
TIME - USA
Florida's Gulf Coast was crawling with shady real estate investors like Neil Husani during this decade's housing boom.

AZ Man Guilty in Mortgage-Help Scam
Arizona Daily Star - Tucson, AZ
A Glendale man has pleaded guilty to fraud charges in connection with a mortgage loan scam that bilked 47 homeowners, the Attorney General's Office said.

Man Earns Prison Term in Mortgage Scam
Delaware News - Delaware, OH
An Upper Arlington man became the second member of crime ring sentenced this week in connection with a multimillion-dollar mortgage fraud scheme in Franklin and Delaware counties.

Robert Shumake Speaks about the Growing Trend in Real Estate Scams and Mortgage Fraud in Michigan
Emailwire - USA
Robert Shumake, mortgage fraud victim, is working to increase public awareness of the problem and to warn realtors, lenders and consumers of scams that they can easily fall victim to.

Government Warns of Foreclosure Rescue Scams
News Channel 7 - SC
The Department of Justice, the Federal Trade Commission and the Treasury issued a warning to homeowners about foreclosure rescue scams.

Victorville Couple Sentenced in Real Estate Fraud/Elder Abuse Case
Big Bear Valley News - Big Bear Lake, CA
A Victorville couple was sentenced to county jail on felony charges connected to real estate fraud and financial elder abuse.

Robert Shumake Shares Tips on How to Avoid Mortgage Fraud
Emailwire - USA
The US Federal Bureau of Investigation reports mortgage fraud as one of the fastest growing white-collar crimes in the United States.

Liberty Fallout Weighs on Title Industry
Long Island Business News - Ronkonkoma, NY
Last week’s closing of Uniondale-based Liberty Title in the wake of fraud allegations has sent shockwaves through the area’s title companies, putting pressure on an industry already beleaguered by the real estate slowdown.

New Appraisal Rules May Hurt Homebuyers
Seattle Times - United States
But new rules intended to reduce appraisal fraud and curtail undue pressure on appraisers could have some dramatic repercussions for homebuyers and homeowners.

Links Emerge Among Figures Accused in Scam
San Diego Union Tribune - San Diego, CA
They accused Gentry, 49, of being one of four leaders of a massive mortgage fraud scam that ran for three years, involved 220 home purchases, swindled lenders out of an estimated $100 million, and netted Gentry $1 million.

State Warns of New Mortgage Fraud Scheme
Chicago Tribune - United States
Indiana's attorney general is warning about a mortgage fraud scheme in which criminals exploit a loophole in state law to transfer the ownership of properties.

Mortgage Broker Linked to Pot Grows Pleads Guilty
SeattlePi.com - Seattle, WA
A Kent mortgage company owner pleaded guilty Friday to wire fraud and money laundering.

Real Estate Investor and Loan Officer Indicted for Mortgage Fraud
Imperial Valley News - Holtville, CA
Dustin Michael Thompson, 30, and Sean Paul McLaughlin, 29, were indicted on four counts of Wire Fraud and one count of Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud as a result of their involvement in a cash back mortgage fraud scheme.

Former Broker Sentenced to Four Years in Prison in Mortgage-Fraud Case
Columbus Dispatch - Columbus, OH
An Upper Arlington man who pleaded guilty last month to participating in a multimillion-dollar mortgage-fraud scheme was sentenced today to four years in prison.

How It Could Happen in 2008
Voice of San Diego - San Diego, CA
For several months, Lackner, a real estate appraiser and mortgage fraud expert, had tracked scores of condo conversion sales in three complexes in Escondido and San Marcos that carried telltale signs of a fishy deal, especially three years into the housing downturn in San Diego County.

Feds Warn About Home Loan Scams
bankingMyway.com - Fort Atkinson, WI
The term “loan modification” has become a high-profile addition to the cultural lexicon – right up there with “Crackberry” or “Tweeting”.

Cape Coral Man Seeks Plea Change in Real Estate Scheme Case
The News-Press - Fort Myers, FL
Ronald Luczak pleaded guilty in September to wire fraud, money laundering and conducting a prohibited money transaction — charges that could put him in prison for up to 50 years.

Ohioan Linked to Mortgage Fraud Ring Gets 4 Years
WTTE - Columbus, OH
A Columbus-area man has been sentenced to four years in prison for his role in what authorities say was a multimillion-dollar mortgage fraud ring.

Rented Identities, Extravagant Prices and Foreclosure: A Post-Boom Real Estate Scam
Voice of San Diego - San Diego, CA
...But when the charismatic investor from the Bay Area introduced his plan, the living room hushed.

New Jersey Man Admits $80 Million Real Estate Ponzi Scheme
Bloomberg - USA
The founder of NJ Affordable Homes Corp., a purported New Jersey real estate investment business, pleaded guilty to defrauding mortgage lenders and hundreds of investors of more than $80 million through a Ponzi scheme.

Mortgage Scams Becoming More Prevalent
creditfyi.com - Des Plaines, IL
Homeowners should look out for several warning signs when it comes to possible scams involving mortgage assistance, according to a recent report.

Real Estate Scammer Pleads Guilty
EmpireStateNews.net - Newburgh, New York
...Dare will be sentenced in June to a maximum of eight to 24 years in prison and must cooperate fully in clearing the titles of the properties involved in the real estate scams.

Love to Sue for Real Estate Fraud
Examiner.com - USA
Love Plants to work with national prosecutors to track down the bogus real estate purchases and plans to push for criminal charges to be filed.

Two Dozen Charged in Alleged Gang-Led Mortgage Fraud
Reuters - USA
Two dozen people were indicted on racketeering and other charges for allegedly conducting a wide-ranging mortgage fraud based in San Diego...

FBI Raids Maui Homes in Mortgage Inquiry
Forbes - NY
The FBI has raided four homes on Maui in an investigation of a scheme involving promises to avoid mortgage foreclosures.

Guarding Against Home Foreclosure Fraud
Elk Grove Citizen - Elk Grove, CA
“We must get back on track without being taken by scam artists who are now out in full force,” he stated.

Koster Sues Company Over Alleged Foreclosure Scam
Bizjournals.com - Charlotte, NC
Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster filed a lawsuit Tuesday against an Anaheim, Calif., company that allegedly defrauded Missourians looking for help avoiding mortgage foreclosure.

Feds: Gang Member Ran $100M Mortgage Scheme
NBC San Diego - San Diego, CA
Dozens of people -- including a documented gang member -- were involved in a sophisticated mortgage fraud scheme involving 220 local properties, according to federal prosecutors.

Mortgage Fraud Suspect Bonds Out Of Jail
WFtv.com - Orlando, FL
A family at the center of a widespread mortgage fraud investigation has been behind bars for months, but Tuesday one of them posted bond and was released.

24 People Indicted in California Mortgage Fraud Scam
San Jose Mercury News - CA
Twenty-four people have been indicted on racketeering conspiracy charges, accused of participating in a mortgage fraud scheme that earned about $9 million by fraudulently inducing lenders to give loans to people who didn't qualify for them.

St. Louis Man Admits Mortgage Fraud Scheme
Bizjournals.com - Charlotte, NC
A St. Louis man was sentenced Monday to 15 months in prison on mail fraud charges in connection with a mortgage fraud scheme, U.S. Attorney Catherine Hanaway said.

Felons Barred From Mortgage Careers
GoErie.com - Erie, PA
Two men jailed for their roles in a local housing-fraud scheme have been banned from ever working in Pennsylvania's mortgage industry.

Police Warn of Online Rental Scam
6abc.com - Philadelphia, PA
Investigators say the scammers will copy online listings for legitimate real estate sales, and then re-post them on the website Craigslist as a rental.

Ocean City Police Report Real Estate Scam
Cape May County Herald - NJ
Police here have reported that over the past two weeks they have received complaints about and Internet-based real estate scam.

2nd UPDATE: US Officials Trumpet Plan To Combat Mortgage Fraud
Wall Street Journal - USA
U.S. officials on Monday trumpeted a new multi-agency effort to combat a wave of mortgage-fraud and foreclosure-rescue scams.

Obama Administration Cracks Down on Mortgage Scams - Some in Brooklyn, Bronx
New York Daily News - New York, NY
The Obama administration announced a state and federal crackdown Monday on companies - including some in Brooklyn and the Bronx - falsely claiming they can help mortgage holders facing the loss of their homes.

Woman's Home Foreclosed, Sold By Mistake
WSMV - Nashville, TN
Murphy has her statements from Saxon Mortgage that show she's current and bank statements documenting her house payment withdrawals from her account.

Regulators Crack Down on Mortgage Rescue Firms
Inman.com - Emeryville, CA
Five companies accused of using deceptive practices to market mortgage modification and foreclosure rescue services have been hit with enforcement actions by the Federal Trade Commission, and warning letters have gone out to 71 others.

New Joint Federal-State Crackdown on Foreclosure Rescue Scams Announced
Real Estate Channel - Orlando, FL
Federal and state officials today announced a new joint crackdown on the proliferating residential foreclosure rescue scams.

Heartbreak: Firm Offering People "Second Chance" Mortgage Help Accused Of Fraud
Huffington Post - New York, NY
Pitching itself as a consulting firm for people seeking to renegotiate their mortgage, 2nd chance lured customers with the promise of legal aid, a full-time caseworker, weekly case updates, and a money back guarantee if they were unable to negotiate a better loan.

5 Sentenced in Provo Mortgage Scheme
LocalNews8.com - Idaho Falls, ID
Five men have been sentenced to prison for their roles in a mortgage scam that used straw buyers to flip houses.

Fort Washington Man Pleads Guilty in Mortgage Fraud Scheme
Business Gazette - Gaithersburg, MD
A Fort Washington man accused of being a co-conspirator in a Prince George's County-based mortgage fraud scheme pleaded guilty Friday to two counts of fraud.

Former Broker Charged With Mortgage Fraud
KCBS - CA
John McTaggart,a 45-year-old former broker, is accused of bilking an 86-year-old San Francisco woman out of $140,000 through a reverse mortgage scam.

Forest Park Man Believes He Is Victim of Mortgage Fraud
WKRC TV Cincinnati - Cincinnati, OH
A local homeowner who refinanced his mortgage two years ago appears to be the victim of fraud and is now facing foreclosure.

DA Wants To Set Up Real Estate Fraud Unit
Record-Searchlight - Redding, CA
Shasta County could soon have a real estate fraud protection unit - a first for the area.

Aid to Borrowers Not Preventing Rising Delinquency
Washington Post - United States
Mortgage lenders have boosted their foreclosure-prevention efforts, but homeowners nonetheless are increasingly falling into delinquency even after receiving help on their loans, according to a government report issued yesterday.

Mortgage Modifications Attract Scams
The Wichita Eagle - Wichita, KS
The Kansas Attorney General's Office is warning consumers about scammers who offer to modify mortgage loans for a fee.

Home Loan Modifications not Doing the Job
Daily Finance - New York, NY
Banks hoping to take advantage of the Financial Accounting Standards Board's change to the mark-to-market rule had better tread very carefully. Home loan modifications are not working, according to a report by the Office of Thrift Supervision...

Palm Beach socialite pleads guilty to fraud, will pay $343,966
Palm Beach Post - FL
Palm Beach socialite Linda "Lin" Gosman tearfully pleaded guilty Friday to criminal bankruptcy, mortgage and tax fraud, a deal that drops another 14 counts but leaves her open to prison time.

Mortgage Fraud: It’s So Simple, It’s Scary
Fort Wayne Journal Gazette - Fort Wayne, IN
But Allen County Chief Deputy Recorder Anita Mather examined the notarized deed and said her staff would have no choice but to accept and record it, even though the reporter who signed the document had no right to transfer ownership in the 79-year-old art deco building and no money changed hands.

Foreclosure-Rescue Firm Disbands
Orlando Sentinel - Orlando, FL
The state also found Homestead misled consumers about refund policies and the services that it would actually provide. Investigators fielded a number of complaints about false promises and refund denials by the company.

Mortgage Broker Faces New Swindling Charges
Pioneer Press - St. Paul, MN
A Woodbury mortgage broker imprisoned for defrauding co-workers and customers across the Twin Cities is accused of swindling even more people out of tens of thousands of dollars.

Soho activist is facing discipline in $50 million Hamptons swindle
The Villager - New York, NY
In news that sent shock waves from Soho to Southampton, last week Don MacPherson, a former Community Board 2 member and owner of the Soho Journal, was arrested as part of a $50 million mortgage fraud ring, reportedly involving more than 50 Hamptons properties.

Holder Promises U.S. Crackdown on Fraud, Corruption
Bloomberg - USA
Attorney General Eric Holder said he plans to step up U.S. prosecutions of corporate fraud, mortgage fraud and public corruption with help from state and local law enforcement.

Mortgage Scams Becoming More Common
Lawrence Journal World - Lawrence, KS
Scams perpetrated by people claiming to assist with modifying mortgages are showing up across the state, Kansas Attorney General Steve Six said.

4 Men Involved in Mortgage Fraud Sentenced to Prison
KSL-TV - Salt Lake City, UT
Four men involved in the Provo Riverbottoms mortgage fraud scheme will go to prison. Prosecutors blamed the men for fueling a spike in property values in the area that also resulted in higher property taxes for other residents.

Mortgage Rescue Fraud
WHOI - Peoria, IL
"What we have found repeatedly is that mortgage rescue scams, these individuals take your money up front, they do not contact your lender, or if they do they do not get you a loan modification. If they claim they will forward on your mortgage payment, again, they're taking your money," said Madigan.

Charlotte Lawyer Convicted in Fraud Case
Charlotte Observer
Sprouse, 38, was accused of lying to lenders, falsifying settlement statements and stealing from her clients while reaping millions of dollars for her and co-conspirators. They included mortgage brokers, real estate agents and an appraiser.

Suit alleges $170M fraud by area father, son
Orangeville Citizen - Orangeville, Canada
According to the court filing, the Sun Village property "remains significantly incomplete" and is losing money, and the Juan Dolio development is about 60 per cent complete. Much of the investors' money intended to finish these projects is alleged to have been diverted by the Elliotts for personal expenses or other ventures.

Navigating the Swamp that is the Colson Fraud Case
Jackson Jambalaya
Title insurance company Lawyers Title is suing prominent coast lawyer Steve Colson in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi, alleging he and various companies he owned misappropriated funds intended for Lawyers Title and others. The plaintiff seeks $10 million in damages.

Surge in Mortgage Fraud Has DAs Short-Staffed
WNYC - New York, NY
The city's district attorneys say they need more money to handle a dramatic jump in financial crimes, like mortgage fraud.

5 Charged in Home Mortgage Fraud Case; One is from Lehigh Acres
Lehigh Acres Citizen - Lehigh Acres, FL
Investigators allege that representatives from Amara Mortgage falsified or assisted in the falsification of mortgage loans by using fictitious business names as a borrower's employer.

Six People Indicted in Mortgage Fraud Scheme
Auburn Reporter - Auburn, WA
Those charged allegedly used “straw buyers” and other unqualified buyers to obtain increasing loan amounts in repeated sales of the same property...

Foreclosure Fraud, Phony "Rescue Firms"
ABC30.com - Fresno, CA
Then they got a letter from a mortgage restructuring firm that claimed to have a "95-point-5 percent resolution success" rate in stopping foreclosures.

Defendant, Sister Testify In Mortgage Fraud Trial
wsoctv.com
She was not aware of the fraud. She was a victim," Hightower said.

How To Protect Yourself From Foreclosure Fraud
News 8 KFMB - San Diego, CA
The nation's recession has turned millions of hurting homeowners into easy targets for foreclosure fraud. Here in San Diego County, the district attorney has launched an aggressive attack on scam artists.

FDLE Arrests Five in Mortgage Fraud Case
Cape Coral Daily Breeze - Cape Coral, FL
Three Cape Coral residents were among five people arrested today in a mortgage fraud case officials say involved multiple loan applications containing false information.

Tenn. Woman Pleads Guilty In Real Estate Scheme
Forbes - NY
In her plea agreement, the 58-year-old woman admitted to soliciting investments for real estate opportunities in Nevada, Kentucky and Indiana, which never existed.

DA: Ex-Pol, Dominatrix Ran Mortgage Fraud Scheme
newsday.com
A former Suffolk legislator, a Manhattan dominatrix and several other people were charged Wednesday in what Suffolk prosecutors said was a $50 million web of mortgage fraud that began in a Manhattan fetish club and ended with scores of pricey Southampton homes ownerless and in foreclosure.

Central States Mortgage Begins Liquidation
JS Online - Milwaukee, WI
The company that operates Central States Mortgage Co. began the process of liquidating the once-giant mortgage lender when it filed for receivership late Friday.

Attorney to Challenge Office Raid After Arrest in Mortgage Scam Tied to Dominatrix Club
The American Lawyer - USA
Now that a lawyer has been arrested in connection with a bizarre real estate fraud that allegedly recruited straw buyers at a dominatrix club, he has standing to challenge the warrant that authorized a raid on his law office last month, his attorney said Thursday.

Midvale Couple Faces Mortgage Fraud Charges
ABC 4 - Salt Lake City, USA
A Utah couple is facing serious mortgage fraud charges. Brendan and Olivia Cassity of Midvale are accused of running a lucrative mortgage fraud scheme.

Woman Pleads Guilty in Real Estate Scheme
WAAY - Huntsville, AL
Federal authorities say a Clarksville woman has pleaded guilty to a real estate investment fraud scheme that cost investors more than $2.5 million.

Fort Washington Woman Pleads Guilty in $35M+ Mortgage Fraud Scheme
Southern Maryland Online - MD
Joy Jackson, age 41, of Fort Washington, pleaded guilty Wednesday to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud in connection with a mortgage fraud scheme ...

Ridgewood Man Arrested for Allegedly Impersonating his Father-in-Law
NJ.com - NJ
Jerome Singer...allegedly opened up numerous credit cards and a mortgage using his father-in-law's identity and personal information.

Citi Mortgage Releases Personal Information to Strangers
Scientific Frontline - Oklahoma, OK
Ms. Fourkiller thought this was the perfect time to refinance her home from a twenty year loan to ten with interest rates dropping, yet this is when the nightmare began.

FBI Says Fraud Crimes Skyrocket
KITV.com - Honolulu, HI
Mortgage fraud cases alone have shot up from 700 at the height of the boom to more than 2000 cases Wednesday. "There are people that are selling mortgages ...

Legal Woes Mount for Developer
The Durango Herald - Durango, Colorado
"It turned out that he didn't actually own that lot," said Wilson, who added that the property was encumbered by liens.

Attacking Foreclosure-Rescue Scams on More Fronts
Los Angeles Times - USA
State Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown pledged Saturday to investigate and prosecute businesses that charge struggling homeowners fees to help get more favorable terms for repayment of their mortgage loans.

California Attorney General Promises to Tackle homeowner scams
Los Angeles Times - CA
At a congressional hearing in South Los Angeles, Jerry Brown says his office will investigate and prosecute firms that charge fees for bogus mortgage ..

Emeryville Loan Officer Pleads Guilty in Loan Kickback Scheme
Identity Theft Daily - San Diego, CA
In pleading guilty, Mr. Quiazon acknowledged that he knowingly devised a scheme to fraudulently obtain payments of loan kickbacks, commissions and cash outs/extraneous line items from borrowers’ escrow accounts from which he received more than $500,000.

Five Accused of Operating Mortgage Scheme in the Hamptons
New York Times - United States
Five people, including a former Suffolk County legislator, surrendered on Wednesday to face charges that they operated a $50 million mortgage-fraud scheme involving several dozen properties in the Hamptons over the past seven years.

Undercover Operation Results in Fraud Charges Against Professionals in the Mortgage Loan Industry
FOXBusiness - USA
In each of the undercover transactions, a cooperating individual represented that he was selling a house to a nominee buyer who intended to walk away from the property and default on the mortgage after the transaction closed.

Woman Pleads Guilty in Mortgage Fraud Scam
Washington Post - United States
...accused of orchestrating a massive mortgage fraud scheme pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court in Greenbelt, admitting that she played a central role in swindling desperate homeowners out of millions of dollars.

Munster Man Among 24 People Charged in Federal Mortgage Fraud Sting
Munster Times - Munster, IN
A 48-year-old Munster man is among 24 people indicted Wednesday in connection with what federal officials describe as a major crackdown on mortgage fraud in the Chicago area.

Dozens Indicted in Federal Mortgage Fraud Sting
WREX-TV - Rockford, IL
Federal officials announced today in Chicago that two dozen bankers, lawyers, mortgage brokers and other real estate professionals have been indicted in a $4.2 million sting operation designed to crack down on burgeoning mortgage fraud.

Mortgage scams leave millions in foreclosure, not always homeowners' fault
WNDU-TV - South Bend, IN
But before you judge your neighbors for what may appear like their own mistakes, realize many people facing foreclosure are not at fault.

Mortgage "Rescue" Company Sued By Atty. General
CBS 4 - Miami, FL
Hundreds of people crowded outside a building in Miami on Tuesday trying to get their money back from Lincoln Financial Services, a mortgage "rescue" company.

SEC’s Probe into Subprime Mortgages Continues
Housing Wire - USA
The mortgage industry remains squarely in the sights of a series of investigations by the Securities and Exchange Commission, an SEC commissioner said in Congressional testimony last Friday.

Federal Lawsuit Claims Fraud in Dominican Deals
Fox29 WFLX TV - West Palm Beach, Florida
A lawsuit filed in Miami is claiming a father & son business committed fraud through a series of Dominican Republic real estate deals.

Men Ordered to Pay Restitution for Mortgage Scheme
KSL-TV - Salt Lake City, UT
A judge ordered five people who ran a huge mortgage scheme in Provo to repay their victims millions of dollars.

Woman Gets 99 Years for $3 Million Mortgage Scam
Houston Chronicle - United States
Prosecutors said she targeted low-income people whose residential loans were guaranteed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, defrauding the federal government in the process.

Prosecutors Say Falsified Documents Connect Woman To Mortgage Scheme
WSOCtv.com - Charlotte, NC
Testimony on transactions presided over by an indicted real estate attorney Tuesday could prove damaging to the defendant in one of the largest mortgage fraud cases in Charlotte history.

Tougher Penalties Aimed at Appraisal Fraud
Denver Post - Denver, CO
A state bill that increases the penalties for violating real estate appraisal laws has cleared the House and awaits Senate action.

Lawmaker Plans Measure to Block Felons From Getting Mortgage Broker Licenses
JS Online - Milwaukee, WI
Felony drug dealers, embezzlers and thieves would be banned for life from receiving a mortgage broker's license under legislation to be introduced by state Rep. Jon Richards.

Three Utah Men Charged in Mortgage Fraud Scheme
The Salt Lake Tribune - Salt Lake City, UT
Three Utah men have been charged in a $2.9 million mortgage scheme that allegedly took advantage of sloppy lending practices.

Mortgage Fraud Sentencing Delayed for Better Restitution Amount
JS Online - Milwaukee, WI
.S. District Judge J.P. Stadtmueller said that even though it is unlikely restitution will ever be paid - Lock is serving two life sentences for his role in the murders of two men found under concrete in 2005 - it is vital that authorities go through the complex exercise of determining how much lenders lost in what prosecutors have said is a $2 million fraud scheme.

Coming Soon: A Parade of Mortgage Fraudsters
JSOnline - Miwaukee, WI
The judge delayed sentening convicted murderer Michael Lock on a mortgage fraud case to give authorities more time to figure out how much restitution is owed and which lenders should receive it.

Questions, Lawsuit Swirl Around Biloxi Lawyer, Mortgage Companies
SunHerald.com - Mississippi
Now, after a real estate closing was held, money changed hands, and they have already bought another home in Texas, the married Air Force couple has discovered that a check from a title company intended to pay off their $140,000-plus mortgage did not clear.

Bank Sues Individuals over Fraudulent Mortgages
Appraisal Institute
ING Bank, the nation's second-largest thrift, has filed an unusual racketeering lawsuit in federal court, alleging a criminal conspiracy by an escrow agent, a mortgage broker and 10 couples to defraud the bank of at least $6 million through falsified mortgages.

Law Firm Investigating KB Home for Alleged Appraisal Fraud
Appraisal Institute
Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro is investigating KB Home amid several published reports alleging that the homebuilder conspired with Countrywide and its appraisal subsidiary LandSafe to inflate the value of KB homes.

HUD Establishes FastTrack Mortgage Fraud System; Promotes Use of Hotline
Appraisal Institute
At a keynote speech at the Appraisal Institute’s Collateral Matters Congress, Kevin McBride, from the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of the Inspector General, highlighted the department’s criminal and civil investigations into mortgage fraud. “We are currently really focused on mortgage fraud,” McBride said. “Each of our regions is mandated to have a task force.”

GA's High Mortgage Fraud Ranking Could Drop
WABE - Atlanta, GA
Even though Georgia is one of the nation's top states for mortgage fraud, some expect Georgia to drop in future rankings.

Mortgage Fraud Surges in Maryland
Bizjournals.com - Charlotte, NC
The rise in fraud comes amid declining loan originations, suggesting “new times of desperation.

Mortgage Scams Still Out There
Detroit Free Press - United States
Scam artists are busy sifting through public records to find homeowners in distress.

WPa city councilman resigns after mortgage scam
York Daily Record - York, PA
A western Pennsylvania city councilman has resigned from office after being sentenced to three years' probation for participating in a mortgage scheme run by his daughter that cost lenders more than $1 million.

3 Indicted in Mortgage Fraud Scheme
Deseret News - Salt Lake City, UT
A federal grand jury has indicted three people in a mortgage-fraud scheme involving a dozen homes along the Wasatch Front, the latest in a growing problem that has been frustrating federal authorities.

Foreclosure Victims Fight Back
ABC30.com - Fresno, CA
A Fresno man who doesn't want to be identified said he's embarrassed about paying $2500 for foreclosure help and getting nothing for it.

Legal Term of the Week: Foreclosure Rescue Scams
VillageSoup Belfast - ME
It is no secret that the United States is experiencing a foreclosure crisis of epic proportions, and Maine is certainly not immune.

Former South Bend Cop Gets 4½ Years Prison in Mortgage Fraud Scheme
WSBT-TV - South Bend, IN
A federal judge Friday sentenced a former South Bend police officer to four and a half years in prison for orchestrating a mortgage fraud scheme.

Editorial: Madoff: One Wall Street Swindler Down, Many More To Go
San Jose Mercury News - CA
...Last month, California Attorney General Jerry Brown filed 73 charges against a Nevada County real estate broker alleging a massive mortgage fraud.

2 Men Named in Mortgage Fraud Suit
MSNBC - USA
A Medford lawyer and a loan processor from Evesham were alleged participants in a mortgage fraud scheme involving phony investments in urban properties...

Mortgage Fraud on the Rise
Los Angeles Times - CA
California, which had the fourth-highest rate of mortgage fraud in 2007, slipped to eighth place.

Robert Shumake Addresses Real Estate Scams and Mortgage Fraud in Michigan
BigNews.biz - Natick, MA
The downward trend in the real estate market has encouraged mortgage fraud perpetrators to develop and utilize many schemes.

Brooklyn has Real Estate, Mortgage Hotline
EmpireStateNews.net - Newburgh, New York
Kings County District Attorney Charles Hynes Monday announced the creation of a telephone hotline victims can use to contact the District Attorney’s new Mortgage Fraud Unit. The 12-person unit will investigate deed fraud, mortgage fraud, predatory lending and other real estate-related fraud.

Interthinx(R) Bolsters Identity Theft Detection
MarketWatch - USA
Based on the disturbing trend of identity theft found in mortgage loan applications, Interthinx(R) has enhanced the Identity Verification feature in FraudGUARD(R) with a more robust set of identity data and improved analytics for superior fraud detection.

Florida 2nd in Nation for Mortgage Fraud
Sun-Sentinel.com - Fort Lauderdale, FL
Mortgage fraud incidents hit an all-time high, rising 26 percent from 2007 to 2008, with Florida ranking second in the nation for the number of reported cases, according to a report released Monday by the Mortgage Asset Research Institute.

Mortgage Fraud Up As Credit Tightens
Washington Post - Washington, DC
Mortgage fraud jumped by 26 percent last year even though fewer loans were issued nationwide, and Maryland ranked among the top five states with the most serious problems, according to an industry study released yesterday.

ISBA: Foreclosure Scams Proliferate in Tough Economy
Madison County Record - Edwardsville, IL
The problem is that the help is actually a scam which could lead to even greater financial difficulties for you and your family.

Reports of Mortgage Fraud Jump 26% in Past Year
USA Today - USA
The mortgage industry, applying far more scrutiny after a tidal wave of defaults, reported a record number of mortgage fraud incidents last year, with Rhode Island making its first appearance as the nation's top fraud hot spot.

Amid Subprime Rush, Swindlers Snatched $4 Million
jsonline.com - Milwaukee, WI
James Lytle and Martin Valadez met in the Walworth County Jail in 2001...Three years later they were business partners - tapping the mushrooming subprime mortgage market for $4 million in fraudulent loans.

Fraud Hits FHA Loans
Baltimore Sun - United States
Fraud has tainted the FHA loan process - and strong steps must be taken in response.

Criminal Past no Barrier to Mortgage Field
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - Milwaukee, WI
"It's extremely lucrative and you are less likely to be prosecuted and less likely to be shot at," said Rachel Dollar, a California attorney who tracks mortgage crime nationally for her Mortgagefraudblog.com Web site.

Schumer and Hynes Announce New Real Estate Fraud Unit
Brooklyn Daily Eagle - Brooklyn, NY
The new unit will address the recent flood of mortgage fraud cases across Brooklyn that are plaguing homeowners in the borough.

Mortgage Foreclosure Scam and Tsunami Continues Unabated
NewsBlaze - Folsom, CA
The Realtors also were the ones responsible for actually selling a great many of these loans to unsuspecting home buyers in these subprime offerings also for added commissions pushing and promoting higher end housing due to the initial lower interest rates.

Two Sacramento-Area Men Charged in Mortgage Scheme
Sacramento Business Journal - Sacramento, CA
The pair made up facts and got a Florida-based mortgage company to make them into a correspondent lending relationship, according to the U.S. Attorney's office.

Florida's Tops in Mortgage Fraud...or Maybe Not
Tampabay.com - St. Petersburg, FL
On Monday, the Mortgage Bankers Association will release a 2008 report detailing the worst states for funny home loans.

Police: Couple Charged With Mortgage Fraud
WFMY News 2 - Greensboro, NC
Officers with the Winston-Salem Police Department arrested a couple charged with Mortgage Fraud. Investigators recived a report of false pretense at the Branch Banking & Trust on Reynolda Road in Novemember.

2 men named in mortgage fraud suit
MSNBC - USA
A Medford lawyer and a loan processor from Evesham were alleged participants in a mortgage fraud scheme involving phony investments in urban properties...

Sevierville Real Estate Agent Accused of Defrauding Investors
WHNT - Huntsville, AL
A Sevierville real estate agent is facing theft charges in a land fraud scheme.

Local Couple First To Be Charged Under New Mortgage Law
MSNBC - USA
Two Winston-Salem residents are the first to be arrested locally under a mortgage fraud prevention law passed in 2007.

3 Sentenced in SW Idaho Bank Fraud Case
Fox 12 Boise - Nampa, ID
Their scheme unraveled in 2006 when the bank discovered projects weren't being finished because money was being siphoned off.

Real-Estate Agent Calls Fraud Charges Groundless
The Coloradoan - Fort Collins, CO
The 66-year-old Stansfield, a Fort Collins real-estate agent was arrested March 2 and has since posted a $100,000 property bond.

Foreclosure Scams
ABC30.com - Fresno, CA
It's called loan modification fraud. Scam artists target people facing foreclosure.

Suspect Arrested in Alleged Mortgage Fraud
Bizjournals.com - Charlotte, NC
Jeffrey Herald, accused of providing unlicensed legal and mortgage services in Arizona and seven other states, was arrested after failing to appear in court...

Culp Scheduled to be Sentenced for Mortgage Scam
WNDU-TV - South Bend, IN
A former South Bend police officer is scheduled to appear in court today to be sentenced for a mortgage lending scam.

Fort Washington Man Charged in Mortgage Fraud Scheme
Southern Maryland Online - MD
Venson allegedly misrepresented and concealed the true purchase price, his arrangement with the straw buyer and other material information from the mortgage lender.

New Jersey Files Fraud Lawsuits...
NJ.com - NJ
The suit charges the Gendels, along with six other defendants, with using deception -- and the credit information of their unwitting victims - to obtain fraudulent mortgage loans and turn a profit via the sale of urban properties at grossly inflated prices.

Valley Real Estate Scam
ABC30.com - Fresno, CA
A real estate scam has surfaced in the valley. Some Valley residents came close to being victimized.

Watson Coleman Lauds Administration For Mortgage Fraud Focus
PolitickerNJ - NJ
Assembly Majority Leader Bonnie Watson Coleman today lauded efforts by Gov. Jon S. Corzine’s administration to combat mortgage fraud.

Appraisal Institute Urges Congress to Address Feeble Oversight
RisMedia.com - Norwalk, CT
Calling current regulatory oversight “feeble,” the Appraisal Institute called upon Congress to provide state and federal appraisal oversight agencies with greater enforcement power, the lack of which has contributed significantly to mortgage fraud.

Two Real Estate Appraisers Agree to Sanctions in Erie Home Mortgage Scam
PR Newswire - New York, NY
Secretary of the Commonwealth Pedro A. Cortes today said Natalie Rose Hurlburt and Kristopher M. Porter have agreed to serious disciplinary sanctions for their roles in an Erie home mortgage scam.

Scam Artists Target Struggling Homeowners
News10.net - Sacramento, CA
Scam artists are defrauding some homeowners of thousands of dollars for non-existent loan modification services, warns California Attorney General Jerry Brown.

Cobos Gets 18 Months in Prison For Bank Fraud Scheme
Mountain Home News - Mountain Home, ID
Barbara Cobos of Mountain Home has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for her role in a bank fraud scheme at her place of employment, Zion Bank in Eagle.

Fort Collins real estate Agent Charged With Theft, Securities Fraud
The Coloradoan - Fort Collins, CO
A Fort Collins realty company owner has been arrested and charged with numerous counts of theft and securities fraud after allegedly stealing money from 16 people who were trying to purchase water rights, the Larimer County District Attorney's Office announced this morning.

Utah: Where The Con Is On
The Salt Lake Tribune - Salt Lake City, Utah
Fraud prosecutions in Utah reached record highs last year, and for proof you only have to look as far as the Provo River Bottoms neighborhood.

Partner gets 7 years in mortgage fraud case
Minneapolis Star Tribune - Minneapolis, MN
A Greenwood man convicted in a $6 million suburban mortgage fraud scheme received the same seven-year prison sentence Wednesday as his codefendant, with a Hennepin County District judge agreeing to free both men on bail pending appeals.

Woman Chooses 4-Year Sentence In Fraud Scheme
MSNBC - USA
A Central Ohio woman who pleaded guilty last week to mortgage fraud was expected to withdraw her plea on Monday.

NC Real Estate Appraiser Pleads Guilty in Fraud
WRAL.com - Raleigh, NC
A North Carolina real estate appraiser has pleaded guilty to a federal charge for his role in a mortgage fraud case involving about $15 million in loans.

Three Charged in Mortgage Fraud in Wayne County
WRAL.com - Raleigh, NC
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy has charged three people she claims were involved in a real estate mortgage fraud scheme.

Three Charged in Mortgage Fraud in Wayne County
DetNews.com - Detroit, MI
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy has charged three people she claims were involved in a real estate mortgage fraud scheme.

Financial Fraud Is Focus of Attack by Prosecutors
New York Times - United States
Across the country, attorneys general have already begun indicting dozens of loan processors,

Head Of Foreclosure Rescue Company Arrested
San Jose Mercury News - CA
State authorities say they have arrested a former talk show host on charges related to a foreclosure rescue scam.

Dealing With Signs of Fraud in FHA Loans
Washington Post - United States
Most alarming was their finding that in the past year, the number of borrowers who failed to make a single payment before defaulting on the loans has nearly tripled.

Family Blames Attorney for Foreclosure
KGET 17 - Bakersfield, CA
So when a lawyer offered to end their mortgage woes, they say they made what they now call a big mistake.

Valley Couple Probed for Alleged Real Estate Fraud
Arizona Republic - Phoenix, AZ
The Arizona Corporation Commission appears to have launched an investigation into a West Valley couple accused of owing millions of dollars to more than a dozen real estate investors and agents.

Richmond-Area Branch Manager for Mortgage Firm Charged in Fraud
Richmond Times Dispatch - Richmond, VA
A former Richmond-area branch manager for a mortgage firm has been charged with defrauding five mortgage companies and investors of up to $1.4 million.

All-New Cyber Scams to Rip You Off
abc7.com - Los Angeles, CA
"We see mortgage fraud and debt elimination schemes, work at home [schemes]," said Pavelites.

Ontario Man of Eight Charged with Mortgage Loan Fraud
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin - Ontario, CA
An Ontario man was one of eight people accused of being involved with a loan-modification fraud scam based in San Bernardino that may have victimized hundreds of homeowners.

Woman, 84, May Lose House in Alleged Fraud Case
Los Angeles Times - CA
Beginning in 2006, police said, Powell took out fraudulent loans on Wakefield’s home and opened bank accounts in her name, using the money to buy and sell cars — including Wakefield’s — among other purchases.

Foreclosure Rescue Scams on the Rise as Economic Crisis Deepens
Medill Reports - Chicago, IL
As if going into foreclosure isn’t bad enough, homeowners in distress now have something else to worry about: foreclosure rescue scams.

OC Supervisors OK Realty Prosecution Fund
Los Angeles Times - CA
The Orange County Board of Supervisors has approved a service fee to establish a Real Estate Fraud Prosecution Trust Fund.

Mortgage Company Suspends Operations
JS Online - Milwaukee, Wisconsin
In a move that shocked customers, employees and state regulators, beleaguered Wauwatosa mortgage lending giant Central States Mortgage Co. has suddenly closed its doors.

Ex-Bank VP Admits to Fraud
Billings Gazette - MT
In all, Becker managed about 10 different loans and lines of credit and "cycled millions of dollars in loan proceeds" through a sophisticated scheme, Archer said.

Ex-Jerico Lawyer Gets 61/2 Years for $8M Ponzi Scheme
Newsday - Long Island, NY
The Ponzi scheme involved promising his victims up to 195 percent interest by investing in bridge loans on imaginary real-estate transactions, prosecutors said.

Mortgage Fraud Case Poses Federal Quandary
New York Times - United States
“Our position on stated income loans is that a lot of people say that someone else was responsible for the fraud,”

Mortgage Broker Accused of Fraud
Southtown Star - Chicago, IL
Brandon Ellington, despite having filed bankruptcy three times, was able to get a mortgage for $505,000 - the house's full purchase price and $95,000 more than what the place sold for 14 months earlier.

Obama's "Home Foreclosure Rescue Package" Too Little, Too Late
NewsBlaze - Folsom, CA
The American public by and large has been scared off homeownership and entering into any new debt due to the uncertainly of this economy at the present time. The former owners of homes which were foreclosed upon...have credit ratings that preclude them from even renting an apartment, much less purchasing another home.

Attorney General Brown Sends Perpetrators of Loan Modification Fraud to Prison
Imperial Valley News - Holtville, CA
Ring members promised victims they would renegotiate their mortgages and reduce monthly payments. They demanded an up-front fee, ranging from $1,500 to $5,000, to participate in the loan-modification program.

Councilman Gioia Warns Against Foreclosure Scams
The Epoch Times - New York, NY
These scams follow a general pattern. They target homeowners in danger of foreclosure and offer help in exchange for a fee. However, after money is taken, little or no help is given in return, which is illegal...

Paying for Your Loan? Think Again
ABC News - USA
...I want to tell you about yet another scam that is always widespread but is likely to grow during tight economic times: the advance-fee loan.

More FHA-Backed Mortgages Default Without A Single Payment
Free Internet Press - New York, NY
Many borrowers are defaulting as quickly as they take out the loans.

Utah Fraud Prosecutions Hit 11-Year High
LocalNews8.com - Idaho Falls, ID
Fraud prosecutions in Utah reached an 11-year-high in 2008.

Mortgage Scam
WGBA-TV - Green Bay, WI
It's a possible scam that's hitting homeowners when they're on the brink of foreclosure. "Modify your mortgage and save your home"...it sounds like a helping hand, but people are using it to put you even deeper in debt.

Officials Warn of Home Scams
The Union Leader - Manchester, NH
As struggling New Hampshire homeowners try to figure out whether the new federal housing plan can help them, officials here are warning folks not to fall for scam artists who offer help but steal your money.

Federal Oversight of Lenders Found Lax Compared With State
Seatlepi.com
The state takes a much tougher stand against mortgage lenders accused of improprieties than the federal government does, a P-I review found.

Crime no Barrier for Loan Sellers
Seatlepi.com
Numerous convicts -- including embezzlers, robbers, meth dealers and rapists -- sold mortgage loans to unsuspecting homeowners in Washington in recent years while state lawmakers and members of Congress debated and tabled requirements for licensing and background checks, records show.

Mortgage Sellers Denied Licenses by State
Seatlepi.com
Here are samples of the loan originators who turned out to have criminal records when they applied for state licensing.

The Underlying Fraud in Banking
istockAnalyst.com - Salem, OR
A "mortgage" is a loan made against real property with the original intent that the borrower will pay as agreed under an amortization schedule to maturity, interrupted only by significant life events such as relocation, unemployment leading to bankruptcy, divorce or serious medical illness.

Pastor Indicted for Theft from Church
Church Solutions - Phoenix, AZ
The lawsuit alleged that Thompson took out a third mortgage on the church for $130,000 and took an additional $800,000 for an “energies scheme.”

Miami-Dade Officials Seek National Task Force on Mortgage Fraud
MiamiHerald.com - Miami, FL
Miami-Dade officials made the rounds of Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, pushing for the creation of a nationwide mortgage fraud task force modeled after the county's effort.

Family Allowed To Remain In Home As Mortgage Fraud Case Proceeds
Honolulu Star-Bulletin - Honolulu, HI
Whatever happened to Debbie Aurelio and her family, who lost title to their Ewa Beach home and faced eviction after allegedly being swindled by mortgage scammers?

FBI Looking At Real Estate Dealings By Former Hillsborough Elections Supervisor Buddy Johnson
Tampabay.com - St. Petersburg, FL
This month, federal agents contacted Jack T. Gibbs, a Plant City appraiser who examined a 19.98-acre tract off Thonotosassa Road that Johnson bought in March 2007.

Former Loan Office Charged With Mortgage Fraud
OregonLive.com
A former loan officer has been charged with mortgage fraud for $1.5 million in loan applications that included one for his girlfriend submitted without her knowledge.

Clinic Begins To Stem Mortgage Mess
Queens Tribune - New York, NY
Lynette Velasco didn’t think that it could happen to her. She signed up for what she thought was a debt management program; instead, she was being swindled.

Marcus & Millichap Defendants Alleged To Have Created Almost Perfect Real Estate Fraud
Examiner.com - USA
Collectively, they are accused of causing losses that exceed $50 million involving 22 properties.

St. Louis County Man Indicted For Fraud
Bizjournals.com - Charlotte, NC
A St. Louis County man was indicted on bank fraud charges after overstating his income on his home mortgage application...

FBI Tapped Two Mortgage Brokers Accused of Stealing Money
KHON2 - Honolulu, HI
Four people have been indicted by a federal grand jury for a scheme that stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from banks and homeowners struggling to make mortgage payments.

Trial Set In Mortgage Fraud Case
Honolulu Advertiser - Honolulu, HI
The top two executives of a Honolulu mortgage company accused of orchestrating a foreclosure bailout scheme that stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from banks and distressed homeowners pleaded not guilty in federal court...

Lawmakers Turn Attention To Mortgage Fraud
Inman.com - Emeryville, CA
As the government ramps up to spend trillions of dollars to revive the economy, loopholes in federal law and a shortage of FBI agents assigned to investigate white-collar crime could lead to a big payday for perpetrators of mortgage fraud and other schemes.

Mortgage Industry, Appraisers Chafe At New Rules
Fort Worth Business Press - Fort Worth, TX
Effective May 1, mortgage brokers can no longer order appraisals.

Mortgage Fraud: A Scourge of the 21st Century?
Insurance News Net - Harrisburg, PA
The FBI has defined mortgage fraud as "the intentional misstatement, misrepresentation, or omission by an applicant or other interested party, relied upon by a lender or underwriter to provide funding for, to purchase, or to insure a mortgage loan."

Central States Mortgage Sues Founder, Former Execs on Fraud Claims
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - WI
Central States Mortgage Co., one of the largest mortgage bankers in Wisconsin, has accused its founder and former chief executive officer along with four other former top employees of racketeering in a lawsuit that also alleges the five conspired to defraud the company of at least $15 million.

Mortgage Fraud Insider Apologizes On Company Web Site
News10.net - Sacramento, CA
The managing broker behind a failed mortgage operation posted a rambling essay on the company's Web site describing his years of fraudulent activity and asking for forgiveness.

Guess Who Got Left With a $3.59 Million Foreclosure?
Huntington Homes
When Edward Seung Ok pleaded guilty to his part in a $12 million mortgage fraud ring, the feds took his fancy house... as part of the deal.

FBI Saw Mortgage Fraud Early
Seattle Post Intelligencer - USA
The FBI was aware for years of "pervasive and growing" fraud in the mortgage industry that eventually contributed to America's financial meltdown, but did not take definitive action to stop it.

Ginnie Mae Offering Backstop On Mortgage Fraud
San Diego Daily Transcript - San Diego,CA
Ginnie Mae, the U.S. agency that guarantees mortgage bonds, is seeking to help the federal insurance programs that feed its business catch fraud and other sources of potential losses, President Joseph Murin said.

Mortgage Fraud Jumps by 45%
Beacon Media News - Arcadia, Monrovia, Sierra Madre, Pasadena, California
Reported incidents of mortgage fraud in the U.S. increased by 45 percent on fewer loan applications in the second quarter of 2008 from a year ago, according to a new report released today by the Mortgage Asset Research Institute...

Loan Fraud Seen on the Rise
New York Times - New York, NY
Rachel Dollar, a lawyer from Santa Rosa, Calif., who specializes in mortgage fraud, said that many of the fraud incidents had probably occurred in 2006 and early 2007, when lending restrictions were far more lenient than they are now.

NYC Lawyer Accused Of $380M Scam Argues For Bail
Boston Globe - United States
A prominent lawyer accused of cheating hedge funds in a $380 million investment ruse argued to be freed on bail Thursday, saying in court documents he's no risk to flee because his U.S. ties are strong and his foreign connections are weak.

The Jackson Socialite, her home... and the $900,000
Jackson Jambalaya
A Jackson Jambalaya investigation reveals mortgage fraud probably took place when Ms. Harmon's Jackson, MS home was sold in 2006.

DA: 1 of 3 Arrested in Major Foreclosure Scam
MSNBC - USA
UPDATED: One of three suspects wanted in connection with a foreclosure fraud scam that gained national attention was arrested Friday.

Mortgage Fraud: Beware the Wolf (Loan Officer) in Sheep's Clothing
24-7PressRelease.com - USA
US consumers looking to refinance their homes or to secure a home loan to purchase their dream homes would be well advised to educate themselves...

Internet Scammer Sells Cape Coral Residential Lot For $18,000
The News-Press - Fort Myers, FL
Because she had title insurance, Kunda will probably get back her money from the 2007 purchase, but the incident highlights cracks in the real estate market and the risk from international scammers who are growing more sophisticated.

Prosecutors Busy With Fraud Cases
Daytona Beach News-Journal - Daytona Beach, FL
The U.S. Justice Department has formed more than 40 mortgage fraud task forces nationwide as prosecutors and investigators struggle with a flood of mortgage-related criminal cases. The FBI reports that its mortgage-fraud caseload has more than doubled in three years to about 1,600 investigations that have cost lenders at least $4 billion. About 200 FBI agents are assigned to the cases, up from 120 a year ago.

Yanchek may take plea deal
Herald Tribune
Sarasota attorney John Yanchek is expected to plead guilty to mortgage fraud next week, statements from a federal prosecutor and the judge presiding over the high-profile criminal case seem to indicate.

Bear Stearns Execs Trial Slated for September
News Inferno
Two former Bear Stearns hedge fund executives are slated to go to trial in September over charges that they lied to investors about two of the funds they managed

Rockford, Chicago lead state in mortgage fraud
Rockford Register Star
Reported incidents of mortgage fraud grew by 45 percent in the second quarter compared with the year-ago period.

Report Finds Tampa No. 2 In Florida For Iffy Mortgages
Tampa Bay Online
In a state that leads the nation in mortgage fraud, Tampa had the second most cases of suspicious loan activity of any Florida city, according to a report released this morning from the Reston, Va.-based Mortgage Asset Research Institute.

Mortgage Fraud Jumps by 45% on Fewer Loan Applications in U.S., Per... MARI
Cloud Computing Journal
Key findings from the MARI Quarterly Fraud Report include that fraud most often occurs at the beginning of the loan process. More than 65 percent of fraud incidents are attributed to "General Application Misrepresentation"

Seven Are Accused Of Identity Theft And Mortage Fraud
The Star Ledger, New Jersey
Seven people have been arrested in connection with an international identity-theft scheme that targeted home equity lines of credit and siphoned at least $2.5 million away from dozens of banks, including more than 10 in New Jersey, according to documents unsealed today.

Suthers Cracks Down On Mortgage Fraud
Rocky Mountain News - Denver, CO
Suther’s office also indicted 10 individuals last March in an $11 million mortgage fraud ring involving 34 local properties...Several other investigations of mortgage fraud are ongoing.

Tech Roundup: Interthinx Tackles Conflict-of-Interest Fraud
HousingWire.com
Agoura Hills, Calif.-based Interthinx, Inc., a provider of risk mitigation and regulatory compliance tools, announced last week the addition of 21 new conflict-of-interest alerts within its FraudGUARD scoring system that identify possible collusion between loan participants.

Sex, Lies, and Subprime Mortgages
BusinessWeek
The sexual favors, whistleblower intimidation, and routine fraud behind the fiasco that has triggered the global financial crisis

More Residents Worry About Mortgage Fraud
Killeen Daily Herald - Killeen, TX
Special Agent Matthew Gravelle is an experienced fraud investigator in the Austin office of the FBI's San Antonio Division. During the last five years, mortgage fraud cases have piled up because of the collapsing mortgage market.

Anti-Mortgage Fraud Law Jams Up Realtors
Bizjournals.com - Charlotte, NC
The situation mainly affects short sales, where the asking price is lower than what the homeowner owes on the mortgage. If the homeowner is 60 days delinquent on payments, the home may be considered a “distressed property” under the state Mortgage Rescue Fraud Prevention Act that took effect July 1.

Hearing Delayed for 2 Mortgage Brokers Accused of Fraud
Las Vegas Sun - Las Vegas, NV
The preliminary hearing for two Henderson residents accused of mortgage fraud has been pushed back to March because of the defense attorney's involvement in the O.J. Simpson trial in October.

Foreclosure Fallout: Avoid Mortgage Scams, Fraudulent Schemes
KOLD-TV - Tucson, AZ
Thousands of people in Pima County are facing foreclosure...The U.S. Justice Department is cracking down on mortgage scams. So far this year, more than 400 people have been charged with fraud and other mortgage related crimes.

Task Force Will Fight Mortgage Fraud
St. Louis Post-Dispatch - MO
The U.S. attorney's office in St. Louis announced Wednesday that it was forming a task force to combat mortgage fraud. The effort is intended to "cast a broader net so that we can catch more of these criminals and put them behind bars," U.S. Attorney Catherine Hanaway said in a prepared statement.

Interthinx(R) Identifies Potential Collusion in Mortgage Applications
MarketWatch - USA
Interthinx(R) announces the addition of 21 new conflict-of-interest alerts within its proven FraudGUARD(R) scoring system that identify possible collusion between loan participants. The technology advancement will help lenders identify "non-arms length" mortgage transactions -- a serious indicator of potential mortgage fraud.

Viewpoint: Foreclosure Moratoriums, and Interpreting the Truth
Housing Wire - USA
If you read the headlines, you’d think Citigroup is putting a moratorium on most foreclosures nationwide...There’s just one problem: that’s not what Citigroup really said.

Subprime Mortgages Fueled Fraud, Foreclosures
Palm Beach Post - FL
Florida is first in mortgage fraud and second in foreclosures. From flipping scams involving all facets of the industry to loan originators and borrowers fabricating income, the problems are abundant. Mortgage fraud is nothing new. So why does America continue to see an implosion in the banking and lending industries and number of foreclosures? The answer is subprime mortgages.

HUD Selects ValuFinders to Perform REO Appraisal Reviews
DSNews.com - Hurst, TX
HUD has chosen ValuFinders to review and analyze the original appraisals for the purpose of certifying that the value is credible and supported, as well as to protect against fraud and undue influence exerted during the appraisal process.

Mortgage Fraud Falls
SYS-CON Brasil (Assinatura) - NJ
"The decrease in mortgage fraud tracked during the third quarter reflected a second-quarter surge resulting from stepped up efforts by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of Justice as part of Operation Malicious Mortgage," said MortgageDaily.com Publisher Sam Garcia.

Idaho AG Publishes Handbook On Mortgage Fraud
Idaho Attorney General
The manual includes information about mortgage fraud, foreclosure rescue schemes, and foreclosure prevention

Attorney General Proposes Changes To State Foreclosure Law
Bizjournals.com - Charlotte, NC
...This is the latest effort by the Texas Attorney General’s office to aid homeowners affected by the current mortgage crisis. Under the Deceptive Trade Practices Act, the office has prosecuted a variety of deceptive loan practices, including title-related scams, fraudulent refinancing ploys and other mortgage-related fraud.

Feds Step Up Mortgage Fraud Investigations
Bizmology - Austin, TX
The FBI says that each mortgage fraud scheme contains some type of “material misstatements, misrepresentation or omission relied upon by an underwriter or lender to fund, purchase or insure a loan.”

Mortgage and Foreclosure Fraud Mushroom In The Wake Of Housing Bubble
Citizen Economists - Honolulu, HI
We know mortgage fraud mushroomed during the boom times of subprime loans. Yet it continues to hover just off the main radar screen, remaining conveniently just outside of public awareness.

F.B.I. Struggles to Handle Financial Fraud Cases
New York Times - United States
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is struggling to find enough agents and resources to investigate criminal wrongdoing tied to the country’s economic crisis, according to current and former bureau officials.

Expert Source at Interthinx Shares Insight on Government Bailout Chance of Success
MarketWatch - USA
Ann Fulmer, vice president for Agoura Hills, Calif.-based Interthinx, has analyzed the government's bailout plan and has reason to believe that mortgage fraud poses a significant risk to its long-term success.

Feds Turn Attention to Mortgage Fraud
Housing Wire - USA
Mounting pressure to investigate mortgage fraud has led federal prosecutors and investigators to open 151 criminal mortgage fraud cases through October...

New Twist On Mortgage Fraud: Did Rent Money 'Prop It All Up'?
Minneapolis Star Tribune - Minneapolis, MN
Federal officials are investigating a Hastings couple in a new twist on mortgage fraud -- converting apartment buildings in Rochester, Sauk Rapids and Spicer into condominiums and then allegedly using phony buyers and bogus bank records to secure more than $5.5 million in financing.

Real Estate Fraud Widespread, Insider Q&A Told
Orange County Register- California
As head of the California Department of Real Estate, it’s Davi’s responsibility to oversee the licensing and regulation of real estate agents and to investigate complaints.

Complaints Against Ohio Real-Estate Agents Rise
Cincinnati.com - Cincinnati, OH
Some of the most common complaints involve buyers upset over undisclosed property problems and agents not doing the marketing they had promised. There's also been an increase in mortgage fraud and criminal allegations.

Millions At Risk Of Foreclosure Fraud
Inland Empire News - Riverside, CA
The reason Carter, 55, is facing eviction, she says, is that she fell for a high-stakes scam that’s sweeping the nation, preying on the 1 in 11 consumers who are either behind on their mortgage payments or already in foreclosure.

Florida Comes Clean, Allowed Criminals to Enter Mortgage Industry, Prey on Consumers
By The Liput Group
In a stinging critique of the state's oversight of the mortgage industry, top Florida investigators found that state regulators failed to alert police agencies to crooked mortgage brokerages, ignored citizen complaints and allowed hundreds of people with criminal histories to peddle loans.

FBI's Mortgage Fraud Caseload Grows To 24
Toronto Star - Ontario, Canada
The FBI is investigating 24 cases of potential corporate fraud related to mortgage lending, up from 21 cases disclosed by the bureau in July, bureau director Robert Mueller told Congress yesterday.

Convicted Appraiser Nicolo Back In Custody
MPNnow.com - Rochester, NY
John Nicolo, who was convicted in a widespread kickback scheme involving Eastman Kodak Co. and a former Monroe County assessor, is back in police custody after he allegedly violated the conditions of his release.

Mortgage Crisis Leads To An Increase In Scams
WSBT-TV - South Bend, IN
When it comes to perpetrating a scam or a fraud some tools used are a gun, or a fist, or a knife,” Zultanski said. “Mortgage is another avenue to commit a fraud.”

Mortgage Firm Countrywide, In Response To Alleged Data Breach, Offers Free Credit Monitoring
Los Angeles Times - CA
Countrywide Financial Corp. is offering two years of free credit monitoring to customers whose sensitive personal information, including Social Security numbers, allegedly was stolen from the home lender's computer files.

Caught in ID Theft's 'Horrible Web'
Columbian - Clark County, Washington
A woman took Carpenter's professional identity as a real estate appraiser, using Carpenter's name and license number. She even appraised commercial and million-dollar properties that Carpenter, a residential appraiser, isn't licensed to do.

Top 10 Riskiest Areas for Mortgage Loans
U.S. News & World Report - Washington, DC
First American CoreLogic recently released a study that ranks America's top 10 riskiest areas in which to make a home loan.

Report: Gov't May Soon Back Fannie, Freddie
The Associated Press
Shares of mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac tumbled in after-hours trading Friday following a report by The Wall Street Journal that the government may soon step in to provide a financial boost to the two companies.

Mortgage Fraud Skyrockets, Demand Grows for Forensic Services
A.E. Feldman - New York, NY
The most common type of fraud pertains to employment history and income, according to the MARI report.

On Mortgage Fraud: McCain vs. Obama
InjuryBoard.com - Tampa, FL
Below are the two candidates' stances on "Mortgage Fraud."

Letter to the Editor Regarding the Mortgage Crisis
FBI
In the boom and bust of the mortgage business, to suggest that making more arrests would have averted the mortgage crisis is to confuse the root cause with the side-effects. It is not a fair or realistic assessment.

Nicolo Out Of Jail — For Now
MPNnow.com - Rochester, NY
A real-estate appraiser who was convicted in a multi-million dollar kickback conspiracy has been let out of jail, for now.

Mortgage Fraud Is On The Rise, Infecting The GSEs
Seeking Alpha - New York, NY
The Mortgage Asset Research Institute came out with its quarterly report which showed mortgage fraud is on the rise.

Interthinx(R) Offers FHA Compliance Support
MarketWatch - USA
Interthinx(R) now offers specific FHA Requirement Solutions to help lenders ensure compliant FHA lending programs.

Foreclosure Predictions And Dwindling Sales
Boston Globe - United States
...only about 100 agents delved into mortgage fraud. The Times reported that the agency had about 1,000 agents working on the S&L failure in the 1980s.

Mortgage Fraud Investigations Face Hurdles
Bizjournals.com - Charlotte, NC
The state needs more weapons in its arsenal to deal with mortgage fraud -- so says the state's top attorney, Terry Goddard.

Mortgage Fraud Reports Jump 42% in US, MARI Finds
MarketWatch - USA
Florida continues to lead all states in mortgage fraud, according to the "MARI Quarterly Fraud Report" on the current state of residential mortgage fraud and misrepresentation in the United States. In fact, Florida accounted for 24 percent of all properties with material misrepresentation submitted by MARI subscribers for loans originated during the first quarter of 2008.

Mortgage Fraud Still Soaring
CNNMoney.com - USA
With the housing market in turmoil and lending standards tougher than ever, you'd think that the kind of unscrupulous activity that helped plunge the industry into crisis would be a thing of the past...You'd be wrong. Mortgage fraud is still soaring...

Lindsey Hunter, A Victim Or A Perpetrator Of Mortgage Fraud?
MLive.com - MI
The FBI and Wayne County are investigating a fraud case that involves Lindsey Hunter and a company Hunter is a partner in.

FBI Saw Threat Of Mortgage Crisis
Los Angeles Times - CA
Long before the mortgage crisis began rocking Main Street and Wall Street, a top FBI official made a chilling, if little-noticed, prediction: The booming mortgage business, fueled by low interest rates and soaring home values, was starting to attract shady operators and billions in losses were possible.

Ill. Sweeps Lending Companies For Law Compliance
Chicago Tribune - United States
Twenty-two examiners will audit randomly selected loan files from the sweep that ended Wednesday...Officials say the Mortgage Fraud Task Force is looking for five things.

Fraud Worsens Foreclosure Crisis
The Washington Independent - Washington, DC
To make it worse, foreclosures aren't even the biggest problem right now. As more people lose their homes, foreclosure fraud scams have spiked, with Prince George's recording the most cases of fraud in Maryland, said state mortgage fraud investigator Stephen Prozeralik.

FDIC Restructuring Some IndyMac Loans
Washington Post - United States
Making the calculations tougher is that some troubled loans involve fraud, he said. "There are a lot of mortgages out there where foreclosure will be the best outcome," Ely said. "It will be interesting to see how this experiment will turn out."

Dare Sentenced; Says 'Sorry For Decisions'
WRGB - Albany, NY
After postponement, former Albany community leader Aaron Dare was finally sentenced to five and a quarter years in prison for his defrauding people out of almost $2 million in a real estate scam.

MORTGAGE FRAUD How to Avoid Becoming a Victim
FBI.gov
You can’t read a newspaper or watch the evening news these days without seeing stories about the current mortgage crisis and the fraud that goes along with it.

Estimate: 1,300 Foreclosures Every Business Day in California
Los Angeles Times - CA
Banks and lenders have now foreclosed on $100 billion worth of California homes over the past two years, and are foreclosing at the rate of 1,300 houses every business day, according to a new report from ForeclosureRadar.com.

The Mortgage Asset Research Institute Launches Enhanced Mortgage Fraud Tool
DSNews.com - Hurst, TX
...this mortgage tool is designed to “assist lenders in discovering fraudulent loan applications prior to funding through a combination of comparative loan application analysis and Identity Risk Management tools.”

Florida Mortgage Regulator Resigns Under Fire
BusinessWeek - USA
Florida's top mortgage industry regulator resigned Tuesday amid allegations his agency let thousands of convicted criminals, including bank robbers and racketeers, work in the home loan business.

Missouri AG Launches Anti-Fraud Operation
Mortgageorb - Oxford, CT
Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon has launched Operation Stealing Home, an initiative designed to stop those who are preying on Missouri homeowners left vulnerable to mortgage fraud because they are facing foreclosure or other financial difficulties.

Forged Letter Claim Electrifies Crisp & Cole Case
Bakersfield Californian - Bakersfield, CA
A local accountant’s signature was forged to help David Crisp’s wife get a loan in 2006, according to testimony Wednesday in the ongoing license hearings of former Crisp & Cole Real Estate principals Crisp, 28, and Carl Cole, 61.

Malibu Investors Left High And Dry
LA Times - Los Angeles, CA
State law enforcement officials are investigating whether 70 retirees and other investors in Northern California were bilked when they put up $6.4 million for construction loans on Malibu land that may be undevelopable.

State Comes Out Swinging In Hearing Against Crisp & Cole Realtors
Bakersfield Now - Bakersfield, CA
The Chief Executive Officer of Kirkwood Financial mortgage bank in Victorville testified he would have never approved two loans totaling $1.7 million dollars to a client of Crisp & Cole Realty had he known the woman, Leslie Sluga was the mother-in-law of David Crisp.

IndyMac Is Included In FBI Fraud Inquiry
Wall Street Journal - USA
Failed lender IndyMac Bank is among nearly two dozen banks under scrutiny by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for possible mortgage fraud, U.S. officials said.

Avoiding Mortgage Fraud
ABC7Chicago.com - IL
As the mortgage market and economy continues to be weak, there's been a huge rise in the number of mortgage fraud cases reported, and a 48% jump in foreclosures last month, alone. Illinois Attorney General, Lisa Madigan, just filed a lawsuit against Countrywide, the nation's largest mortgage lender, for issuing risky and expensive loans.

Demand Is Intensifying For Mortgage Chief To Resign
Tampa Tribune - Tampa, FL
A second group called for Florida's top mortgage regulator to step down Tuesday, a day after the state's chief financial officer asked for his resignation.

Mortgage Originators Cause Concern
Capitol News Service - Tampa,Florida
The state’s Chief Financial Officer is calling for the resignation of Florida’s top mortgage regulator. As Mike Vasilinda tells us, the resignation is being sought after a report that as many as 10 thousand felons have been working in Florida’s mortgage industry.

Reality Trumps Ideology In Fannie-Freddie Rescue
The Southern Ledger - Nashville, TN
It's a case of economic reality trumping partisan ideology, with housing woes and fears about the mortgage giants' stability threatening financial markets in the U.S. and abroad.

U.S. May Seek More Charges Against Ex-Bear Managers
Bloomberg - USA
Former Bear Stearns Cos. hedge fund managers Ralph Cioffi and Matthew Tannin, indicted for fraud and conspiracy last month in the first case stemming from a federal probe of the mortgage-market collapse, may face more charges.

Despite Turmoil Of IndyMac’s Collapse, Housing Crisis Starting To Ease, Local Realtors Insist
Register Pajaronian - Watsonville, CA
“We’re working on the short sales, and we’re approving 80 percent of our short sales,” said Watsonville real estate agent Ramon Fuentes. “I think the short sales are going to be the next big thing.”

Virginia Joins In Wachovia Financial Probe
Richmond Times Dispatch - Richmond, VA
Virginia has joined 11 states investigating sales of a specialized type of investment...The probe led regulators to Wachovia Securities offices in St. Louis yesterday seeking documents concerning auction-rate bonds.

Mortgage Rescue Fraud Prevention -The Unintended Consequences of Hawaii's New Act 137
Hawaii Reporter - Kailua, HI
Act 137, known as the Mortgage Rescue Fraud Prevention Act was passed by Hawaii’s Legislature and signed into law by Governor Linda Lingle on June 3, 2008. It was done so with little fanfare and yet contains significant consequences for Hawaii’s real estate professionals and Hawaii consumers.

Mortgage Fraud Surges
PR Newswire - New York, NY
From April 1, 2008, to June 30, 2008, $1.7 billion in active cases of criminal and civil mortgage fraud were tracked by FraudBlogger.com. Activity soared from $1.0 billion in the first quarter and $0.8 billion during the second quarter 2007.

Is The Cost of Willful Negligence Too Much?
National Mortgage News - Washington, DC
Willful negligence is not an excuse for the absence of mortgage fraud risk controls to prevent such lending practices, especially considering the adverse financial impact.

Close Door On Real Estate Fraud
Tampabay.com - St. Petersburg, FL
"Lenders always lose money on foreclosures, even in a rising market," Rachel Dollar, the publisher of Mortgage Fraud Blog, told MSN. That's a great way to identify someone who's attempting to pull a fast one. Anyone who encourages you not to contact your lender is probably scamming you. Real lenders make their money when you make your payments every month. They're usually willing to work out a repayment schedule that suits your needs.

6 In Mortgage Fraud File To Block Evidence
Deseret News - Salt Lake City, UT
...six Utah residents attempt to suppress evidence against them in what prosecutors are calling an $18 million mortgage fraud scheme...

Mortgage Workers Could Face Fingerprint Requirement
Media General Washington Bureau - Washington, DC
A little-noticed provision in a massive Senate housing bill would create a national licensing registry for mortgage loan workers, requiring them to undergo fingerprinting and background checks.

Mortgage Scam Is Front For Identity Theft
Mail Tribune - Medford, OR
Police are asking the public to be aware of a man involved in a mortgage scam that has cost at least one White City resident $300 and opened her up to identity theft.

Interthinx Forms Strategic Alliance With iMortgage Services
Mortgageorb - Oxford, CT
Interthinx Inc., a provider of proven risk mitigation, mortgage fraud prevention and regulatory compliance tools for the mortgage industry, has formed a strategic alliance with iMortgage Services (iMS). iMS provides nationwide appraisal, automated valuation (AVM), broker price opinion fraud, closing, title and warranty products to the mortgage industry.

More Charges Filed Against Suspect In San Ramon Killing
San Jose Mercury News - CA
Prosecutors this week filed more criminal charges against an El Sobrante man accused of killing a San Ramon man who had been his mentor in the real estate business...Investigators are looking at real estate transactions involving Robinson that span years in search of fraud that could be related to Billon's killing.

Mortgage Fraud Arrests Piling Up
Palm Beach Post - FL
Mortgage fraud fighters are busy these days, as evidenced by a string of fresh arrests.

Georgia House Representative Supports Mortgage Fraud Whistleblowers
OpEdNews - Newtown, PA
Georgia has led the nation in mortgage fraud according to recent FBI statistics. More importantly, many of Georgia’s mortgage fraud scams often involve substantial federal financing, most of which is intended for disadvantage minority businesses and/or low to moderate income families.

HELOC Fraud Prompts ITAC to Issue Identity Theft Warning
DSNews.com - Hurst, TX
A new mortgage fraud report released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), which showed an uprise in people having their Home Equity Lines of Credit (HELOC) accounts compromised by identity thefts, has prompted the Identity Theft Assistance Center (ITAC), a nonprofit organization funded by financial services companies, to release a warning about mortgage fraud, which they term a low risk, high-yield criminal activity.

New Foreclosure Laws Too Late For Many Homeowners
CBS 4 - Miami, FL
But the new laws may come too late for thousands who face losing their homes now, and critics of the laws fear that mortgage fraud will continue, despite state laws.

Buyer Put Down 10% -- Honest!
Mortage 101 - USA
What you are trying to do would amount to a fraud on the lender. You would try to deceive the lender into believing that your buyer had put down money that she had not. Then you would participate in the fraud when the buyer applied for a 90 percent mortgage on your home when in fact the mortgage amount would be for the full purchase price of the home.

Foreclosures Bringing Cases Of Fraud To Light
San Diego Union Tribune - United States
Last year, an Orange County man was rejected for a personal loan at his credit union. To his surprise, his credit report had been red-flagged because he was six months behind on mortgage payments on a $660,000 home in Oceanside. That was news to him. He had never bought a house in Oceanside.

Increase In Home Foreclosures Coincides With Fires At Abandoned Homes
AHN - USA
Concern expressed in reports earlier this year about the increase in foreclosures across the nation possibly sparking an increase of house fires has apparently been warranted.

Beware of Reverse Mortgage Scams
Jacksonville Daily News - Jacksonville, NC
To the unsuspecting it appears to be from the federal government, which it isn't.

Illinois Files Suit Against Countrywide, But Who Is Really To Blame?
WalletPop - VA
I don't accept the argument that it's the mortgage company's fault for offering attractive mortgages. At the end of the day, if a buyer couldn't afford a house, he shouldn't have bought it. And with very few exceptions, home buyers are well aware of what they can and cannot afford. It's simple math: Money in, money out.

How the Bear Stearns Fraud Case Unfolded
NPR - USA
The FBI showed up on the doorstep of Bear Stearns executive Matthew Tannin on a Friday night early last fall. Agents wanted to talk to him about possibly providing some evidence against his boss at Bear Stearns, hedge fund manager Ralph Cioffi. Tannin's response was brief, "Talk to my lawyer."

State Takes Steps To Improve Its Efforts To Curtail Mortgage Fraud
South Carolina Now - South Carolina
Just a few short years ago, two studies showed South Carolina among the nation’s leaders in cases of mortgage fraud. Mortgage fraud is one of the fastest-growing crimes in the United States, according to the S.C. Department of Consumer Affairs’ 2007 Mortgage Fraud Report.

“Fool Me Once …”
National Mortgage News - Washington, DC
Now that the cascade of foreclosures has reduced the number of lenders involved in originations, loan modifications and short sales have become hot topics. Both are usually a pretty simple matter, but in these times, unwary lenders must be vigilant to avoid being "fooled" a second time. It’s something that can be all too common without an effective fraud detection system in place when dealing with borrowers in trouble.

Appraiser Independence and Congressional Action
National Mortgage News - Washington, DC
Last year, the House of Representatives passed a bill (H.R. 3915) that includes a ban on improper influence on appraisers. Coercion, extortion, instruction, intimidation, threat of non-payment and bribery are all mentioned as specific acts, which would be banned under the law. The bill has not been brought up by the Senate although the Senate is actively pursuing related legislation on mortgage finance matters and FHA authorizations.

Bear Stearns Defendants Showed Disregard for E-Mail Risks
Bloomberg - USA
The risks of putting sensitive information in e-mails were disregarded by two ex-Bear Stearns Cos. hedge fund managers indicted for fraud who allegedly exchanged incriminating messages, former prosecutors said.

Tough Economy Fertile Ground For Crop Of Scams
Chicago Tribune - United States
Popular Web sites in which people chat freely with each other are increasingly used by crooks to create a dialogue, build trust, then introduce an investment that may be a complete scam.

Con Artists Are Stealing Homeowners' Identities, Properties
Los Angeles Times - CA
In an up-and-coming scam noted by the FBI, a swindler establishes a line of credit in his name based on the equity in a property, then drains the house dry. In another ploy, the con man steals the house by changing the title over to his name and selling it out from under the owner.

Attorney General Fights Mortgage Fraud
DetNews.com - Detroit, MI
The mortgage foreclosure problem affects all 50 states, but the situation in Michigan is made more acute because of our state's job losses, plant closings and high unemployment rate.

FBI Investigating Kalamazoo Man For Possible Mortgage Fraud
MLive.com - MI
Rodney Hixon has a habit of overpaying for houses. Some people are wondering why. In May 2006, Hixon paid $128,000 for a 1,081-square-foot four-bedroom, one-bathroom house at 732 Roskam Court in Kalamazoo's Edison neighborhood. It was an extraordinary price in a neighborhood where homes were going for $40,000 to $80,000, and on a street where city tax records show the average market value for a home was $32,200 in 2006.

The Buy-And-Bail
NuWire Investor - Bellevue, WA
The buy-and-bail is a rapidly growing real estate strategy in which homeowners who are underwater on their home quickly buy a new home at today’s low prices and allow the old home, with the inflated mortgage, to go into foreclosure.

How Missed Mortgage Payments Set Off Widespread Problems
Free Internet Press - New York, NY
The mortgage executives who gathered in a blond-wood conference room in Southern California studied their internal reports with growing alarm...More and more borrowers were falling behind on their monthly payments almost as soon as they moved into their new homes, indicating that some of them never really had the money to begin with. "Nobody had models for that," said David E. Zimmer, then one of the executives at People's Choice, a subprime lender based in Irvine. "Nobody had predicted people going into default in their first three mortgage payments."

Don't Be A Victim Of 'Foreclosure Rescue' Schemes
The Tennessean - Nashville, TN
Tennessee consumers are suffering from the national mortgage foreclosure crisis. According to the Federal Reserve in St. Louis, we could see up to 34,000 foreclosures in Tennessee this year, based on figures from late 2007.

FBI Halts Some Financial Cases to Investigate Mortgage Fraud
Bloomberg - USA
"If you're seeing a significant crime problem, you have to move resources,'' Carter said yesterday. "We've got a big problem with mortgage fraud."

Accused Scam Artist May Have Had Help
WSMV - Nashville, TN
Last month, Joseph Carter was taken away by police in handcuffs, because, police said, Carter had been living a double-life in Nashville's Napier neighborhood. Carter is really Matthew Cox, the man accused of masterminding multi-million dollar real estate scams in four states. Cox is now in federal custody on suspicion of mortgage fraud in other states

SC Mortgage Fraud Hotline
WCBD-TV - Mt. Pleasant, SC
South Carolina has created a new Mortgage Fraud Hotline for people who suspect they’re victims of mortgage fraud, the state's attorney general and Department of Consumer Affairs announced Monday.

Above The Downturn
Las Vegas Business Press - Las Vegas, NV
He said so-called "jumbo loans" have all but dried up because of the massive amount of mortgage fraud that found Las Vegas at the center of an FBI investigation.

Mortgage Fraud Burgeoning With New Twists
San Francisco Chronicle - CA
Good news. There are no new mortgage frauds. But the bad news is that the old schemes are becoming more intricate, and the criminals who work them are more active then ever.

US Attorney General: Mortgage Mess Isn’t Enron Redux
Housing Wire - USA
U.S. Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey ruffled the feathers of more than a few key Democratic lawmakers late Thursday, solidifying his earlier stance that he will not form a national task force to investigate the mortgage crisis — particularly, mortgage fraud.

Task Force Formed To Tame Foreclosure Crisis
Nashua Telegraph - Nashua, NH
Federal and state prosecutors are joining forces to tackle mortgage fraud.

Region's Banks Hold Their Own Amid National Uncertainty
BusinessNorth.com - Duluth, MN
While most stayed away from risky loans, at least two financial institutions have paid the price for bad investments in Florida.

AllRegs Offers Fraudulent Document Recognition Training
National Mortgage News - Washington, DC
With fraud occurring across the country at such a rapid pace, lenders must equip their employees with the most stringent and up-to-date training on the market to bring fraud to a standstill.

Mortgage Scam Artists on the Prowl
KCBS - CA
The scammers are getting homeowners names when they file notices of default on their house when it's about to go into foreclosure. Then they offer the homeowner a straw buyer, who's willing to take the mortgage off their hands for an entire year, telling them they can buy back at the end of 12 months.

Figuring Out Property Values A Taxing Job
http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2008/may/31/figuring-out-property-values-taxing-job-lee-apprai/
Another factor this year was the work that had to go into looking at sales to make sure they were arms-length transactions — that is, that the reported sales price met the state’s definitions of fair market value. Not all sales are meeting those requirements...his office has noticed an increase in sellers using “concessions at closing” — some of them creative..."We’re concerned that we’ve seen more," he said. The reason for that concern: "How do I get around using the word fraud?"

Con Artists Using Foreclosure Scam
Kansas City Star - MO
Kansas Attorney General Steve Six said scammers are sending out letters that recommend to residents that they get a certified copy of the deed to their house for safekeeping.

States Halting 'We Buy Houses For Cash' Scams
York Daily Record - York, PA
In one type of scam, a consultant demands an up-front fee of $1,000 or more to negotiate with the loan provider on the owner's behalf for a more affordable loan, but then the company does little or nothing.

Fannie, Freddie Appraisal Agreement May Violate Law
Bloomberg - USA
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's agreement to restrict banks from using in-house appraisal companies may violate federal law, U.S. Comptroller of the Currency John C. Dugan said in a letter to the companies' supervisor.

Appraisers, Lenders And Brokers Will Soon Begin A New Relationship
San Jose Mercury News - CA
When a borrower gets a mortgage loan to buy real estate, lenders require an appraisal of the property's value before they'll fund the loan. Typically, if the borrower is working directly with a lender, the lender selects an appraiser to assess the property; if the borrower uses a mortgage broker, the broker selects the appraiser.

FBI's Corporate, Mortgage and Securities Probes on the Rise
Law.com - San Francisco, CA
Corporate, mortgage and securities investigations by the FBI rose last year, while the number of health care fraud cases remained flat, according to a just-released financial crimes report.

FBI Releases Mortgage Fraud Report
DSNews.com - Hurst, TX
The Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) had 1,204 mortgage fraud cases under investigation in 2007, 321 mortgage fraud-related indictments, 206 convictions, $595.9 million in restitution orders and $21.8 million in recoveries, the bureau concluded in its Financial Crimes Report to the Public, Fiscal Year 2007.

Mortgage Fraud Worse In Nearby States
Las Vegas Sun - Las Vegas, NV
Nevada might be among the worst-hit states for housing foreclosures, but if it’s any consolation, other states are suffering more from mortgage fraud.

Neighborhood watch: mortgage fraud, copper theft, and now house stealing
Twin Cities Planet - Minneapolis, Minnesota
In late March, the FBI warned of the newest form of identity theft: house stealing. The crime often works like this: A group or an individual finds a vacant home. They look up the deed information. They briefly steal the current owner’s identity (or create a fake one if the home has been foreclosed on) and create IDs, driver’s licenses, etc. They quickly sell the house for sometimes rock-bottom prices, because either way they profit tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Home Appraisal Overhaul Draws Fire
Charlotte Observer - Charlotte, NC
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's effort to reform the home appraisal process is running into resistance from just about every player in the mortgage industry, including Charlotte's big banks.

The End of Opportunity, the Beginning of Necessity
National Mortgage News - Washington, DC
Prior to the housing and mortgage market declines, fraud was most likely perpetrated out of opportunity. In today’s marketplace, however, fraud is often committed out of necessity.

Mortgage Fraud Inquiry Leads To Grow House Bust In Indian River Estates
TCPalm - West Palm Beach, FL
A mortgage fraud probe led to a marijuana grow house bust in the Indian River Estates community, netting 75 pot plants and one arrest.

Mississippi Facing Mortgage Crisis
WAPT - Jackson, MS
Madison officials said the city has long been a target of mortgage fraud. But residents are fighting back. Lisa Barron is selling her house in a neighborhood where a number of houses sit empty. Some are empty because of foreclosures that her homeowners association said are the result of mortgage fraud.

Mortgage Fraud Rampant
Conde Nast Portfolio - New York, NY
Ann Fulmer, vice president of Interthinx, a firm that tracks mortgage fraud, disagreed with me wholeheartedly. Her main point was that many banks and lenders aren't required to file suspicious activity reports with the FBI, so the Bureau's numbers aren't reflective of the real trend.

Pasadena Story: From Flipper To Accused Fraud Ringleader
Los Angeles Times - CA
an Ameriquest account executive named Jeanetta Standefor makes her pitch to appear on a cutting-edge cable TV show: She's talking about the quick money she's going to make remodeling a Pasadena condo and reselling it for a quick profit...Fast forward four years to today's newspaper: "The FBI arrested the president of a Pasadena company Wednesday...The 11-count indictment...charges Jeanetta M. Standefor of Altadena with wire fraud, mail fraud and money laundering."

Boca Firm Audited After Scam
Palm Beach Post - FL
Florida's largest title insurer launched an audit last week of a Boca Raton title agency's transactions. Fortune Title Services LLC closed a number of deals now at the heart of an alleged mortgage fraud scheme that has generated multiple federal indictments.

On The Myth Of Walking Away
Housing Wire - USA
And in terms of investor-owned properties, it’s likely tough to ascertain just how many really are out there. We know that 20 percent of mortgage fraud — and there is plenty of it out there, as HW readers know — involved so-called "occupancy fraud."

Mortgage Delinquency On The Rise
CNNMoney.com - USA
Of the top 10 markets with the highest risk of delinquency, eight are in California and two are in Florida. Previously, markets in states like Michigan and Ohio, where the labor market has been weak, dominated the list of most delinquency-prone markets.

Report: About Half Of Cleveland's Subprime Loans Ended In Foreclosure
WTTE - Columbus, OH
The Cleveland Plain dealer is reporting that about half of the city's subprime mortgage loans written by top lenders in 2005 ended in foreclosure filings.

House Stealing on the Rise in the Midlands
WIS - Columbia, SC
Stealing someone else's house -- it may sound impossible, but it's happening around the country.

Prosecutors Say Real Estate Fraud Was Motive In San Ramon Murder
Inside Bay Area - Oakland, CA
Prosecutors charged an El Sobrante man today in connection with the murder of a San Ramon man that appears to have stemmed from an alleged real estate fraud involving a piece of property in North Richmond.

Local Family Wins Sweepstakes, Has Mortgage Paid Off
KSDK - St. Louis, MO
A St. Clair family no longer has to worry about paying a mortgage after winning a contest promising a free home mortgage..."I thought it was a scam that this wasn't real...no way this could happen to us," Michno said.

Scam Artists Move In As Foreclosure Crisis Builds In Salinas
Monterey County Herald - Monterey, CA
Hernandez told them it would better to stop paying their mortgage because they were going to lose the house anyway. He then offered his services to help them sell the property, and had paperwork ready for the couple to sign.

Fraud Alert Issued After Mortgage Files Dumped
Denver Post - Denver, CO
Consumers who did business with Cove Creek Mortgage Co. could become victims of identity theft after company files were thrown into a Dumpster over the weekend, officials warned.

Mortgage-Fraud Bill Heading To Crist
Bradenton Herald - FL
In the wake of Florida's real estate downturn and rapid rise in foreclosures, the state Senate passed a second bill in as many years Tuesday increasing the penalties for those convicted of mortgage fraud.

Foreclosures Have Rental Fraud Cases On The Rise In Florida
TCPalm - West Palm Beach, FL
...But Perham didn't know the man he was paying had allowed the house to go into foreclosure in April 2007 — before getting a renter. Perham's landlord didn't own the house...The bank did.

Stewart Title Ltd. Offers Lenders Cover Against Loss Resulting From Mortgage Fraud
Business Wire - San Francisco, CA
Mortgage fraud manifests itself in several ways. Some fraudsters choose to alter the deeds to obtain the mortgage or lead the lender to believe that other parties to the transaction are agreeing to the loan. Larger frauds tend to include various parties in collusion to benefit from the illegal mortgage proceeds. By the time the fraud is uncovered, the fraudster will have disappeared with the proceeds of the fraudulent mortgage while the lender faces significant financial loss.

Forget About Feeling Sympathy For Prison Bound Dare
Albany Times Union - Albany, NY
It's a familiar tune for us by now, related to a purported mortgage scam that goes on and on and on.

Crisp & Cole To Face Judge Over Alleged Scam
TurnTo23.com - Bakersfield, CA
David Crisp, Carl Cole and several of their former employees will face a judge for allegedly taking lenders on a wild ride.

Two Moral Messages Contrasted
Carlisle Sentinel - Carlisle, PA
Speaking to the American Bar Association, Mueller lamented the growing number of public corruption cases and mortgage fraud investigations being handled by the FBI, asking, “Have we as a society become more corrupt?”

A Measure To Crack Down on Housing Appraisals
Orlando Sentinel - Orlando, FL
There are multiple causes behind the housing market meltdown, but inflated property appraisals have played a significant role.

In Land We Trust
Rocky Mountain Chronicle - Fort Collins, CO
So far, she’s suspended two appraisers who inflated appraisal values on more than 35 conservation easements. (She’s still wading through 44 boxes of evidence and says, “Every day we find more.”) The jacked-up appraisal values exploit a state program that offers landowners up to $375,000 in transferable tax credits for conservation easement donations.

Miami Firm Strikes Gold With Mortgage Crisis
Tampa Tribune - Tampa, FL
It's the equivalent of a body cavity search, but for home loans. The 1003 AppScan, an automated Web-based filter, subjects mortgage applications to more than 150 tests designed to extract both little white lies and criminal schemes used to defraud lenders.

Martinez: Housing Appraisal Reform Will Protect Consumers And Lenders
Trading Markets - Los Angeles, CA
U.S. Senator Mel Martinez (R-FL) today joined with Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) in introducing legislation to reform the appraisal process for home purchases and deter appraisal fraud schemes.

Appraisers Say WaMu Cut Corners To Increase Its Mortgage Business
Seattle Times - United States
Washington Mutual's mortgage woes come as no surprise to Graham Albertini, a real-estate appraiser who worked at WaMu's Bellevue office when its mortgage business was going gangbusters.

Need Help With A Mortgage Scam?
ABC News - USA
And now, a GMA Recession Rescue ... Sobering new numbers released this morning mean more worries for the economy. Foreclosures are up almost sixty percent over last year, homeowners are desperate and they're vulnerable to mortgage rescue offers.

Second Annual Mortgage Fraud Blog Conference Open for Registration
Earthtimes - London, UK
AllRegs, the leading online publisher for the mortgage lending industry, announces open registration for the Mortgage Fraud Blog Conference to be held November 4-5, 2008 in Miami, Florida at the Miami Regency Hyatt...Mortgage Fraud Blog is the premiere site for mortgage fraud news and information and its editor, Rachel Dollar, CMB, is at the forefront of the fight against fraud.

Mortgage-Fraud Crackdown
Deseret News - Salt Lake City, UT
The state of Utah is ramping up its efforts to target the increasing problem of mortgage fraud, and Gov. Jon M. Huntsman Jr. Friday signed into law two measures aimed at punishing those who engage in such fraud.

Maryland Makes Foreclosure Timelines a Whole Lot Longer
Housing Wire - USA
...It also requires personal service to notify a homeowner of impending foreclosure action, and requires that a sale may not occur for 45 days after service.

Idaho Fares Better Than Most Other States on Mortgage Issues
Idaho Department of Finance- Boise, Idaho
Mortgage delinquencies for Idaho remain in the range of the prior 20 years...moreover, Idaho’s total annual mortgage delinquency number is 3.86 percent of total mortgages, compared with the nationwide number of 6.31 percent.

Attorney General Terminates Foreclosure Rescue Firm
News 8 Austin - Austin, TX
According to the Attorney General's Office, the company Foreclosure Assistance Solutions Inc., operated as a "foreclosure rescue" firm, but in actuality, it was just a scam.

Cuomo Seeks Jail For Fradulent House-Flipper
Hudson Valley Press - Newburgh, NY
Attorney General Andrew Cuomo today announced his office is seeking a criminal contempt-of-court order against a Niagara Falls man who tried to defraud investors through a Western New York house-flipping scheme after he was ordered not to.

SEC Clamps Down on Real Estate Scammers
CCH Wall Street - New York, NY
A federal judge in Utah has sided with the SEC and issued a temporary restraining order and an asset freeze against the perpetrators of an alleged real estate scam.

Mortgage Fraud
Vienna/Oakton Connection - VA
Khalil Salim Arbid attempted to fraudulently obtain $2 million through a mortgage refinancing scheme involving a Vienna residential property encumbered by pre-existing mortgage loans...

Foreclosure Chasers
ABC7Chicago.com - IL, USA
They claim they'll save your home if you're being foreclosed on, but local authorities say most so-called foreclosure rescue services are rip-offs.

Fraud Linked To $17M In Possible Bad Loans
Indianapolis Star - United States
Old National Bancorp of Evansville said today that the FBI was asked to investigate a loan officer who apparently forged a signature on a loan document.

Losses From Loan Fraud Surging, Say Industry, FBI
Boston Globe - United States
Lenders are experiencing a surge in losses from mortgage fraud, according to recent reports from law enforcement agencies and industry research groups. The ripples are reaching borrowers in new ways, as mortgage banks seek to stanch the flow of dollars to con artists.

It's Same Old Scam With a Different Twist
Chicago Tribune - United States
Good news. There are no new mortgage fraud schemes. But the old plots are becoming more intricate, and the perps are more active then ever.

One Angry Man
City Paper Online
U.S. District Court Chief Judge J. Frederick Motz's temper flared during the March 20 sentencing hearing of Baltimore mortgage broker David Lincoln, who pleaded guilty last year to bank fraud for his part in an alleged drug and money-laundering conspiracy headed by fugitive Shawn Michael Green.

Wilton Attorney Loses License Over Real Estate Closings
Wilton Villager - CT
It's difficult enough navigating real estate transactions under current market conditions, and even worse when one of the lawyers involved can't account for hundreds of thousands of dollars that often change hands.

Moody’s Looks to Toughen Up on Mortgages
Housing Wire - USA
The agency also proposed sweeping changes to representations and warranties, suggesting that issuers "more explicitly address fraud, misrepresentation, data quality, early payment defaults and adherence to underwriting guidelines."

'Get-Rich-Quick' Reaches Dizzying Heights in Real Estate
Consumer Affairs - USA
First came the housing scam. Now comes the foreclosure scam.

U.S. Mortgage-Fraud Cost Seen At $2.5 Billion A Year
Reuters
Losses from mortgage fraud such as lying on loan applications and inflated appraisals will cost the industry about $2.5 billion annually for several years, according to a report published on Thursday.

Crooks Want Your Home Title
WALB-TV - Albany, GA
It's the newest crime, your house can be stolen and sold right out from under you.

'Mortgage Rescue' Scams Hit Close to Home
ABC News - USA
As the mortgage crisis continues to unfold, the FBI says incidents of suspicious financial activity banks reported to the bureau has skyrocketed, jumping from 28,000 cases in 2005 to 48,000 last year.

Feds Ramp Up Efforts to Combat Appraisal Fraud
NPR - USA
A federal agency is working to combat appraisal fraud. James Lockhart, director of the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, talks to Liane Hansen about the agency's efforts to strengthen the independence of the appraisal process.

U.S. Officials Warn of Scams
Wall Street Journal - USA
Federal officials say a wave of opportunistic scams are targeting homeowners trying to avoid foreclosure in the current housing downturn.

Federal Banks Can Buy More Mortgage-Backed Debt
Los Angeles Times - CA
The nation's 12 Federal Home Loan Banks were freed Monday to boost their purchase of mortgage-backed bonds by about $150 billion -- another government step to pump money back into a market that slumped as the housing crisis deepened.

Panel Drops Mortgage Fraud Cases
Trading Markets - Los Angeles, CA
The Minnesota Financial Crimes Task Force has decided to stop taking mortgage fraud cases in a move that may or may not dent the state's efforts to combat a widespread problem, depending on whom you talk to.

Mortgage Fraud is a Felony
MyNorthwest.com - Seattle, WA
Governor Chris Gregoire has signed a measure that makes mortgage fraud a felony.

Advanced Mortgage Fraud Detection Training Film Given to Industry for Free
Market Wire - USA
Interthinx®, Inc., the leading provider of proven risk mitigation, mortgage fraud prevention, and regulatory compliance tools for the mortgage industry, has announced the general availability of its latest and more advanced fraud-detection training film, "Fraud Angels." The film premiered at the Mortgage Bankers Association's National Fraud Issues Conference in Chicago last week and received an enthusiastic reception by approximately 350 attendees. Interthinx is now offering the training film at no cost to mortgage industry professionals and is fulfilling nearly 700 pre-orders for the film this week.

Md.: Mortgage Reforms Clear Senate
Forbes - NY
The Maryland Senate has unanimously approved mortgage lending bills aimed at addressing the state's rising foreclosure rate.

Ex-cop In US Mortgage Scheme Extradited
radiojamaica.com - Jamaica
A former Jamaican policeman, who is accused of conspiring with his wife to defraud millions of US dollars from residents in Fort Lauderdale in a mortgage racket, was ordered extradited Monday.

MARI: Documentation Key In Fighting Mortgage Fraud
Providence Business News - Providence, RI
...“our assertion is that fraud and the role it played in our current market environment must command greater attention, especially if we intend to boost investor confidence in non-conforming mortgage-backed securities.”

Colorado Improves Standing For Residential Mortgage Fraud
Bizjournals.com - Charlotte, NC
Colorado dropped out of the top 10 states last year for residential mortgage fraud for the first time in five years, according to a 2007 Mortgage Bankers Association report released Thursday.

Zaio Inc.’s New Technology Helps Lenders Overcome Mortgage Crisis
Business Wire - San Francisco,CA
The traditional process of appraising one property at a time has proven to be time consuming, inefficient, subject to fraud and abuse, and not suitable for valuing entire loan portfolios, as revealed by the current mortgage crisis.

Is There A Real Mortgage Crisis?
Gather.com - Boston, MA
The panic that has spread from a relatively few home mortgages in the US to into a world-wide credit crisis that brought down a major investment bank and caused a decline the value of the dollar on world markets appears to be based on pure fear and panic because of the leverage factor in the world financial markets.

House Committee Clears Legislation Dealing With Foreclosures, Mortgage Fraud
Baltimore Sun - United States
Another measure would make mortgage fraud a crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison or a $5,000 fine, or both.

I-Team: New Mortgage Fraud Task Force Makes First Arrest
KLAS-TV - Las Vegas, NV
Las Vegas is one of the top cities in the nation for foreclosures and that is leading to mortgage fraud. To combat the trend, federal, state and local authorities announced the formation of a new task force.

Florida Is First in Fraud for Mortgages
Forbes - NY
Florida led the nation in mortgage fraud in 2007, a dubious distinction it's had two years running.

FBI Sought Evidence In Real Estate Probe
North County Times - Escondido, CA
Authorities have expanded criminal investigations into a real estate investment group that abandoned more than 100 homes to foreclosure since late 2006, a development that could put off a series of civil lawsuits against the group's managers.

Early Briefing: Mortgage Firm Employees Under Investigation
Washington Post - United States
The FBI is investigating whether employees of a now-defunct Northern Virginia mortgage company were involved in what several lawsuits allege was a scheme to steal vacant homes by forging deeds, according to people familiar with the probe.

Outlaw Notaries Making Mark Amid Real Estate Crisis
Sacramento Bee - Sacramento, CA
Three sisters who inherited their childhood home in Oak Park were victimized by a dishonest notary public who enabled their brother to claim full ownership.

The Road Back to Growth and Profitability
National Mortgage News - Washington, DC
As we’ve now seen, there has been a persistent rise in mortgage fraud and EPD that, along with other economic factors, threaten this market.

How to Fight Back against Fraud in Our Industry
RisMedia.com - Norwalk, CT
Over the past decade, I have seen fraud rot the very foundation of our industry, but what upsets me most is that 80% of fraud involves industry insiders-professionals who earn their living from this great industry. Every day, I see cases in which real estate agents, loan originators, mortgage brokers, appraisers, and other industry insiders play an active role. But the people who could stop it often choose to look the other way.

Mortgage Application Fees May Rise On Appraisal Reform
CNNMoney.com - USA
In a recent agreement with New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE, Fortune 500) pledged that they will only buy mortgages from lenders that use independent appraisers. Since these two companies account for more than 70% of all mortgage loans, virtually all lenders will comply with the guidelines.

Attorney General Warns Vulnerable Consumers To Beware Of Scam Artists
Grand Island Independent - Grand Island, NE
As people struggle to make house payments and keep their homes out of foreclosure, scam artists are popping up to prey on them.

Mortgage Fraud Units Proposed
Chicago Tribune - United States
When Cook County Recorder of Deeds Eugene Moore discovered his cousin had been bilked out of her house, he came up with an early warning system for mortgage fraud -- the humble postcard.

Appraiser Evaluates Whether 303 Homes Are Overpriced
Tampa Tribune - Tampa, FL
The Pinellas County Property Appraiser's Office is combing through each of 303 sales, first detailed in a Tampa Tribune investigation, and will likely disqualify them as comparable sales used to determine the value of nearby homes, said Ron Anderson, deputy for appraisals...Rachel Dollar...said Pinellas County's decision is "very uncommon" and that other municipalities should take note. "The county is definitely doing the right thing," Dollar said.

Fugitive Mortgage Brokers To Be Extradited From Jamaica
CARIBWORLDNEWS.COM - Jackson Heights, NY
That indictment had charged that the Pattersons conspired to commit mail and wire fraud, mail fraud, wire fraud, and identity fraud involving mortgage fraud ...

Beware Of Ads That Promise To Stop Foreclosure
Houston Chronicle - United States
When a foreclosure starts, so do the sales pitches. They come with a knock at the front door, a letter in the mailbox or a bright sign on the telephone pole. "You'll lose your home if you don't call now!" Or "Sign here and we'll save your home!" Or "Stop foreclosure!" But watch out for this last-ditch offer: a rescue from foreclosure.

FBI Probes Countrywide For Possible Fraud
CNNMoney.com - USA
On Friday Countrywide's founder and CEO, Angelo Mozilo, testified before the House Committee on Government and Oversight Reform, along with two other CEOs who resigned in the wake of the mortgage crisis - Charles Prince of Citigroup (C, Fortune 500) and Stanley O'Neal of Merrill Lynch (MER, Fortune 500).

Real Estate Investors In South St. Petersburg Run Into Trouble
Tampa Bay Online - Tampa, Florida
A group of 65 real estate investors made 303 property transactions in south St. Petersburg during the past five years. The buyers purchased their homes through a no-money-down investment program. Now, 65 percent of the sales have gone into foreclosure. Lenders are on the hook for millions in failed loans.

State Joins Inquiry Of Unusual Loans
Tampa Bay Online - Tampa, Florida
Hundreds of peculiar home sales and foreclosures clustered in low-income neighborhoods in south St. Petersburg have attracted the attention of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

Iowa Not Feeling Depth Of Foreclosure Crisis
DesMoinesRegister.com - Des Moines, IA
Daily news headlines scream doom and gloom in the home mortgage industry. But local lenders say there's no cause for panic in Ames and Story County.

INTEGRA Integrates With Interthinx for Streamlined Risk Mitigation and Regulatory Compliance
Market Wire - USA
Interthinx®, Inc., the leading provider of proven risk mitigation, mortgage fraud prevention and regulatory compliance tools for the mortgage industry, has successfully integrated its validated loan-level fraud detection system and automated regulatory compliance solution with INTEGRA Software Systems.

Editorial: Cuomo Shines Light On Appraisal Fraud
Newsday - Long Island, NY
Few positive developments are coming out of the mortgage crisis. But there is one change that will prevent some abuses, such as inflated home appraisals, from occurring again.

The Perils of Mortgage Fraud: Why Cities Should Care
Center For American Progress - Washington, DC
Mortgage fraud is likely to occur whenever urban neighborhoods see prices of real estate drop catastrophically in some neighborhoods while they remain much higher in places nearby.

Mortgage Fraud Cases On The Rise
News 14 Carolina - Raleigh, NC
Because of the increase in buying and selling real estate, the FBI has made mortgage fraud the No. 1 priority within our white collar crime or financial crime program...

Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac Agree To New Appraisal Standards
Los Angeles Times - CA
Mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac agreed Monday to take steps to combat inflated home appraisals, but critics doubted the changes would do much good.

Helena Man Gets To Keep Houses In Mortgage Fraud Case
Great Falls Tribune - Great Falls, MT
A judge here decided a man gets to keep houses he bought using fraudulent mortgages, even though prosecu-tors said the move would allow him to profit from the crime.

Sentence Delayed In Mortgage-Fraud Case
GoErie.com - Erie, PA
The amount of restitution that Erie businessman Robert L. Dodsworth must pay in relation to a widespread mortgage fraud scheme is at the ...

"Iowa Mortgage Help" Will Aid Home Owners Struggling with Mortgage Payments
Attorney General's Office- Des Moines, Iowa
The State of Iowa has received a federal grant of $1,503,757 to help homeowners who are struggling to pay their mortgage, Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller and Iowa Finance Authority (IFA) Executive Director Bret Mills said Thursday.

Investors: Banks Aided In $100 Million Real Estate Fraud Scheme
Asheville Citizen-Times - NC
Three banks have been added to a multimillion-dollar lawsuit stemming from federal and state investigations into a failed real estate venture in Western North Carolina.

Kane County Fights Mortgage Schemes
Chicago Daily Herald - Chicago, IL
The increasingly common crime of mortgage fraud and related schemes have prompted Kane County officials to step up communication with homeowners.

Mortage Scheme May Have Driven Doctor To Violence
ABC12.com - Flint, MI
Banks say fraud may be among county's largest ever.

As Perils Abound, He's a Protector of Home Buyers
News & Observer - Raleigh, NC
Now, as deputy commissioner of the N.C. Banking Commission, he has been fighting to help people keep their homes. This time he has battled mortgage fraud, subprime lending and a foreclosure epidemic.

This House Was A Steal
Chicago Tribune
The new buyers of a rundown graystone on the South Side showed up Jan. 9 to look at the house they won at a foreclosure auction. They took the plywood off the front door and went inside to make sure the utilities had been shut off. Then they called the police...Sitting upright in the corner of a bedroom off the kitchen was a human skeleton in a red tracksuit...Somehow, Johnson's house was transferred three times to new owners without anyone noticing he was inside. It's a story involving forged deeds, a corrupt title company and a South Side family that has been under investigation for mortgage fraud.

Santa Clara County Prosecutors Besieged By Mortgage Complaints
San Jose Mercury News - CA
The district attorney's office opened 125 new investigations into mortgage scams last year, four times as many as in 2006, prompting one prosecutor to call 2007 "the year of lending dangerously." The total loss to victims topped $40 million during the 2006-07 fiscal year, the office said.

Ch 11 Judge Mulls Mortgage Lender Fees
Forbes - NY
Amid mounting allegations of abuse by big lenders, a federal judge has indicated he is leaning toward to reining in mortgage companies that have been foreclosing on consumers who brought their home loan payments up to date while in bankruptcy.

Your Rights - Appraising Real Estate Appraisers and Appraisals
RisMedia.com - Norwalk, CT
Appraisers are being punched up in the courts and the press for not always providing honest real-estate valuations. So what’s going on? What exactly do appraisers do?

FBI Focusing On Rash Of Mortgage Fraud In Central Florida
WFtv.com - Orlando, FL
Complaints of mortgage fraud have more than quadrupled in the last three years and the FBI and state investigators are working several major cases involving local homeowners. Wednesday, the FBI revealed how some of the cases work and what they're doing about it.

State, U.S. Preparing Loan Fraud Crackdown
Las Vegas Sun - Las Vegas, NV
The FBI and the IRS are teaming up with Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto, state regulators and Metro Police to tackle a surge in mortgage fraud that is overwhelming Nevada authorities. The announcement of a task force is expected early next month.

Realtors' Culture Not Tough On Fraud
St. Petersburg Times - St. Petersburg, FL
This is all in keeping with the way the crisis of apparent mortgage fraud has unfolded in Hernando Beach: Other than unconfirmed reports of an FBI investigation, the agencies with power to take action have barely lifted a finger.

Financial Fraud Involving Seniors Arises From Country’s Mortgage Crisis
Senior-Spectrum - Sacramento, CA
Last week, U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging Chairman Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) held a hearing on the rise of financial scams across the country, the result of a sharp increase in foreclosures.

Lieutenant In Alleged Mortgage Fraud Gets 7-Year Sentence
Macon Telegraph - Macon, GA
A man accused of being the second-in-command in a multimillion-dollar mortgage fraud was sentenced Thursday to seven years in federal prison and ordered to pay $40.2 million in restitution.

Metro Atlanta Mortgage Fraud Ring Convicted
Bizjournals.com - Charlotte, NC
A federal court jury has found several Atlantans guilty for their roles in a mortgage fraud ring that racked up $6 million in just 10 weeks from SunTrust Mortgage.

New Program Helps Spot Mortgage Fraud, ID Theft
Chicago Daily Herald - Chicago, IL
"The threat of mortgage fraud and identity theft crimes continue to rise, and all too often victims of these types of fraudulent activities are unaware their homes or identity have been stolen,"

Lying Buyers Broke Law But Most Won't Do Time
Santa Rosa Press Democrat - Santa Rosa, CA
Defrauding a lender by lying on a loan application is a federal crime carrying a potential $1 million fine or 30 years in prison...But the FBI places a low priority on pursuing borrowers who inflated their incomes to buy a home...Investigators are focusing on real estate fraud by organized rings that illegally flipped properties, staged bogus foreclosure rescue operations and carried out other schemes...

Fraud Case Ruins Real Estate Lawyer, Attorney Says
Daily Report - Atlanta, GA
When Atlanta attorney R. Joseph Costanzo Jr. pleaded guilty to bank fraud this month, he did so as “a broken man,” Costanzo's attorney said.

2007 Mortgage Litigation Dominated by Shareholder Actions
PR Newswire - New York, NY
Mortgage fraud was alleged in 25 cases. In many of those suits, lenders allegedly pressured appraisers to inflate values.

New Mortgage Rescue Goes Beyond Subprime
Forbes - NY
At-risk borrowers with all types of mortgages, not just high-cost subprime loans, could be eligible for help under a new plan involving six big home lenders.

AllRegs Partners with Smith Dollar Law Firm
Originator Times - USA
AllRegs announced that its Ask the Expert - Legal Content Support Services (LCSS) will be offered through Santa Rosa, Calif.-based Smith Dollar P.C., a leading mortgage banking law firm.

Appraisers Coerced To Raise Valuations
Honolulu Advertiser - Honolulu, HI
Appraiser coercion is described as part of a national problem that quietly evolved over the past decade or so and helped undermine housing markets around the country, though to a much lesser degree than fraudulent loan practices and subprime lending abuses.

How Could So Many People Afford Homes At Peak Of Boom?
Santa Rosa Press Democrat - Santa Rosa, CA
"The entire real estate debacle is the fault of everybody that was involved. And it was all about greed and speed," said Rachel Dollar, a Santa Rosa attorney who represents lenders in fraud and other cases. "The brokers wanted their commission. The lenders wanted their premiums. The borrowers wanted their homes."

A Visit to Fraud's Zip Code
WXIA-TV - Atlanta, GA
The impact was profound. Along nine blocks of Lucile Avenue, there are 64 houses that are foreclosed from mortgage fraud. From Malaguerra's front porch, he can see almost a dozen houses that sit vacant, victims of fraud.

Real Estate Woes Turning Into Tangled Bankruptcies
Milwaukee Business Journal - Milwaukee, WI
Investors in Maxim Enterprises - a former turnaround company for foreclosed properties - have alleged Chen-Young and Maxim were involved in a large Ponzi scheme, a scam that fell apart with last year's residential market collapse.

Rescue Me
Willamette Week - Portland, OR
As national foreclosure rates hit their highest levels ever, people calling themselves “foreclosure consultants,” are filling Craigslist, billboards and mailers with offers to “save your home.”

Time to Check Rumors About Mortgage Fraud
St. Petersburg Times - St. Petersburg, FL
Many suspect it, although no one can say for sure if shady real estate transactions in Hernando Beach amount to mortgage fraud.

Brokers: Legislation Not Needed
Gresham Outlook - Gresham, OR
As a national tide of home foreclosures spreads to Oregon, the state Legislature is responding with a bill to reform mortgage-lending practices. Some East County brokers and real estate agents are unconvinced this is an appropriate response to what they see as a cyclical phenomenon.

A Call for Action on Foreclosure Relief
Washington Post - United States
Maryland officials delivered an alarming forecast of continuing erosion in the state's housing market as lawmakers started work yesterday on a key portion of Gov. Martin O'Malley's legislative agenda aimed at slowing the rate of home foreclosures.

O'Malley's Initiative on Foreclosure Issue is Found Lacking
Baltimore Sun - United States
Consumer-rights advocates and some legislators said yesterday that Gov. Martin O'Malley's proposals for addressing the mounting foreclosure crisis don't do enough to help homeowners now, but industry lobbyists argued in a Senate hearing that parts of the bills are onerous and need to be tweaked.

Mortgage Fraud Rising in Las Vegas
NPR - USA
The FBI is cracking down on improper subprime lending. But there's a new worry as turmoil in the real estate market spreads: mortgage fraud. In Las Vegas, the number of fraud cases is rising, and the city is gaining a reputation as the mortgage fraud capital of the U.S.

Mortgage Fraud Targeted by Task Force
Monessen Valley Independent - Monessen, PA
Three years ago, Tiffany Lynn Sprouts used her father to help obtain a mortgage loan with documents that exaggerated his financial strength, according to federal court documents released Monday.

When the Price is Wrong
St. Petersburg Times
Sometimes, a sudden jump in the price of a house could indicate mortgage fraud.

U.S. Attorney's Office is First Step
St. George Daily Spectrum - St. George, UT
Utah U.S. Attorney Brett Tolman told the editorial board Thursday that when he was put into his position in July 2006 his first intention was to establish a satellite office in St. George. Tolman reaffirmed his commitment to that goal with the board during his visit. He said fighting mortgage fraud will be his No. 1 priority. All we can say is it is about time. We thank Tolman for keeping this part of the state on his radar.

Mortgage Fraud Victims Get Help
Lancaster Newspapers - Lancaster, PA
Secretary of Banking Steve Kaplan said in a statement that 13 lending institutions have agreed to continue accepting reduced mortgage payments from victims of OPFM Inc., Snyder's bankrupt company.

Inflated Mortgages
The Columbus Dispatch
More out-of-towners have reported being stuck with inflated mortgages on houses in low-income Columbus neighborhoods, where they were directed by real-estate investment classes.

F.B.I. Opens Subprime Inquiry
New York Times
The Federal Bureau of Investigation has opened criminal inquiries into 14 companies as part of a wide-ranging investigation of the troubled mortgage industry, F.B.I. officials said Tuesday.

FBI Mortgage Fraud Probes Triple
Newsday - Long Island, NY
Many facets of the U.S. economy may be in a downturn, but there is one definite new growth industry: investigating mortgage fraud.

Advanced Mortgage Fraud Detection Training Film
Insurance News Net - Harrisburg, PA
During a time of significant industry correction, Interthinx®, the leading provider of proven risk mitigation, mortgage fraud prevention and regulatory compliance tools for the mortgage industry, will continue its leadership role and provide mortgage bankers and law enforcement another free training tool necessary to combat the newest forms of mortgage fraud in the wake of record foreclosures.

Don't Hand Your House To a Thief
By Abraham Martinez
Mortgage scams are like Baskin-Robbins offerings -- they come in 31 flavors..."It's kind of become the new get-rich-quick scheme out there," says attorney Rachel Dollar, publisher of Mortgage Fraud Blog.

Foreclosure Rescue Scam Exposed...
The Bee - Portland, OR
Nationally, and locally, real estate and mortgage fraud is rising to unprecedented levels...

FBI Investigating 14 Companies for Mortgage Fraud
CNN International - USA
Complaints about potential mortgage fraud are up...and the FBI has opened criminal investigations of 14 companies related to subprime mortgage loans, the agency said Tuesday.

White Paper Now Available on How the Mortgage Industry Can Achieve Profitability
Business Wire - San Francisco, CA
A white paper titled, "Rebuilding the Mortgage Industry - the Path Back to Profitability" details how originators and investment banks can cost-effectively improve the quality of their portfolios. The changes recommended include using fraud and risk management technology...sharing data across the industry to catch more fraud and better identify early payment default risk.

Kern Leads Mortgage Risk Llist
Bakersfield Californian - Bakersfield, CA
“It was just a matter of time before (mortgage lenders) realized we are at the highest risk for mortgage defaults,” Moreno said.

New Bill Would Protect Against Mortgage Fraud
KHNL-TV/KHBC/KOGG - Honolulu, HI
Home mortgages are risky these days. Now, in addition to the public's concern for a deepening mortgage crisis, is a new problem: scam artists looking to prey on vulnerable homeowners.

Solutions to Foreclosure Crisis for Low-Income
Brooklyn Daily Eagle - Brooklyn, NY
Most of South Brooklyn’s cases involve mortgage fraud and lenders who are “unresponsive to loan modifications,” she said.

Newly Formed Grand Jury Hearing Mortgage Fraud Case
KHOU - Houston, TX
A new grand jury is now on the job in a high profile mortgage fraud investigation. The original indictments of 28 people in this case were thrown out after a paperwork mistake at the DA’s office.

Ex-Mortgage Broker's Case Goes to Jury
Arkansas Democrat Gazette - AR
As traffic inched by outside the federal courts building in downtown Little Rock on Friday afternoon, a jury huddled inside to begin deliberating on 16 fraud charges against Nelson Miller, former owner of a mortgage brokerage firm in Little Rock called Freedom Financial of Arkansas.

Blame to Go Around
Philadelphia Inquirer - Philadelphia, PA
That has led to accusations by borrowers that mortgage brokers misrepresented the loans, and charges by investors that brokerages failed to disclose the risky nature of the investments, among other disputes.

New Details in Suspected Mortgage Fraud Case
abc13.com - Houston, TX
There's new evidence in a massive mortgage fraud case that's being presented to a new grand jury. It's the latest twist in the controversy stemming from the arson case involving Texas Supreme Court Justice David Medina.

Home Rescue Fraud Is Targeted
Tampa Bay Online- Tampa Bay, Fl
The Florida attorney general's office and two state legislators said Tuesday that they will more aggressively pursue and prosecute companies that use deception to acquire the homes of people trying to avoid foreclosure.

Illegal Alien Buys Home With Phony SS Number
Rocky Mountain News - Denver, CO
"...I wrote about an illegal alien that used a phony Social Security number to buy a home that is headed to foreclosure garnered a fair amount of attention. I sent an e-mail to Rachel M. Dollar, a real estate attorney in Santa Rosa, Calif., to ask her a few questions about the issue. I asked her because she has her own blog, appropriately called mortgagefraudblog.com."

House Flipping Scammers Continue Swindling New York Homebuyers
New York Daily News - New York, NY
Would-be homeowners beware: A scam aimed at fleecing unsuspecting homebuyers is popping up at an alarming rate across the city, a Daily News probe has found.

Florida To Launch Campaign Against Mortgage Fraud
CBS 4 - Miami, FL
State investigators are concerned that as foreclosures rise, scams by people claiming to rescue homes from foreclosures will rise as well, so Tuesday the Florida Attorney General's Office is expected to make a big announcement that will help many homeowners to keep their homes.

States Fight Foreclosure Rescue Scams
Consumer Affairs - USA
The wave of foreclosures has brought even more pain to some strapped homeowners – a wave of mortgage rescue scams.

Mortgage Fraud Surging In Florida
Tampa Bay Online
More potential mortgage fraud cases were reported by lenders in Florida in 2007 than in the entire country the previous year, William Stern, a supervisory special agent with the FBI, said Friday.

Appraiser Exposes Toxic Debt Tie to Inflated Values
Bloomberg.com
Home appraiser Julian "Tony" Perez conjured $7.5 million out of thin air in the first six months of 2001 by overvaluing 33 condominiums in the Atlanta area.

Berkshire County Listed as Hotspot for Home Loan Fraud
Capital News 9 - Albany, NY
She's the victim of home loan fraud and she's not alone.

FBI Expects Mortgage Scams to Continue to Rise
The Tennessean - Nashville, TN
Federal mortgage fraud convictions have more than doubled in the past year, and the FBI expects new growth in foreclosure scams as the crisis over substandard, high-interest home loans escalates.

Tips Designed To Help Every Homeowner Survive The 2008 Real Estate Market
PR Web - Ferndale, WA
According to Americas Watchdog, "the biggest two issues associated with our nation's mortgage/real estate crisis are appraisal fraud...".

State: 'Foreclosure Rescue' Company Ripped Off Hoosiers
INDYchannel.com - Indianapolis, IN
Capital Foreclosure Inc. offered a service it said would save homeowners from being foreclosed upon, but didn't follow through on the promise, according to Indiana Attorney General Steve Carter.

Metro Targeting Real Estate Fraud
KLAS-TV - Las Vegas, NV
Metro says they're currently cross training all of its fraud investigators to handle potential mortgage fraud.

Interthinx® Introduces Free Class on Mortgage Document Fraud
Market Wire (press release) - USA
Interthinx®, a unit of ISO, and the leading provider of proven risk mitigation, mortgage fraud prevention, and regulatory compliance tools for the mortgage industry, announced it is making available to the financial services industry free online training on Mortgage Document Fraud.

Action Isn’t Enough: Saving the Industry with the Continued Pursuit of Self-Correction
National Mortgage News - Washington, DC
The good news? The mortgage industry is now doing a better job at establishing a good offense. It has realized that mortgage fraud and lax lending practices have wounded the industry, and is now taking steps to prevent it from inflicting further damage. Lenders are increasingly using the tools that are available to them.

Mortgage Fraud: New Snake Oils
Seattle Post Intelligencer - USA
USA Today says: Low interest rates, rising home values and lax lending standards created what FBI financial crimes section chief Sharon Ormsby calls "the perfect storm of lending fraud."

Mo. Governor: Criminalize Mortgage Fraud
Houston Chronicle - United States
Blunt's plan would make mortgage fraud a state felony, with a sentence of up to seven years in prison. It also would allow state departments to punish those who committ mortgage fraud.

FBI: Housing Scams More Than Double
USA Today - USA
Federal mortgage fraud convictions have more than doubled in the past year, and the FBI expects a growth in foreclosure scams as the crisis over substandard, high-interest home loans escalates.

Mortgage Fallout: Skim Scam
Review Journal - Nevada
Mortgage fraud is being conducted through a system that is broadly referred to as "equity skimming," Secretary of State Ross Miller said.

Mortgage Meltdown Spurs Lawsuits, Negotiations
Long Island Business News - Ronkonkoma, NY
Eric S. Rosenblum, chairman of the real property committee of the Nassau County Bar Association, said "We're dealing primarily with lower to middle class who were dangled an opportunity to buy a house that they really couldn't afford."

Lenders: Reread Agreements
National Mortgage News - Washington, DC
The current situation involving loan buybacks should make lenders sit up and take notice about what their rights are in that situation, a panelist told attendees at the SourceMedia Fraud and Risk Conference in Las Vegas.

Most Lenders Accept Tough New Mortgage Rules in Mass.
Boston Globe - United States
Some of the companies have tightened qualification standards, such as requiring more documentation of a borrower's income. Others have changed how they pay the independent mortgage brokers who arrange most loans. The relationship between brokers and lenders is a focus of the new regulations.

Condo Buildings Buckle Under Foreclosures
MiamiHerald.com - Miami, FL
Others said widespread mortgage fraud, involving inflated appraisals and faux buyers, also led to the dizzying rise in defaults.

With Fraud Gaining Attention, New Appraisers Now Must Go to College
Voice of San Diego - San Diego, CA
With prosecutors nationwide illuminating real estate fraud schemes undertaken during this decade's heated housing market, at least one of the state's legions of real estate professionals face new training requirements. California's Office of Real Estate Appraisers raised the bar last week for would-be appraisers wishing to join the 19,500 appraisers already licensed and working around the state.

Lamb: 'Superman' to Federal Prisoner
Charlotte Observer - Charlotte, NC
The man who overcame his small size to play in the NFL and used similar nerve to forge his own business embezzled more than $1 million from his company and conned his father-in-law into buying a house with a hidden mortgage.

Fannie Mae Will Reimburse Its Servicers for Referrals to HOPE Hotline
Fannie Mae News
As part of its ongoing commitment to support borrowers facing potential foreclosure, Fannie Mae (FNM/NYSE) will reimburse its servicing partners when they refer homeowners who are behind in their mortgage payments to the HOPE Hotline for counseling.

Buyer Still Beware?
GoErie.com - Erie, PA
Pesch said such safeguards are badly needed in cities like Erie, which has been rocked by widespread mortgage fraud and spiking mortgage foreclosures.

Bad Appraisals Contribute to Housing Mess
Arizona Republic - Phoenix, AZ
"Almost all the mortgage fraud and foreclosures in the Valley now can be linked to appraisals that were too high," said Drue Bates, who has been a Valley appraiser for 18 years. "When a home appraises for $400,000 but recent comps of similar houses on that block are $300,000, it's easy to see something is wrong."

Brokers Seek to Regain Borrowers' Trust With New Set of Standards
San Francisco Chronicle - CA
Mortgage brokers, who have borne much of the blame in recent months for the subprime mortgage crisis, are trying to reassure borrowers that they are worthy of trust.

2008 Legislative Preview: Mortgage Brokers, Lenders Face More Scrutiny
Daily Record - Baltimore, MD
Rising foreclosures in Maryland have become a prime concern for lawmakers on the eve of the 2008 session. In addressing the issue, the General Assembly is expected to look to the source for mortgage lending: the people who originate loans in the state.

Accused Foreclosure Scam Artist Behind Bars
KVBC - Las Vegas, NV
It's a housing scam so big investigators admit the cases they know about may be just the tip of the iceberg. A Las Vegas man is behind bars accused of preying on those who were about to lose their homes. He said he could save them from foreclosure.

Seeking Honest Home Values
Los Angeles Times - CA
Starting today, the educational requirements for California home appraisers will be tougher, but a veteran property evaluator who teaches how to spot fraud says the rules won't alter how many appraisers do their jobs.

The Cult of Plausible Deniability
OpEdNews - Newtown, PA
Mortgage fraud is typically portrayed as the classic white-collar crime perpetrated only by "prolific and egregious" offenders. The exploits and subsequent convictions of a handful of notorious fraudsters receive wide spread media attention.

How a Bank Fell Victim to Loan Fraud
Los Angeles Times - CA
Kathy Moore's loan application sailed through the mortgage desk at Lehman Bros. Bank, and little wonder. With sterling credit, deep pockets and two appraisals pegging the value of the Benedict Canyon house she wanted to buy at $2.5 million, she seemed a perfect fit for a $1.47-million loan.

Lender Lobbying Blitz Abetted Mortgage Mess
Wall Street Journal - USA
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.

How Life Worked Out For 4 Bay Area Homeowners Facing Foreclosure
San Francisco Chronicle - CA
Belief that fraud ran rampant in the mortgage lending system is strong, but few have been held accountable to date. That can be seen on a small scale in the four Bay Area stories: While all four homeowners say that fraud or misrepresentation occurred when they got their mortgages, there is no clear-cut way to prove it.

Real Estate Grey Zones or "Can They Really Do That?"
San Francisco Chronicle - CA
"But can they really do that?" It's a question I've been asked again and again from first-time home buyers, seasoned sellers, just about anyone who finds herself in the middle of a real estate transaction that seems to have slipped into a gray zone between common practice and legal technicalities — between friendly business-as-usual and hardball negotiating.

Officials Falling Behind on Mortgage Fraud Cases
New York Times - United States
The number of mortgage fraud cases has grown so fast that government agencies that investigate and prosecute them cannot keep up, lenders and law enforcement officials have said.

Don't Fall For The Scams In San Bernardino County
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin - Ontario, CA
San Bernardino County Assessor Bill Postmus was warned of a growing property foreclosure scam being promoted throughout the county.

Mortgage Probes Face Big Hurdles
Washington Post - United States
As credit woes sparked by the troubled housing market threaten the broader economy, investigators are trying to determine whether Wall Street investment banks bundled risky loans with good ones without properly disclosing such risk to investors.

New State Law Targets Fraud in Home Lending
Albany Times Union - Albany, NY
In response to growing concern over fraudulent home loans, beginning Jan. 1 all of the state's 50,000 brokers and loan officers must register with the state Banking Department.

SEC Starts Inquiry of WaMu
Seattle Post
The Securities and Exchange Commission is looking into Washington Mutual Inc.'s mortgage lending practices, deepening a controversy over whether the Seattle-based company pressured appraisers to come up with inflated values to justify making home loans.

Wall Street: Crimes or Misdemeanors?
Denver Post, CO
There has been criminal conduct at every stage of the mortgage business, and there is ample proof that virtually every major investment bank in the mortgage securitization business initiated fraud, or through conscious avoidance or reckless disregard of facts known to them, enabled, aided and abetted fraud.

Guest Opinion: More Must be Spent to Stop Mortgage Fraud
Tucson Citizen, AZ
Over the past several years, we have read and heard countless testimonials from Arizona residents on the devastation of mortgage fraud, including many reports within this very publication.

The Real Mortgage Fraud
Mexia Daily News, TX
Contemplating the subprime mortgage problem, with numerous borrowers unable to pay their debts, the party’s presidential candidates and congressional leaders have a simple solution: Fleece the lenders.

Fraud Seen as a Driver In a Wave of Foreclosures
Wall Street Journal
Skyrocketing foreclosures are a testament to how easy it was to borrow from mortgage lenders in recent years.

Fed Tightens Up Lending Rules
CNNMoney.com - USA
...That would mean an end to claims of loans with 1 percent interest rates when the rate is actually much higher. The 1 percent usually refers merely to the minimum payment consumers are required to make. Each payment made at that level means the balance owed on the mortgage grows.

FBI to Focus On Area Mortgage Loan Fraud
Washington Post
The FBI today will launch a mortgage fraud task force in its Washington field office, joining a widening net of state and local investigators digging into the market crisis.

FBI Reports Top Areas for Mortgage Fraud
Originator Times - USA
Mortgage Fraud is defined as the intentional misstatement, misrepresentation, or omission by an applicant or other interested parties, relied on by a lender or underwriter to provide funding for, to purchase, or to insure a mortgage loan.

The Hijacking of Mile High Capital Group and Its More than 1,000 Victims
RisMedia.com - Norwalk, CT
Rick Dryer, founder and former CEO of Mile High is currently under indictment on 67 felony charges ranging from theft to securities fraud for his involvement in an alleged real estate Ponzi scheme.

Fraud Probe Figure Seeks Lawyer
GoErie.com - Erie, PA
Another local businessman has been connected to the federal criminal probe of suspected mortgage and housing fraud in Erie.

Web Video Combats Foreclosure Scams
PC World - USA
Fraudsters are targeting troubled borrowers facing foreclosure in a scheme that could leave homeowners with even more debt than they otherwise would face, a new online video warns.

Home Mortgage Bailout More Political Expediency Than Viable Solution
Stockton Record - Stockton, CA
Lending, appraisal, real estate fraud and predatory practices also might become the targets of federal prosecution.

Mortgage Meltdown Linked to Fraud
Deseret News - Salt Lake City, UT
Speaking Thursday to the Utah chapter of the Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW) Network, Blake Heiner, vice president and regional counsel for First American Title Insurance Co., said fraud is a key component of the current mortgage meltdown.

We'll Buy Your Home. Not!
San Jose Mercury News - CA
No, they won’t. One hint that these are scofflaws: signs are often posed on public property. That is usually against the law. This is a popular scam. Suffice it to say that you shouldn’t fall for it. You might get caught up in a “mortgage rescue” scam that will end up costing you.

RPT-Online Video Helps Troubled Borrowers Spot Fraud
Reuters - USA
Fraudsters are targeting troubled borrowers facing foreclosure in a scheme that could leave homeowners with even more debt than they otherwise would face, a new online video warns.

Woman Claims She's a Mortgage ID Theft Victim
WOOD-TV - Grand Rapids, MI
Instead...Salazar conspired with a couple of Ottawa County brothers working in real estate and made Maldonado sign documents that refinanced her home, and bought another one near Holland.

Town Center Bankers Expect to be Indicted
Pioneer Press - St. Paul, MN
William Sandison, head of Community National Bank in North Branch, and Curtis Martinson, the former senior lending officer at the bank, are under investigation for allegations of bank fraud, according to "target letters" from the U.S. attorney's office.

Fannie Mae Deems Denver a Declining Market
Denver Post - Denver, CO
Too many appraisers, under pressure to not derail a purchase, were marking the "stable" box instead of the one that said "declining," said Wolfe, who works with Freddie Mac on appraisal-fraud cases. Appraisers also have failed to properly account for concessions from sellers, which inflate the value of a home.

Inner-City Landlord Shifts to the Suburbs and Loses
The Charlotte Observer - Charlotte, North Carolina
The Helmses bought three, six, 12 homes at a time. They invested primarily in four neighborhoods -- Brookmere, Hemby Woods, Northridge Village and Stewarts Crossing -- all of which became high-foreclosure areas.

New Suburbs in Fast Decay
The Charlottle Observer - Charlotte, North Carolina
The best of them show subtle signs: Vacant houses. Overgrown weeds. Trash piled at the curb.

Mortgage Meltdown
San Francisco Chronicle - CA
But unfortunately, the "freeze" is just another fraud - and like the other bailout proposals, it has nothing to do with U.S. house prices, with "working families," keeping people in their homes or any of that nonsense.

No Hope Now
San Francisco Chronicle - CA
If our elected officials really want to get involved in a helpful way, they must take steps to ensure that the mortgage industry is purged of fraud. ...

Bush to Announce Freeze on Mortgage Rates
Providence Business News - Providence,RI
...Its analysts predict that 775,000 homes, with mortgage debt totaling $143 billion, will enter foreclosure in the next two years.

Some Families Affected by Mortgage Fraud Scheme Struggle to Find Homes
Southeast Missourian - Cape Girardeau, MO
Orman lived in one of the homes that was part of the mortgage fraud scheme that hit Sikeston. She's known that she would eventually have to vacate her home, and had made arrangements to move into an apartment by Monday.

White House's Mortgage Rescue Plan Announced
San Jose Mercury News - CA
The general gist is that people who occupy their homes, aren't late yet on their payments but would become delinquent in the event of an impending rate reset between next year and July 31, 2010, can qualify to get their introductory rate frozen where it is for five years.

Mortgage Fraud Scheme: How It Worked
Sikeston Standard Democrat - Sikeston, MO
About six months after a housing scheme dealing with mortgage fraud in Scott County was uncovered, people are putting together the pieces on what exactly happened.

House OKs Plan to Rescue Homes
DetNews.com - Detroit, MI
Michigan legislators on Tuesday passed the first of several expected remedies to the growing threat of foreclosures, approving a loan program that could help thousands stay in their homes.

How to Spot a Foreclosure Scam
Blogger News Network - USA
With 1-2 million foreclosures on the horizon, we are probably going to see a lot of shady characters advertise on lamp posts, classified ads, pay-per-click advertising and spam e-mails with questionable promises to rescue people in a difficult situation.

Mortgage Fraud Eases
PR Newswire - New York, NY
Civil and criminal mortgage fraud case activity eased during November from October...

More Single Women Buying Homes and Becoming Targets for Real Estate Thieves
OpEdNews - Newtown, PA
According to mortgage fraud research, older people, single women and minorities top the hit parade as targets of mortgage fraud. Who woulda thunk it?

Easy Loans Mean Painful Losses
Denver Post - Denver, CO
From 2000 to 2006, the percentage of home loans to investors doubled nationally, and the number of mortgage-fraud cases leapt 700 percent, from about 3,500 to about 28,000

New Attempt to Curb Mortgage Fraud
KTAR.com - Phoenix, AZ
A state senator plans to make another attempt in January to provide more money for the Arizona Department of Financial Institutions, which hands mortgage fraud complaints.

Foreclosure Rescue: No Help For You
CNNMoney.com - USA
A plan put together by U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to stave off foreclosures leaves out a lot troubled borrowers.

Mortgage Fraud: It's So Bad Feds Just Track Cases Over 50K
OpEdNews - Newtown, PA
Welcome to mortgage fraud central, where criminal conspiracies between banking insiders, fraud rings and greedy government officials are taking Uncle Sam and tax payers to the cleaners.

Foreclosures Point Way to Criminal Investigation
The Courier News - Elgin, IL
A former Elgin-based mortgage broker is scheduled to be sentenced next month after pleading guilty to fraud charges in the scheme that left at least 18 Fox Valley homes on the path to foreclosure.

Foreclosures Have Ripple Effect
WXIA-TV - Atlanta, GA
Foreclosures in Georgia are up 64 percent to one in every 332,000 households. Sub-prime loans and mortgage fraud can shoulder much of the blame for the increasing numbers.

Prosecutors Want 10-Year Sentence for Cunningham Figure
North County Times - Escondido, CA
Thomas Kontogiannis, an international businessman who admitting laundering bribe money for Congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham, continued to run a $100 million mortgage fraud scheme for months after he pleaded guilty in the political corruption case, prosecutors said in new court documents.

Foreclosures in Shelby Township Neighborhood Raise Suspicions
DetNews.com - Detroit, MI
The FBI said it cannot confirm whether an investigation is ongoing. Mark Bowling, the FBI's supervisory senior resident agent for Macomb, St. Clair and Sanilac counties, said his agents are actively working mortgage fraud cases throughout the county.

Mortgage Firm Owner Pleads Guilty
Motley Fool - USA
The owner of a shuttered mortgage business pleaded guilty Wednesday to a federal charge of mail fraud, two months after hundreds of his customers first realized they owed more on their mortgages than they previously believed.

FBI Investigates MN Mortgage Company For Fraud
WCCO - Minneapolis, MN
Newly-released documents confirm that the FBI is investigating a Roseville, Minn. company for alleged mortgage fraud.

Equity Skimming Plagues Region
DetNews.com - Detroit, MI
Financial One wasn't in Delaware -- it was incorporated in Michigan. Those who walked through its doors in an office building in Lathrup Village looking for home improvement loans sometimes ended up homeless, with their equity stripped and their houses in foreclosure, according to state documents detailing the mortgage scheme.

Team Collects $1 Million in Commissions from Bad Loans
Originator Times - USA
At times they used third parties with higher credit scores as straw buyers, misrepresenting to lenders that the third parties would occupy the homes.

Fitch: Underwriting & Fraud Significant Drivers of Subprime Defaults
Business Wire - San Francisco, CA
--Apparent fraud in the form of occupancy misrepresentation; --Poor or lack of underwriting relating to suspicious items on credit reports; --Incorrect calculation of debt-to-income ratios; --Poor underwriting of 'stated' income loans for reasonability; --Substantial numbers of first-time homebuyers with questionable credit/income

Georgia Cracks Down on Fraud
DetNews.com - Detroit, MI
State makes mortgage shams a crime, leading to dozens of arrests.

Foreclosures Follow Dealmaker
St. Petersburg Times - St. Petersburg, Fl
Padded prices on contracts send money to a man who is not even listed as part of the transactions.

Snyder Fails to Show at Hearing
Lancaster Newspapers - Lancaster, PA
About 300 customers victimized by Wesley A. Snyder's multimillion-dollar mortgage scam were disappointed Tuesday when the broker failed to show up at a bankruptcy hearing in Berks County.

Fraud Deepens Michigan Housing Crisis
DetNews.com - Detroit, MI
Metro Detroit's foreclosure explosion linked in part to mortgage scams.

Mortgage Fraud Hits the Courts
Voice of San Diego - San Diego, CA
In one of the first local cases in a national crackdown on mortgage and real estate fraud, four people connected with a San Marcos realty office have pleaded guilty to charges that they went to great and illegal lengths to secure mortgages for financially unqualified consumers, thereby pocketing more than $1 million in fraudulent commissions.

Money From Suburbs Helped Finance Inner-City Fraud
GoErie.com - Erie, PA
The story of Erie businessman Robert L. Dodsworth is messier. Dodsworth's getting what he deserves as part of the ongoing federal investigation into suspected mortgage fraud in Erie.

Fraud Will Get You
By Expert
"A lot of these practices are taught at the get-quick-rich seminars that explicitly teach you how to find straw buyers," says Rachel Dollar, a Santa Rosa attorney (ibid.).

Loan Was Too Good To Be True
Newsday - Long Island, NY
Through a friend, they met Aaron Wider, a Garden City mortgage banker who also owned several homes in the Massapequa area. They settled on a two-family high ranch in North Massapequa at a sales price of $805,000.

Mortgage Fraud Cases Yield Tough Sentences
Houston Chronicle - United States
As the meltdown of the subprime mortgage market plays itself out in Houston, prosecutors are getting some stiff sentences fighting fraud that grew from weaknesses in the industry. At the Harris County District Attorney's Office, the consumer-fraud section has multiple cases, and the major-fraud section has about half its resources in mortgage fraud cases.

What Should Loan Officers' Duties Be?
Statesman Journal - Salem, OR
Should a loan officer's responsibility to customers be akin to a Realtor? A lawyer? An investment adviser? A used-car salesman? The duties and proper role of those who offer mortgages lie at the heart of the subprime-loan and related lending crisis sweeping the nation, according to some industry representatives and lawmakers trying to reform Oregon home-lending practices.

Home Foreclosure Nightmare Getting Worse
WHIOtv.com - Dayton, OH
The foreclosure crisis has been well documented in Montgomery County. Records obtained from the Montgomery County Clerk of Courts indicate 5,075 foreclosure cases were filed in 2006, setting an all-time high.

Woman Accused of ID Theft Skips Court
ReporterHerald.com - Loveland, CO
A woman accused of stealing a long-time friend’s identity to buy a $320,000 home in Loveland, then trying to steal personal information from her new neighbors, failed to show up for a plea hearing.

State Going After Real Estate Broker
Pittsburgh Post Gazette - Pittsburgh, PA
Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett yesterday said he would ask federal prosecutors to open an investigation into a North Hills real estate broker and his associates, saying James C. Platts and his company, Easy Realty Solutions, flagrantly violated state and federal laws.

Mortgage Company Accused of Blatant Fraud
KSL.com
Falsifying loan documents, changing tax records, forging signatures -- we try to track down those involved in what the state says was blatant mortgage fraud. The State Department of Commerce's Division of Real Estate has just shut down one mortgage company and is going after the people involved.

Bear Gets 23 Co-Sponsors for Bill
Lancaster Newspapers - Lancaster, PA
Those families include at least 53 of his Lititz-area constituents who were victims of the Personal Financial Management mortgage scam. Some called to ask him for help. Bear formally introduced legislation Monday that would clarify state laws governing mortgage lenders and brokers in an attempt to prevent another devastating scam.

Plea Expected in Fraud Case
GoErie.com - Erie, PA
Robert L. Dodsworth, a central figure in the ongoing federal mortgage-fraud investigation in Erie, is expected to plead guilty in U.S. District Court today to felony conspiracy and money laundering charges related to the probe.

Home Lost In Foreclosure Scheme
Central Florida News 13 - Orlando, FL
The Secret Service is now investigating a possible case of mortgage fraud that possibly includes hundreds of local homeowners.

Ohio Court Gives Victory to Homeowners Facing Foreclosure
BloggingStocks - USA
A federal district court in Ohio dismissed 14 foreclosure cases brought by Deutsche Bank (NYSE: DB) on behalf of mortgage investors because they couldn't produce proof that they owned the properties they were trying to seize...

Mortgage Marketing Online
By grigsbykstd
Publish a mortgage blog about your particular niche or specialty. Check out the Mortgage Fraud Blog for a great example of this. Talk about search engine success ... Google the phrase "mortgage fraud" and see where Rachel Dollar's blog appears.

Fraud in 3-D
National Mortgage News - Washington, DC
...before we can find solutions, we must come to grips with the forces that caused the current crisis. Up until now, what has been widely ignored is the role that mortgage fraud played in setting certain forces in motion.

Senate OKs Stamas Bill on Mortgage Loan Officers
Midland Daily News - Midland, MI
The Senate passed legislation Tuesday that will help address problems within the mortgage industry by registering loan officers, said Midland Republican Sen. Tony Stamas, sponsor of the reform plan.

Cuomo Subpoenas Fannie, Freddie, Widening Loan Probe
Bloomberg - USA
Attorney General Andrew Cuomo subpoenaed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as he expanded his investigation into ``widespread'' collusion between real estate appraisers and lenders including Washington Mutual Inc.

I Hope He Goes To Jail
GoErie.com - Erie, PA
Homebuyers say dealings with businessman charged in mortgage fraud probe seemed 'fishy'.

Feds take on Cuomo
Seattle Post Intelligencer - USA
A federal regulator is criticizing New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's investigation into appraisal fraud in home loans.

Shields, Cardarella Acquitted in Mortgage Fraud Trial Two Others Convicted
Kansas City Star - MO
Wednesday’s news was not as good for two other defendants in the case. Jurors found Monty Kinman and Rick A. Peterson guilty of conspiracy and wire fraud charges.

Appraisal Fraud Reaction
Minyanville.com - New York
"Add Washington Mutual (WM) to the list of companies fighting for its financial life. If Washington Mutual has to buy back those loans from Fannie Mae (FNM), the patient will die. It's as simple as that."

Fighting Mortgage Scams
East Texas Review - Longview, TX
The home mortgage crisis is one of the great problems looming on the horizon for Americans. A combination of forces – including fraud, subprime lenders with lighter credit standards, decreases in the market value of homes, and interest rate increases – have led to a dire situation.

Foreclosure Debate Dominates
Bradenton Herald - FL
Pollock, who specializes in mortgage fraud and forgery, said the crisis was caused by the explosion of subprime loans and greed.

Cuomo's Statement on Mortgage Probe
Wall Street Journal - USA
Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo today announced his office has sent Letters of Notice and Demand, providing notice of the issuance of Martin Act subpoenas and a demand for an Independent Examiner, to the nation's two largest financiers of home mortgages, Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) and Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE).

Crisp No Longer on MLS
KGET 17 - Bakersfield, CA
Real estate agent David Crisp is no longer an agent on the Multiple Listing Services -- a tool used by real estate agents to advertise properties for sale.

No Verdict Today in Shields’ Mortgage Fraud Case
Kansas City Star - MO
Jurors in the Katheryn Shields mortgage fraud trial spent another full day of deliberations today without returning verdicts.

Senate Passes Bills Aimed at Fighting Mortgage Loan Problems
MLive.com - MI
The bills would require registration of individual loan officers with the state's Office of Financial and Insurance Services. Standards would be set for registrations and employers would have to do criminal background checks.

New Orleans Calls Real Estate Transaction Fraud
Bayou Buzz - Metairie, LA
The City Attorney's Office was immediately notified and reviewed the document in question. Based upon that review, it is the opinion of this office that the Quitclaim Deed is not only fraudulent but also defective for many reasons and should not have been accepted for recordation by the Orleans Parish Notarial Archives or the Conveyance Office on April 26, 2006.

No Government Bailout for Unreal Mortgage Market
The Bay City Times - MLive.com - Bay City, MI
Greed is not good. It got the world into the unfolding crisis that started with loans made to U.S. home buyers that they could not afford. As average Jills and Joes built enormous McMansions in former cornfields and even people just scraping by were able to buy houses, it was hard not to ask: This is nuts, how can these people afford these places?

Scheme Alleged to Inflate Value of Real Estate
New Brunswick Home News Tribune - New Brunswick, NJ
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said Thursday a major real-estate appraisal company colluded with the nation's largest savings and loan companies to inflate the values of homes nationwide, contributing to the subprime mortgage crisis.

Jury Goes Home Without Verdict in Shields’ Mortgage Fraud Case
Kansas City Star - MO
A federal jury resumed deliberations about 8:20 this morning in the mortgage fraud case involving former Jackson County Executive Katheryn Shields. It left shortly after 4 p.m. without reaching a verdict.

No Matter the Verdict, Shields Will Pay Dearly
Kansas City Star - MO
I wouldn’t be surprised if one or both of them walked. As for the other two defendants — alleged players in the conspiracy to defraud a mortgage lender — I haven’t a clue.

Defense Rests Case in Shields' Mortgage Fraud Trial
Kansas City Star - MO
Katheryn Shields testified this afternoon that she signed closing documents concerning the sale of her home without reading them. She was the final defense witness in the federal mortgage fraud trial involving her, her husband, Philip Cardarella, and two other defendants.

Victims of Scam Face Losing Homes
Asbury Park Press - Neptune, NJ
Under the scheme, homeowners who had been struggling to make mortgage payments, or were in foreclosure, say they were contacted by one of the suspect companies and persuaded to agree to what sounded like a wonderful deal: An investor would buy their property temporarily, and then they would pay rent to live in their own house and buy it back within two years.

Mortgage Meltdown
Tracy Press - Tracy, CA
Subprime loans bear the brunt of the blame for soaring foreclosure rates in one of the worst housing markets in decades. But some Tracy lenders find themselves paying the price for more than just bad loans; they’ve fallen prey to outright fraud.

Fighting Mortgage-Related Scams
North Texas e-News - TX
The home mortgage crisis is one of the great problems looming on the horizon for Americans. A combination of forces – including fraud, subprime lenders with lighter credit standards, decreases in the market value of homes, and interest rate increases – have led to a dire situation.

Foreclosure Among The Upper Class
MSNBC - USA
Once, they were dream homes, with views of the golf course, a marble-floored music room, servants' quarters and a taste of the good life behind the gates of some of Tampa's most posh communities. Now, they sit abandoned, with overgrown lawns, leaky roofs and deep-green, algae-filled pools. They are empty and overpriced.

Griffin Mortgage Scam Suspect a Community Mover
Newsday - Long Island, NY
Jacob Milton, the mortgage broker at the center of a growing scandal involving identity theft and phony mortgages, is a television talk show host active in the Bangladeshi community and a regular donor to political campaigns, police sources and others who know him said.

Shields Testifies That She Didn't Read Documents Before Signing
Kansas City Star - MO
As a lawyer and three-term executive of Jackson County, Katheryn Shields had ample experience reviewing and signing legal documents and contracts. But when it came to the sale of her home last year, Shields told a federal district court jury Thursday that she didn’t read closing documents before signing them...

N.Y. AG: Appraisers Inflated Home Values
CBS News
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said Thursday a major real estate appraisal company colluded with the nation's largest savings and loan companies to inflate the values of homes, contributing to the subprime mortgage crisis.

Mortgage Fraud Probe Widens
Stockton Record - Stockton, CA
A federal probe into an alleged mortgage fraud scheme in Stockton widened Thursday as another man was indicted on charges he took part in a ring that illegally flipped more than 100 homes, the U.S. Attorneys Office announced.

Utah Announces Mortgage Fraud Task Force
Daily Herald - Provo, UT
Utah ranks as one of the biggest hot spots in the country for mortgage fraud and several high-profile cases have brought recent attention to the issues. To help combat the problem, state and federal officials announced a new task force that will target mortgage fraud schemes.

Study Finds Midwest Has Highest Risk of Foreclosures, Fraud
WWMT - Kalamazoo, MI
A new report finds the highest risk for mortgage lenders nationally is in Michigan -- where high foreclosures and mortgage fraud persist.

County Creates Trust Fund to Crack Down on Real Estate Fraud
EyeOutForYou.com - Bakersfield, CA
"There is mortgage fraud....and it is taking place in Kern County," said Bakersfield appraiser Gary Crabtree as he addressed Kern County Board of Supervisors at a public hearing.

Minnesota Mortgage Fraud Resources
Alex Stenback
One of the ongoing problems in cases of mortgage fraud is that the victims often don't have the resources to hire legal representation, and have no idea where to turn for help.

What Goes Around …
National Mortgage News - Washington, DC
The majority of fraudsters are industry insiders who leverage their knowledge to take advantage of weaknesses in lenders’ processes and defenses. Thus mortgage fraud does not disappear during the “down” portion of the mortgage cycle, it just morphs to take advantage of current market conditions.

Pa. Starts Mortgage Aid Plans
Lancaster Newspapers - Lancaster, PA
The new programs come days after a federal judge ordered victims of the Personal Financial Management mortgage scam to either continue paying their old mortgage or pay 75 percent of their new higher mortgage, whichever is greater.

Mortgage Loan Files Found in Recycle Bin
Toledo Blade - Toledo, OH
Mr. Eppstein and the other employees climbed into the bin and began loading the files into their vehicles. He filled the back of his minivan and two other car trunks with loan application files, Mr. Eppstein said. Even then, several hundred more files remained in the bin, he said.

Alleged Mortgage Schemer Testifies at Trial of Shields, Cardarella
Kansas City Star - MO
Forged signatures, inflated appraisals and phony financial information were hallmarks of a Raymond Zwego deal. After a week of hearing about Zwego and his business methods, jurors on Tuesday heard from Zwego himself, the linchpin in the alleged mortgage fraud scheme involving former Jackson County Executive Katheryn Shields.

Hand in Hand
National Mortgage News - Washington, DC
The subprime credit risk meltdown has pushed the problem of fraud somewhat into the background. Nowadays, it seems as if attention is more on losses caused by incompetent underwriting or greedy business practice than by criminality.

Uncovering Mortgage Fraud
NuWire Investor - Bellevue, WA
...His crime? Running an elaborate mortgage fraud scheme that racked up $112 million in fraudulent loans.

FBI Agent Testifies That Shields Seemed Surprised About Allegations of Mortgage Fraud
Kansas City Star - MO
Katheryn Shields told the FBI last year that she knew nothing about the allegations of fraud surrounding the sale of her house. The then-Jackson County executive was questioned on the doorstep of the home in the Sunset Hill area of Kansas City within an hour of signing closing documents last November, Special Agent Julia Schulte-Hanish testified Monday.

Slow Housing Market Speeds Up Scam
By F D
Although nothing is illegal about cash-back-at-closing deals in which all the details are disclosed to lenders, the arrangement veers into fraud when the sale is arranged to trick mortgage companies into lending far more than the house is worth..."As with most deals that seem too good to be true, cash-back-at-closing schemes are just another way of scamming someone - in this case the lender, who’s fooled into making an under-collateralized loan," write authors Ralph Roberts and Rachel Dollar.

Parish Collapse Leaves Contractors Stuck With Unpaid Expenses
Minneapolis Star Tribune - Minneapolis, MN
It may take years for some contractors to recover from the state's largest case of mortgage fraud.

New York and Florida Condominium and PreConstruction Real Estate Contract Law News Updates
Deposit Recovery Services
"As with most deals that seem too good to be true, cash-back-at-closing schemes are just another way of scamming someone - in this case the lender, who's fooled into making an under-collateralized loan," write authors Ralph Roberts and Rachel Dollar.

Mortgage Lenders Taking Big Risk in Michigan
WLNS - Lansing, MI
A new report finds that mortgage lenders are taking a big risk in Michigan. A First American Core Logic study finds eight of the ten riskiest markets are located in the Midwest. Michigan has three of those markets for residential mortgages. The findings are based on tendency for fraud, house prices and the economy.

Moving Ahead on Mortgages
New York Times - United States
The Treasury Department has blessed a plan by Citigroup, Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase to form a fund to buy some mortgage-related assets. Banks could avoid having to sell those assets at fire-sale prices and avert losses that could tighten credit for everyone. But the banks seem to be having trouble raising money for the fund. Mortgage-backed investments don’t seem so enticing when more foreclosures are coming.

Targeting Mortgage Fraud
Deseret News - Salt Lake City, UT
Despite all of the shining features this state has to offer, there's one blemish to Utah's gleaming image that Utah's governor and U.S. attorney would like to rub out: mortgage fraud.

County Staff Recommends Funds to Fight Real Estate Fraud
KGET 17 - Bakersfield, CA
The District Attorney said we don't really need it, but county staff has recommended a trust fund to pay for the fight against real estate fraud.

Feds Say Mortgage Scandal Was Fraud
Lancaster Newspapers - Lancaster, PA
A federal prosecutor finally said Friday what customers of Wesley A. Snyder having been saying for weeks: Snyder committed fraud.

Real Estate
Miami Daily Business Review - Miami, FL
Title insurance agents, the last people most home buyers and sellers see before a deal closes, are increasingly among the first being prosecuted for mortgage fraud.

AG Moves to Close "Foreclosure Rescue" Company
El Paso Times - El Paso, TX
A company preying on desperate consumers who fear losing their homes to foreclosure is closer to being shutdown, Attorney General Greg Abbott said today.

Mortgage Fraud
Miami Daily Business Review - Miami, FL
The Florida Bar has joined the fight against mortgage fraud in South Florida.

Appraiser Testifies In Shields Trial
KCTV5 News - Kansas City, MO
An appraiser who alerted the FBI to a possible mortgage scam involving former Jackson County Executive Katheryn Shields took the stand during her trial on Tuesday.

Goddard: Beware of Mortgage-Rescue Scams
Arizona Republic - Phoenix, AZ
Terry Goddard is worried about mortgage-rescue fraud and wants homeowners to be careful. Arizona's attorney general is warning troubled homebuyers to steer clear of scam artists who promise to stop foreclosure proceedings, keep owners in their homes and provide a little cash in the process.

Interthinx Acquires NIA Consulting, Revamps Offerings
National Mortgage News - Washington, DC
"As fraud gets more complex and changing, the more Interthinx understands what and how things are happening from a street-level based on these audits we’re doing," said Mr. Zwerner, "we're now able to take these patterns and take them into our pattern-matching technology. It includes the most-up-to-date schemes."

Criticism Rains Down on Mortgage Industry
USA Today - USA
Fraud was rampant. Many of the subprime borrowers who got loans simply shouldn't have. Those loans — no one knows how many — can't be saved.

Witness Details Alleged Mortgage Fraud During Katheryn Shields’ Trial
Kansas City Star - MO
Day one of testimony in the Katheryn Shields mortgage-fraud trial brought the first of seven convicted co-defendants to the stand Tuesday to explain how the alleged scheme operated.

Mortgage Fraud Scheme
WBTV - Charlotte, NC
Hundreds of people in the Charlotte area are financially ruined because they were victims of a mortgage fraud scheme operated by a local promoter.

Mortgage Broker Faces Further Fraud Charges
Newsday - Long Island, NY
The case against the man charged with being a rogue mortgage broker picked up steam yesterday, as the suspect was charged with scamming another man's identity, buying two homes in his name and leaving him more than $1 million in debt.

Preview of Opening Day in Shields Trial
Kansas City Star - MO
The mortgage-fraud trial of former Jackson County Executive Katheryn Shields opens today. Here's a summary of the case and the four defendants who have pleaded not guilty...

Shields Fraud Case Goes to Trial
Kansas City Star - MO
The federal mortgage-fraud case against former Jackson County Executive Katheryn Shields gets underway...

Help Center To Open For Mortgage Scam Victims
Lancaster Newspapers - Lancaster, PA
Sympathy for the Personal Financial Management mortgage scandal's victims has transitioned into support.

Prosecutor Honored For Mortgage Fraud Cases
Kansas City Star - MO
The U.S. Justice Department has honored a Kansas City federal prosecutor for her work on large-scale mortgage fraud cases.

Hammer Out Mortgage Repairs
Detroit Free Press - United States
...Steps include certifying loan officers, to ensure they know and follow the state's rules. The package also covers appraisal fraud, and requires lenders to tell borrowers if their credit rating would entitle them to better terms.

Mortgage Fraud Victims Deserve Our Help
Minneapolis Star Tribune - Minneapolis, MN
The stories of mortgage fraud victims can bring tears to your eyes...There is the man with six children who lost his family's home on his wedding day after being snared in a "foreclosure rescue" scam.

Oahu Homeowners Keep up on Mortgages
Honolulu Star-Bulletin - Honolulu, HI
The report's highest-risk markets, spread across Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee, were in regions with high foreclosure and mortgage fraud rates, combined with higher-than-average unemployment and lower-than-average wage growth...By contrast, less risky markets like Honolulu have experienced lower-than-average unemployment, higher wage growth, moderate house price appreciation, low foreclosure rates and minimal fraud and collateral risk.

Mortgage Fraud Case Gathers Momentum
Newsday - Long Island, NY
The investigation, which started in July, is expected to uncover dozens - maybe hundreds - of victims, police sources said, and is likely to involve millions of dollars in identity theft and mortgage fraud.

Homeowners Beware Foreclosure Help Scams
CBS2 Chicago - Chicago, IL
The Better Business Bureau recently issued a national alert because of a rise in complaints about companies that disappear after taking your money; about sky-high fees for simple phone calls consumers could make themselves; or plans where homeowners are enticed to turn over their titles or surrender ownership.

WSJ Misses Fraud Behind Alien “Mortgage Boom”
VDARE.com - Warrenton, VA
The notion that low income illegals are less likely to default than better heeled “prime” mortgage borrowers makes no intuitive sense. And if the ITIN market is so lucrative, why (according to the story) have only smaller mortgage lenders entered it?...perhaps the most important factor: Illegal aliens are notoriously used as “straw buyers” in house flipping scams.

Auction Postponed on Crisp's Mansion
KGET 17 - Bakersfield, CA
Local appraiser Gary Crabtree said if the home does go up for sale, it will be the highest single family home foreclosure in Bakersfield history...Federal agents raided the home and Crisp's real estate office last month as part of an ongoing mortgage fraud investigation.

Eagle Mountain Mayoral Candidate Investigated For Mortgage Fraud
KUTV - Salt Lake City, UT
A man eyeing the top office of a Utah County city is in hot water, he’s accused of mortgage fraud.

Attorney General Martha Coakley Testifies on Mortgage Lending Disparities
Siglo21 - Lawrence, MA
Attorney General Coakley highlighted her office’s multifaceted approach to the current lending crisis including several investigations and enforcement actions in bringing civil cases against those involved in...foreclosure rescue scams.

Mortgage Scam Letters Arrive in Fairfax County
WTOP - Washington, DC
The letters have been popping up in Fairfax County boasting the official county seal on the envelope. But they are not at all from a county agency..."They're basically saying you can get money out of equity in your home or get this big lump sum. They're targeting the elderly or people who are limited in English but they're [the recipients] not reading the fine print."

Plainfield Mortgage Firm Closes Amid Fraud Probe
Chicago Daily Herald - Chicago, IL
The state has revoked the license of a Plainfield mortgage company, saying two of its operators helped to falsify a client's loan application.

Real Estate Investment Opportunities: Make Sure You Do Your Homework
Realty Times - TX
To get around it, they make the transaction "under the table," or omitted in the closing papers. Don't even consider such a move. It's called mortgage fraud and you can get in big trouble.

Interthinx Grows Fraud-Fighting Technologies
Inman.com (subscription) - Emeryville, CA
The company reviews several hundred real estate transactions per month for signs of fraud or misrepresentation. As mortgage fraud continues to escalate and ...

A Home Appraisal in Just Two Clicks
St. Petersburg Times - St. Petersburg, FL
Zaio claims the images, together with its proprietary "GeoScore" property rating system, combats mortgage fraud. It's hard to turn your frog of a home into a prince - or vice versa - if verification is a couple of clicks away in the Zaio system.

Appraisers Respond: Too Much Fraud In Lending
Realty Times - TX
Realty Times has been flooded with mail about the story "Sickened by fraud, a real estate appraiser turns in his pencil" we did about Texas appraiser Bob Burnitt.

Cashing in on Foreclosures
calendarlive.com - Los Angeles, CA
"It's ethical, it's honest and it's an opportunity for hefty financial rewards along with the personal satisfaction of helping others," she says. Indeed, she counsels would-be investors to extend the same helping hand even when a foreclosee's best option is not to sell them the home.

The Subprime FHA
Wall Street Journal - USA
FHA-insured loans have also been at the center of some of the worst excesses of the housing boom, including mortgage fraud, loans made without income...

TV Anchor Apologizes for Ignoring 'Red Flags'
Deseret News - Salt Lake City, UT
A television sports anchor has issued an apology for failing to research the financial background of an alluring proposition that ended up being a house-flipping scheme.

Dave Fox Talks About His Mortgage Fraud Charges
KUTV - Salt Lake City, UT
Fraud in the mortgage market has been illuminated lately with the emergence of nationwide real estate troubles.

Scandalous Tales Abound at Fraud Conference
The Missoulian - Missoula, MT
Everyone brought a horror story to the consumer fraud summit Thursday in Missoula.

Beazer Homes Faces Up To $15M Fine For Loan Violations
USA Today - USA
Beazer Homes (BZK) said Thursday that some employees at its mortgage division broke federal loan laws from at least 2000 through early this year.

Crisp, Cole & Associates To Fight DRE Accusations
KGET 17 - Bakersfield, CA
David Crisp and Carl Cole plan to fight fraud charges by the state that could see them stripped of their real estate licenses.

How to Avoid Unscrupulous Foreclosure 'Rescue' Companies
abc7.com - Los Angeles, CA
An estimated two million homeowners will face foreclosure by the end of this year -- that's up 65 percent from last year alone. As the number of desperate homeowners skyrockets, so does the number of new companies promising to help. But some of these rescue companies could make a bad situation even worse.

100 Most Influential Real Estate Leaders: 2007
Inman News
Rachel Dollar is among the 100 most influential real estate leaders for 2007!

MBA Proposals For Mortgage Fraud Legislation
MortgageNewsDaily.com - Scottsdale, AZ
MBA says that "the interpretation of a new statute may be influenced in unforeseen ways by other existing statutes (or vice versa.)" As we detailed in the earlier article, MBA feels that a number of types of statues such as those prohibiting mail fraud provide adequate protection and cover under which to prosecute fraud against lenders.

Beware of Home Loan Foreclosure Scams
13abc.com - Toledo, OH
The woman did not want to be on TV but she says her eldely mother is in foreclosure and she almost got scammed by a foreclosure rescue company.

S&P Says Underestimated Extent of Mortgage Fraud
Reuters - USA
The chief economist of Standard and Poor's said on Tuesday that the ratings agency had underestimated the extent of fraud in the U.S. mortgage industry.

MBA Advises Against Broadening Fraud Laws
MortgageNewsDaily.com - Scottsdale, AZ
MBA rather narrowly defines mortgage fraud as the "intentional enticement of a financial entity to make, buy, or insure a mortgage loan when it would not otherwise have done so, had it possessed correct information."

The American Dream Turns into a Debtor's Nightmare
Los Angeles Times - CA
The monthly payment, as he says he understood it, would be $3,600 -- steep for a glass cutter who made $9 an hour -- but Aviles counted on his wife and three of his six daughters, who also worked low-paying jobs, to contribute.

Key to Mortgages: Education
KPLU - Seattle, WA
Numerous mortgage companies have gone out of business. One of the reasons is a lack of education on the part of both lenders and borrowers. What's being done to correct this situation? KPLU's John Maynard talks with Richard Hagar, a Seattle-based educator and appraiser who teaches courses on real estate and mortgage fraud prevention.

A New Mortgage 'Cop'
Wall Street Journal - USA
One of the sharpest attacks on Wall Street these days is coming from the Midwest. That is where Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann assigns much of the blame for the state's record mortgage-foreclosure rate -- a mess he calls "the largest financial scam in American history."

Florez Calls Kern 'Hotbed' of Mortgage Meltdown
Bakersfield Californian - Bakersfield, CA
"We definitely give them information up front," said Kathryn Mika, Bakersfield branch manager of Countrywide Home Loans.

Interthinx Ends Summer Season With Series of Enhanced Technologies to Combat Mortgage Fraud
Market Wire - USA
In response to the increasing turmoil faced by the mortgage industry in recent months, Interthinx®, Inc. has fast-tracked a number of cutting-edge technological enhancements to protect financial institutions across the country from further devastation caused by the epidemic of mortgage fraud and risky loans.

Officials Say You Can't Be Too Cautious With ID Theft
North Brunswick Sentinel - NJ
A home health-care aide steals her client's daughter's information, so that after the mother passes away the daughter is denied a mortgage payment and can't buy a house.

Home Appraisers Pushed to Inflate Values
San Jose Mercury News - CA
Pushed to exaggerate home values during Silicon Valley's real estate run-up, appraisers say agents and homeowners are now pressuring them to prop up those values as prices decline.

Mortgage Brokers' Sleight of Hand
Boston Globe - United States
Because you are a careful shopper, this sounds good - one-stop comparative shopping. The broker most likely didn't add, "I'll take a bribe to steer you to the loan that is more expensive for you and more profitable for the lender."

Sen. Florez Discusses Tonight's Real Estate Forum
KGET 17 - Bakersfield, CA
Florez wants to create a fraud unit within the District Attorney’s Office funded by a $2 fee on real estate documents recorded in the county.

Forum to Educate Community on Mortgage Fraud
EyeOutForYou.com - Bakersfield, CA
State Senator Dean Florez is calling on the Kern County Board of Supervisors to create a special unit to investigate and fight mortgage fraud.

More Muscle Wanted Behind Anti-Mortgage-Fraud Action
KGET 17 - Bakersfield, CA
Most experts said we still don’t know the true scope of mortgage fraud carried out during Bakersfield’s super-heated housing boom.

Foreclosure Forces Renters To Move
abc7news.com - San Francisco, CA
She was told by a realtor last month that the house had gone through foreclosure and sold at auction. It no longer belonged to the woman who had rented it to her.

'Red Flags' Seen in NJ Affordable Case
The Star-Ledger - New Jersey
In loan files at First United Mortgage, there were documents showing rental leases signed by people who didn't actually own the property until days later. Other documents on file related to NJ Affordable Homes properties claim buyers had been employed for many years at a business that was formed less than a year earlier.

Panel Of Experts Discuss Housing Market
KGET 17 - Bakersfield, CA
Foreclosures, fraud, and a slumping real estate market was the focus of a 17 News In Depth Forum Sunday night..."If a fraudster walks into bank ‘a’ and funds 10 loans, which are discovered in the quality control process, and they're denied, he just walks over to bank 'b' and start doing it all over again, just patching up the holes that got them caught the last time," said Rachel Dollar, MortgageFraudBlog.com editor.

Author Clears Up Mortgage Mysteries
Boston Globe - United States
Part of the reason the mortgage industry is in such a mess is that borrowers were steered into bad loans by greedy and in some cases unethical lenders, loan officers, and mortgage brokers.

Scam Alert: Foreclosure Help is Con in Disguise
Modesto Bee - Modesto, CA
As mortgage loans reset and refinancing options dwindle, more home- owners fear they're on the verge of foreclosure. But not all deals to rescue troubled home- owners are legitimate.

Mortgage-Scam Victims Fighting to Keep Homes
Lancaster Newspapers - Lancaster, PA
Fearful of losing their homes and furious at being scammed, about 200 mortgage-scandal victims gathered at the Mountville Library on Wednesday, searching for answers.

Mortgage Crisis Threatens Real Estate Recession
American Chronicle - Beverly Hills, CA
The U.S. mortgage melt down has produced a real estate crisis with falling home prices and record foreclosures, and it now threatens to produce the worst economic disaster in history, according to a new report by Housing Predictor.

Cleveland: Home of Foreclosure Crisis
Fox 8 News WJW - Cleveland, OH
About her original mortgage lender Sweet says, "They forged documents, fudged numbers and made it look like I could afford something I would never be able to pay off."

Make Mortgage Loan Originators Get a License
Concord Monitor - Concord, NH
No law prevents felons, even those with a history of financial crimes, from working as mortgage loan initiators in New Hampshire. Nor should felons face an absolute bar, since many are rehabilitated. But lenders and borrowers who put their faith in such originators need to know of past offenses.

Real Estate Industry Closes Ranks Against Fraud
North County Times - Escondido, CA
As leaders of two Realtor associations prepare to launch a task force on fraud today, agents and others in the industry say recent publicity and the threat of prosecution have iced some shady real estate operations, while driving others underground.

Mortgage Crisis May Spread
Lancaster Newspapers - Lancaster, PA
But in the past few days she's become a popular choice by many to share the rage, fear and despondency they feel after being victimized by Snyder's OPFM Inc. mortgage scheme, which caused some of their mortgage payments to nearly double and add up to as much as $100,000 in new liability.

When People Get Desperate, All Bets Are Off
By Morgan Brown
In my podcast interview with mortgage fraud expert Rachel Dollar we discussed whether incidences of fraud had peaked in 2005 and 2006, which have been deemed the worst vintages of mortgage loans and known for their dubious underwriting quality, or whether we were set to see a spike of fraud cases as home owners became more desperate.

FraudBlogger Index Soars
Earthtimes.org - USA
The dollar volume of active mortgage fraud cases was $0.235 billion in Aug. 2006, compared to $1.252 billion the prior month and $0.184 billion the prior year. July's volume reflects one exceptionally large case.

Foreclosure Scams Can Be Complex Enough To Fool Most
MortgageNewsDaily.com - Scottsdale, AZ
Probably the simplest scam is pulled by the company that claims to be able to save a house but demands an upfront fee; perhaps one month's mortgage payment. Once the fee is paid, the company vanishes, content with its quick and easy if small profit.

National Article Creates Bad Perception of Our Town
Enid News & Eagle - Enid, OK
Collusion. Fraud. Corruption. Crooked deals. These words often are associated with Washington, D.C., but rarely with Enid, Okla.

How Mortgage Fraud Functions
Voice of San Diego - San Diego, CA
...But the offer fits the profile of the most prevalent kind of mortgage fraud against lending institutions in San Diego County, experts say. Typically called "cash back at closing," an example of the scheme looks like this: A house has been listed on the market for several months at $500,000. Then, without fanfare, the listing agent raises the price to $625,000, and hires an appraiser to say the house is worth the new, higher amount. Based on that appraisal, a lender approves a loan for $620,000.

Queens Woman Victimized in Brokers' Mortgage Scam
New York Daily News - New York, NY
The growing wave of foreclosures casting a shadow over the nation's economy just crashed over 63-year-old Eva Murphy of Queens.

AG’S Office Holds Statewide Hearings On Proposed Mortgage Regs; Plans To Issue Report
Massachusetts Attorney General's Office
“This week’s hearings provided our office with a great deal of insight into how some of the practices in the mortgage industry have affected our communities and resulted in the foreclosure crisis facing the Commonwealth at this time,” said Attorney General Coakley.

Raid on Mortgage Company in Fraud Probe
The Union- Grass Valley, CA
Law enforcement agents seized documents Friday from the office of a Grass Valley mortgage company after an eight-month investigation identified suspicious real-estate loans and investments.

Alleged Mortgage Fraud Scam Involves Properties in Chanhassen
Chanhassen Villager - Chanhassen, MN
Carver County Sheriff's Sgt. Peter Anderly said some of the homes involved in a multi-million dollar alleged mortgage fraud scam are located in Chanhassen.

Harney: Why Appraisal Values Exceed Sale Prices
San Jose Mercury News - CA
What's going on with appraisals in some parts of the country? Mortgage lenders - and appraisers themselves - say they're increasingly coming in with valuations higher than the contract prices agreed to by sellers and buyers. The differences can range into the thousands.

House Approves Mortgage Rescue
Washington Times - Washington, DC
The House yesterday approved a plan to expand federal backing of mortgages in hopes of helping struggling homeowners avoid foreclosure.

Ohio Woman Says She Lent Her Name to Fraud
Minneapolis Star Tribune - Minneapolis, MN
Melissa D. Smith, 43, admitted that between 2004 and January of this year, she misled lenders who called to check on her income, never put any of her own money down on the properties, and allowed people working with a home builder to sign her name on real estate and loan documents.

National Fraud Article Has Local Mortgage Industry Talking
Enid News & Eagle - Enid, OK
From phony appraisals to consumer lies about income and employment, mortgage fraud is on the rise in the United States.

Nev. Clears Up New Mortgage Law
Forbes - NY
State lawmakers, the Gibbons administration and the attorney general's office are scrambling to clear up confusion over fuzzy wording in a new law that's making it tougher for some qualified Nevadans to get home loans.

Mortgage Woes Mount in Area After Katrina
The Times-Picayune - NOLA.com - New Orleans, LA
But then Hurricane Katrina severely damaged the house. And now the interest rate on her adjustable rate mortgage has passed 9 percent, increasing her monthly payments to more than $800. That's $180 more than she paid when she took out the loan, an amount that leaves her worried she will join the record number of Americans losing their homes to foreclosure.

Second Company Accused of Mortgage Scam
MyFox Tampa Bay - Tampa Bay, FL
As foreclosures figures soar, foreclosure fraud is also climbing, according to state consumer investigators.

CNN Heroes: Homeowner Uncovers Mortgage Fraud
CNN - USA
In 1996, stay-at-home mom Ann Fulmer got suspicious about strange happenings in her neighborhood...Fulmer uncovered a scam known as illegal flipping.

Iowa AG Funds Foreclosure-Rescue Phone, Talks Up Subprime Crisis
Legal News Line - Washington, DC
Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller has spent part of Iowa's share of a massive $325 million mortgage settlement funding telephone-based foreclosure mediation.

Mortgage Fraudsters Finding Ways To Exploit Bubble Bust
MortgageNewsDaily.com - Scottsdale, AZ
It is hard to find a tragedy in the world that some heartless rat can't find a way to exploit and the current and growing incidence of foreclosures doesn't violate the rule.

Article Alleging Enid Real Estate Appraisal Collusion, Fraud Creates Stir
Enid News & Eagle - Enid, OK
An article in a national real estate appraisers magazine that indicates Enid has a large problem with real estate appraisal collusion and possible fraud has many local professionals in the industry buzzing about the potential fallout.

Officials Say Mortgage Fraud Is Growing Problem
NBC6.net - Miami, FL
Mortgage fraud is a growing problem in South Florida. The crime can cause you to lose money by affecting the price of your home and your property taxes.

Most Sub-Prime Lending is Nefarious, But Legal
Allentown Morning Call - Allentown, PA
I believe, however that the headline above the piece may be misleading. It's not wrong, but it gives the impression that all sub-prime lending is what Jennings wrote about. What he valiantly fought against is criminal fraud. Most sub-prime lending is nefarious, but legal. The difference is that in the Jennings' article the home buyers were defrauded.

Clean-Up Specialists Capitalize on Forclosures
Stockton Record - Stockton, CA
As the housing market sinks deeper into the biggest slowdown that local real-estate brokers can remember, the few agents who specialize in foreclosures are hopping busy.

Mortgage Brokers Group Adopts a Code of Ethics
Baltimore Sun - United States
In the wake of the subprime lending crisis, a state mortgage-broker trade group is taking steps to shore up the profession's image and separate itself from unethical brokers who contribute to borrowers' mortgage woes.

Appraiser Reacts to Crisp & Cole Raids
KGET 17 - Bakersfield, CA
The fact that appraisers are targeted in the investigation may mean the FBI is looking hard at allegations the Crisp, Cole and associates committed mortgage fraud for profit by flipping houses purchased with inflated loans and the profits going back to Crisp and Cole’s former firm.

Prosecutor Presses Mortgage Fraud Cases in Solon
The Plain Dealer - Cleveland, OH
Solon police are investigating 40 to 50 cases of suspected mortgage fraud, Detective Christopher Viland said.

Government's Mortgage Aid Questioned
The Associated Press
"What the government doesn't realize is that these people knew what they were getting into. They just thought that these housing prices were going to keep going up and up," said Roach. "A bailout sets such a bad precedent. You're encouraging bad behavior."

Local Broker Aids in Real Estate Scam Arrest
Pleasanton Weekly - CA
The transaction was completed and Buack gave Cunningham a fake promissory note and a lien on a property which he apparently didn't own. Upon exiting the office, police arrested Buack for burglary, three counts of making false financial statements and one count of using a fictitious business address.

Crisp's Home, Office Raids Culmination of 2006 Probe
KGET 17 - Bakersfield,CA
The fact that appraisers are now targeted in the investigation may mean the FBI is looking hard at allegations that Crisp, Cole and associates committed mortgage fraud for profit, flipping houses purchased with inflated loans with profits going back to the firm.

Fraud From Housing Boom Becoming Apparent
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin - Ontario, CA
But some of these residents have fallen victim to more than just bad financial decisions - they're victims of mortgage fraud.

Foreclosure Rescue Scam Could Cost You
KOMO - Seattle, WA
They promise to keep you in your home - "GUARANTEED!" Pay the fee -- usually around $1,200 -- and there's a good chance you may never hear from them again.

State Accuses Crisp & Cole of Fraud
KGET - Bakersfield, CA
Carl Cole and David Crisp used their Bakersfield realty and mortgage companies to cheat lenders out of millions of dollars, according to an accusation filed Monday by the California Department of Real Estate.

D.C. Real Estate Deal Has Ties to Investor Convicted of Fraud
Examiner.com - USA
A $2.7 million deal between the District and a convicted real estate swindler and his family is raising red flags among D.C. Council members, who are questioning the purchase of an apartment complex that the city wants to transform into residences for the homeless.

Real Estate Fraud: Facts, Figures and Closed Cases
Tokas Blog
Special agents with IRS Criminal Investigation are uniquely equipped to investigate these types of mortgage fraud and illegal real estate crimes because they are skilled financial investigators whose mission is to 'follow the money.'

Alleged Fraud for Profit Mortgage Scheme in Southern Metro
Alex Stenback Blog
Fresh evidence from the Star-Tribune today that we have a much larger fraud-for-profit mortgage problem in the Twin Cities than many care to imagine.

Landlord Accused in Fraud, Theft Case
Indianapolis Star - United States
Officials allege Brent E. Perkins, 27, Indianapolis, bought a house at 4509 N. Ralston Ave. but failed to make mortgage payments on it even as the U.S. government sent $4,045 in rent checks to him as the landlord. Renters lived in the house under a federal welfare housing program known as Section 8.

Be Wary of Unlicensed Mortgage Brokers
Providence Journal - Providence, RI
Concerned about mortgage fraud and predatory lending practices, many states have toughened their laws by requiring loan officers or originators to undergo extensive background checks and show proof of professional experience and training.

Mortgage Fraud Infiltrates Suburbs
Minneapolis Star Tribune - Minneapolis, MN
The Karaus are among dozens of people in the Twin Cities' southern suburbs caught in what state regulators believe is the largest case of mortgage fraud in Minnesota history.

Mortgage Mayhem Too Fast For Law
Denver Post - Denver, CO
When Denver real estate attorney Ronald Thompson contacts the Colorado attorney general's office about mortgage fraud or real estate scams, he knows his chances of getting help are slim to none.

1st Magnus Made Many Risky Loans in Arizona
Arizona Daily Star - Tucson, AZ
"We jokingly called them 'liar loans,'" said Anita Luciano, a former First Magnus underwriting manager in Houston. "A borrower can state their income and state their assets — and you approve their loans."

Much Blame to Share in Mortgage Crisis
Bradenton Herald - FL
Every day brings new headlines of mortgage lenders declaring bankruptcy or a congressional investigation into mortgage fraud heating up.

Mortgage Relief Has to Include Tax Relief
WebCPA - New York, NY
Many homeowners also found themselves the victims of unscrupulous salespeople who misrepresented the terms of the financing and convinced mortgagees that they could always refinance whenever their payments became too high.

Democrats Legislation to "Regulate" Mortgage Lending Will Cause a Recession
Red State - USA
Its one thing for the government to step in and control potential fraud in the industry - its another matter entirely for the government to step in and mandate the lending rules lenders would be forced to follow.

Real Estate Fraud
WPTV - West Palm Beach, FL
Coastal Escrow Services appears to be op