Tag Archives: Mortgage Fraud

After remaining relatively flat for about a year, mortgage fraud is on the rise again, according to CoreLogic.

Mortgage fraud cases declined by 15 percent over the third quarter of this year, while the dollar amount involved in mortgage fraud cases declined by just 6 percent, according to the Third Quarter 2012 Mortgage Fraud Index released Monday by MortgageDaily.com. This disparity in declines points to an increase in the amount of money involved in each case during the quarter, according to Mortgage Daily. The total dollar amount of loans involved in mortgage fraud cases in Q3 was $1.7 billion, up from $1.3 billion in the same period last year.

Interthinx's mortgage fraud index dropped to 137 in the third quarter of this year, down 7.7 percent from the previous quarter and 4.5 percent from the same quarter a year ago. Two states--California and Florida--accounted for more than half of the very high risk metros. The number of metro areas considered "very high risk" increased by one in Florida, bringing the state to 17, while California's total stayed flat at 19. Merced, California, led as the riskiest metro, and the state held six out of the top 10 metros most at-risk for fraud.

Former DocX president Lorraine Brown is looking at a two- to three-year stretch in prison after accepting a plea deal over robo-signing practices, according to announcement from Missouri attorney general Chris Koster.

A massive mortgage fraud investigation led to 17 defendants being charged with crimes ranging from mortgage fraud to money laundering, according to a release from the Justice Department. An additional 14 defendants have also agreed to plead guilty in connection with the investigation, bringing the total number of defendants to 81. A federal indictment unsealed in late October charges the 17 defendants with a number of crimes stemming from their alleged involvement in a criminal organization simply called the "Enterprise."

The Department of Justice sued Bank of America for over $1 billion for alleged mortgage fraud related to the sale of loans to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The state of Texas dismissed mortgage fraud charges against a Dallas socialite and former pageant winner, The Dallas Morning News reported. According to the report, the Dallas County district attorney requested to drop three charges brought against socialite and former Miss Georgia Erin Hill.

California attorney general Kamala Harris announced Tuesday the arrest of two suspects who are believed to have participated in a mortgage fraud enterprise that mainly targeted the Spanish community. Joana Sosa and Zoila Ortega are facing charges of grand theft, burglary, unlawful collection of advance fees, tax evasion, and conspiracy in a wide-ranging mortgage fraud scheme.

Kroll Factual Data revealed that the loans it processes had a 1.3 percent quarterly increase in the possibility of fraudulent activity in Q2.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that a federal jury convicted a Las Vegas homebuilder in an $8 million mortgage fraud scheme. According to the report, Paul Wagner, a homebuilder in the area for 20 years, was found guilty of conspiracy and fraud charges for selling houses at inflated prices in an attempt to defraud lenders.