| |
|
|
|
|
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. |
|
|
| |
Mortgage Industry Fraud
news and insights
Archives November 27, 2005
|
| |
|
| |
Insights from
Patrick Crowley
|
|
Fraud Wire
|
|
Broker, 4 Processors Indicted
A federal grand jury in Louisiana has returned a 65-count indictment against an alleged mortgage fraud ring that included a mortgage broker, four loan processors and an appraiser. The bad deals were submitted to a now-defunct subprime subsidiary of Bank of America.
The ring used phony information -- including bogus financial information and doctored photos -- in a scheme that involved more than 50 properties in 15 Louisiana communities, according to a copy of the indictment.
Prosecutors say the defendants knowingly submitted "materially false qualifying information and documentation along with other false representations" on loan applications made to Equicredit Corp. of America, the former subprime unit of Bank of America.
The phony information included "false" financial figures, Social Security award letters, W-2 forms, work histories, Verification of Mortgages, or VOMs, and "other false documents in an attempt to get a loan processed for an otherwise unapprovable borrower who was not financially qualified," the indictment charges.The scheme lasted from April 1999 to November 2001, according to the indictment. All seven of the defendants have pleaded not guilty to charges that include conspiracy, bank fraud and mail fraud.
read the rest of Patrick's story at MortgageDaily.com
(subscription required)
Broker Jailed for Stealing CA License
| The operator of a bogus California mortgage brokerage |
 |
has been arrested for allegedly using another broker's license to get wholesalers to fund fake loans that used fraudulent information she stole from prospective borrowers.The broker,Ondeya M. Redeemer of Corona, Calif., has been charged with eight counts of identity theft, Corona Police Det. Frank Zellers told MortgageDaily.com.
Redeemer surrendered to police after an arrest warrant had been issued for her. She is being held on a $2.5 million bond and if convicted could be sentenced to more than15 years in prison, Zellers said.
Her lawyer could not be reached to comment.
"This is just the latest case of mortgage fraud we've had in our community and in this part of the country," Zellers said. "It's become an epidemic."
read the rest of Patrick's story at MortgageDaily.com
(subscription required)
|
|
November 25, 2005
Bank's Former CEO Going to Prison
Ed Fisher, former CEO of the Bank of Jackson Hole, was sentenced for transferring nearly $600,000 from a fake loan account to an unnamed borrower in an arrangement that disguised the fact the borrower was not making payments from his funds on the loans.
read the Associated Press story .
NAMB Cautions Consumers About Broker Fraud
The National Association of Mortgage Brokers says consumers should walk away from brokers who suggest lying on applications, never sign blank documents and beware of telemarketers or Internet advertisers, among other things.
read story from the Detroit Free Press .
MS Broker License Suspended for Fraud
Mississippi has issued a $10,000 fine and suspended the license of Rhonda Hare, owner of Hare Mortgage Co. in Meridian, for three years because of alleged mortgage fraud and usurious broker fees.
read the Associated Press story .
MN Realtors ID Spate of Mortgage Fraud Transactions
The FBI and Minnesota regulators are investigating a dozen calls from members of the Minnesota Association of Realtors who in the past month have encountered questionable real-estate transactions.
read story from the St. Paul Pioneer Press .
November 23, 2005
Mortgage Companies Scammed By Fake Advertising
Steven Morris and Pamela Clark are accused of taking money from mortgage company clients who believed they would be advertised in a directory.
read article from KMBC 9 News .
Investors Duped by Former CO Mortgage Broker
Raymond P. Morris, a former mortgage broker and previously the owner of Plum Creek Financial, and his ex-wife, Janet Morris, face a combined 26 felony charges for duping 36 Colorado investors out of $2.5 million.
read story from the Rocky Mountain News .
Fraud Creeps West in Colorado
Colorado Attorney General John Suthers, who hosted a public meeting Tuesday in Grand Junction, said local prosecutors and police officers need to better comprehend mortgage fraud schemes so they are more willing to accept victims' reports and prosecute the criminals.
read article from The Daily Sentinel .
November 22, 2005
Civil Fraud Case Delayed Until Criminal Fraud Case Concludes
A federal judge has stayed a lawsuit by Opteum Financial Services LLC, which claims it was defrauded by nearly a dozen people on two dozen homes, until March 1 at the request of two defendants, both of whom have been indicted on related criminal charges.
read story from the Bradenton Herald .
1000s of Mortgage Fraud Victims Each Year
"The FBI has found that undercover operations are highly effective in uncovering those criminal acts. The mortgage fraud problem is a priority for the FBI," FBI special agent Daniel D. Roberts, reportedly told The South End.
read story from The South End .
November 21, 2005
Florida Title Co. Owners On the Run
Investigators are searching for Michael Wozniak and Gloria Long, who were indicted on charges of stealing millions from customers of their title company.
read story from nbc4 News .
Con Artist Took Real Estate Investments, Skipped Town
Mark H. Saunders, who was previously charged with aggravated theft and two charges of securities fraud, was booked into a county jail Friday, two months after being arrested in Florida.
read story from the Curry Coastal Pilot .
LOs Guilty of Submitting 9 Fraud Loans to Flagstar
Daniel M. Laffey, 49, and Michael D. Altman, 42, former loan officers for America's Mortgage Outlet, pleaded guilty to defrauding Flagstar Bank.
read story from the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review .
Mortgage Co. Owner Changes Plea to Guilty
John Myers, founder of National Mortgage Co., pleaded guilty Friday to helping former congressional candidate Adam Taff fraudulently obtain a mortgage.
read story from The Witchita Eagle . |
|
|
| |
Patrick
Crowley is fraud journalist for MortgageDaily.com and a reporter and columnist
for The Cincinnati Enquirer.
Email Patrick at: PatCrowley@FraudBlogger.com |
|
|
