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Search mortgage fraud news by keyword.
News, analysis and statistics about mortgage fraud.
Stories about individual mortgage crime cases.
Statics by year about real estate fraud.
Quarterly index based on case activity.
Reach mortgage executives, loan originators and other people tied to mortgage industry.
Free mortgage news for prospective borrowers.
Free e-mail newsletter with the latest headlines from MortgageDaily.com.
The latest case activity tracked by FraudBlogger.com for your Web site or for your RSS reader.
Archive of FraudBlogger.com entries going back to 2005. |
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July 20, 2007
Solution Validates Borrowers' Employment Data
A new electronic solution allows mortgage bankers to validate a borrower's employment, phone, address and employer tax ID number within 24 hours.
Tool Automates Broker Validity Check
Lenders now have a tool that automates the license and background checks of third-party originators.
Appraisal's Role in Mortgage Fraud
Mortgage fraud cannot exist without an
appraisal and these are often inflated to get excess cash
from loans or to please originators, among other reasons.
read story from Explorer
Five Accused of Home Improvement Scam
Former mortgage brokers Scott Almeida
and Frank Giffone, along with three others, are accused
of participating in a scam that lured low-income borrowers
to finance home improvement projects, mostly through loans
by Argent Mortgage Co., that never got completed.
read story from Bay News 9
July 19, 2007
MN Seeks Ban on SI Loans
Minnesota legislators are pushing for
Congress to pass a predatory lending bill based on a state
law that goes into effect next month and will largely ban
stated income loans.
read story from Star Tribune
July 17, 2007
Firm Sued for Home Investment Fraud
Two investors, including a loan consultant, allege they are in default on loans due to Marshall Reddick Real Estate Network Inc.
using a large portion of their funds for commissions and overhead rather than on building their investment homes.
$1 Billion Fraud
Mortgage lenders and 800 investors may
have been defrauded by two individuals who took in nearly
$1 billion in what may wind up as the biggest fraud case
in California history. The pair, who promised to invest the
funds in real estate, allegedly used the money to pay for
personal activities and fund offshore accounts.
read story from MortgageDaily.com
Bank Accused of Flipping Scam
A Florida bank, which has already been sued
by shareholders and ordered by regulators to abandon an unsafe
construction loan program, is now facing a lawsuit from 175
borrowers who claim the bank was operating a flipping scam.
Denying that it engaged in fraud, a bank spokesman said the
borrowers will be expected to repay the loans.
read story from MortgageDaily.com
Mortgage Fraud Red Flags
Documents that aren't included in the
mortgage contract and money exchanged outside of the
closing are reasons to suspect mortgage fraud is taking
place.
read story from WSFA
ID, Mortgage Fraud Story on Hold
New developments in the investigation
of a 25-year old man claiming someone stole his identity
and used it to get a mortgage have led a news station to
delay broadcasting a story on the matter.
read story from 17KGET
Conference Addresses Mortgage Fraud
New construction mortgage fraud is among
the issues that will be addressed in the Dallas, Texas,
area this week.
read story from Dallas Morning News
WA Prepared to Combat Mortgage Fraud
Washington mortgage brokers say
the lack of funds for mortgage fraud-fighting agents
is ongoing but assured that the state has already taken
other measures to protect borrowers, such as having surcharges
from recorded deeds go toward an anti-fraud fund and requiring
loan officers to be licensed.
read story from Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Ponzi Scheme Skims Home Equity
Pacific Wealth Management LLC of
Nevada, its principals and related firms are accused
of running a Ponzi scheme involving the offering of
unregistered securities to investors who were induced
to extract equity from their homes to raise investment cash.
read story from Arizona Daily Star
HUD Advises on Avoiding Foreclosure, Fraud
Amid rising defaults resulting
from adjustable-rate mortgage resets, the U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban Development released
the top 10 steps borrowers should take to avoid
foreclosure and being a victim of mortgage fraud.
read story from The Post and Courier
Inflated Appraisals Drive Up Costs
Appraisals that value homes at
inflated prices are among the factors significantly
pushing up home prices and taxes over a short time
in certain neighborhoods.
read story from MSNBC
Mortgage Info Leads to ID Theft
Asking for mortgage loan account
information on fraudulent Web sites or through phone
calls is among the methods and more specific questions
identity thieves are using to dupe consumers.
read story from Herald Star
2 Accused of Mortgage Investment Scam
Dozens of investors are suing
Hendrix Montecastro and James Duncan, who allegedly
falsely promised high returns on investment properties
on which they inflated values, obtained mortgages but
did not repay and skimmed the related home equity.
read story from 10News
Mortgage Employee Charged with Stealing
Denise Murphy is accused of stealing
over $10,000 in mortgage closing fees from Northwest
Indiana Mortgage by never reporting or logging them
with the company.
read story from Post Tribune
Task Force Adds 2 Fraud Convictions
A special fraud task in Michigan
has earned convictions on all the cases it has taken
to court, including two involving Russell Jenkins
Daniels and Leroy Adams, who were respectively sentenced
for a deed fraud scheme and for fraudulently procuring
titles to properties and obtaining mortgages.
read story from Detroit Free Press
Recognizing and Avoiding Fraud
Mortgage fraud can have a domino effect
on the economy at large, occur through inflated appraisals
or foreclosure rescue scams, among other ways, and can be
avoided by simply refusing to sign any documents that are
not fully understood.
read story from Post Gazette
July 16, 2007
Preventing NOO Quit Claim Deed Fraud
Among the steps vacation homeowners can take to avoid having their investment stolen through quit claim deeds is to establish a land trust that can hide the their names from public record.
Man Awaiting Sentence Seeks Passport
Michael Rodd, who awaits sentencing after
admitting he participated in an alleged mortgage fraud scheme,
wants his passport returned to make a business trip to Zimbabwe.
read story from Kansas City Business Journal
Borrowers Need More Protection
While lawmakers recently passed the
Texas Residential Criminal Mortgage Fraud Act, which
calls for the creation of a task force against fraud,
among other things, still to be resolved are high
homeowner insurance rates in the country and the misuse
of power by many homeowner associations.
read story from The Dallas Morning News
NAMB Pushes for Positive Broker Image
To stop honest brokers from being
lumped into the same category as bad actors who commit
mortgage fraud, the new president of a prominent mortgage
broker trade group is pushing for a national registry that
would list all originators and, among other things, a brand
name that would help identify honorable mortgage brokers.
read story from Realty Times
Lawyer Accused of Mortgage Fraud
Authorities arrested attorney
Alexander Kaplan on charges of collaborating with
26 others in a subprime mortgage scheme in which
he acted as the closing attorney on the fraudulent
purchase of 10 properties.
read story from North County Gazette
Man Imprisoned for $1.4M Mortgage Fraud
Fayyaz Ahmed will serve time for
stealing the identity of an individual and putting
that victim's property as collateral on $1.4 million
in mortgages he obtained from five lenders.
read story from Staten Island Advance
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