One year has passed since the U.S. Department of Justice issued a memo stating they planned to prosecute individuals and not just firms for their roles in the crisis, but they have yet to do so—and one lawmaker is asking the FBI why.
Read More »DoJ Watchdog Finds Lax Approach to Mortgage Fraud
An audit conducted by the inspector general for the Justice Department found that, despite public statements to the contrary, mortgage fraud isn't a highly prioritized issue. FBI field offices visited by the Office of the Inspector General, including Baltimore, Los Angeles, Miami, and New York, listed mortgage fraud to be a low priority—if it was listed as one at all.
Read More »Commentary: Happy Anniversary?
The debate over TARP is only one of several five-year anniversaries we mark this month, all related to the mortgage meltdown.
Read More »Denver Woman Sentenced in Mortgage Fraud Case
Denver resident, 32-year-old Vicki Dillard Crowe was sentenced to 60 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release and a restitution payment of $2.4 million for mortgage fraud.
Read More »Officials: 530 Indicted in Mortgage Fraud Schemes Since October 2011
Federal officials jointly announced Tuesday the results of the Distressed Homeowner Initiative, which is the first nationwide effort focusing on fraud schemes that targets struggling homeowners. Their efforts so far have led to 530 criminal defendants (including 172 executives) being charged in 285 federal criminal indictments. The cases involved more than 73,000 homeowner victims, and losses are estimated to be in excess of $1 billion.
Read More »Fraud Task Force Calls on Whistleblowers to Come Forward
A task force created by the Obama administration to crack down on residential mortgage-backed securities misconduct recently went live with a new website for whistleblowers. The Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities Working Group established the online portal for those willing to air grievances about misconduct in the packaging and sale of mortgages into securities at financial institutions. The Justice Department launched the RMBS Working Group earlier this year to look into allegations of misconduct.
Read More »Three Loan Officers, Brokerage Owner Face Stiff Sentences
A brokerage owner and three mortgage loan officers in New York faced future in prison Thursday as the authorities prepared to sentence the former and the latter pled guilty to mortgage fraud. MReport culled the latest accounts of fraud from a news publication and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Of the three loan officers, one may reportedly face up to 30 years in prison, while the other two each face 50 years. Tens of millions of dollars lost in their schemes resulted in loan defaults and bilked lenders.
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