Government

SIGTARP announced Tuesday that a Virginia man was sentenced earlier in the week to more than seven years in prison for running a fraudulent mortgage-rescue business. Howard R. Shmuckler of Virginia Beach, Virginia, was sentenced to 90 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. He was found guilty of running a mortgage-rescue business that received substantial amounts in fees but only modified clients├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ó mortgages in a few cases. Shmuckler pleaded guilty to six counts of wire fraud on April 10.

The Pending Home Sales Index rose a strong 5.9 percent in May to 101.1, returning to its level of March, the National Association of Realtors said Wednesday. The index had slipped in April to 95.5 after reaching its highest level since April 2010. The index is up a solid 13.3 percent since May 2011. The report is another in a string of positive signs for the housing sector. Pending home sales are counted when sales contracts are signed, and are viewed as a leading indicator of existing home sales, according to NAR.

Increases in all aspects of Freddie Mac├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós total mortgage portfolio led to a higher (but still negative) annualized growth rate, according to the GSE├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós Monthly Volume Summary for May. The summary showed that Freddie Mac's total mortgage portfolio for the month shrank at an annualized rate of 9.4 percent, a drop from 14.1 percent in April but still far above March├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós 2.9 percent contraction rate. The negative annualized growth rate YTD is 6.8 percent. Liquidations dropped immensely - by negative $45.4 billion.

The FHFA reported Tuesday that mortgage interest rates fell based on loans closed in the last week of May. The average interest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage loan ($417,000 or less) decreased 17 basis points in May to 4.04 percent, the FHFA said. The contract rate on the composite of all mortgage loans was 3.78 percent, down 15 basis points from 3.93 percent in April. Rate changes are based on unweighted survey data. Because interest rates are determined 30-45 days before loans are closed, reported rates depict market conditions from mid- to late- April.

A stunning Long Island estate may be set to make history in the Hamptons, according to Curbed.com. The 33-acre listing in Sagaponack, New York, was recently put on the market for $65 million, making it the most expensive property for sale in the area.

PSM Holdings, Inc., is seizing its bragging rights, recently announcing that three team members from company subsidiary, PrimeSource Mortgage, were named among the country's top three producers.

In Louisiana, Jones Walker is welcoming a new hire in its New Orleans office. The law firm has appointed David S. Willenzik as special counsel for Jones Walker's operations throughout the lending and financial vertical.

The Case-Shiller Home Price Indexes rose for the first time in eight months in April. The 10- and 20-city indexes each rose 1.3 percent to the highest levels this year. Year-over-year, the 10-city index was down 2.2 percent and the 20-city index off 1.9 percent, both improvements from March. Prices improved month-over-month in all but one of the 20 cities tracked by Case-Shiller; prices fell 3.6 percent in Detroit. Prices were up year-over-year in 10 of the 20 cities. Economists had expected declines in the 20-city.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency filed suit Friday against Illinois tax officials for imposing unlawful taxes on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Several Illinois counties have attempted to collect transfer taxes from the GSEs, and some have threatened to reject future property transfers from the enterprises if they do not pay the state and county transfer taxes. Illinois officials have demanded transfer fees from both enterprises. Similar claims and demands have been made from other Illinois counties.

Although mortgage fraud activity seems to be leveling off, a report from MortgageDaily.com showed that mortgage fraud continues to cause foreclosure problems for the most victimized states. The Mortgage Fraud Index, which reflects mostly criminal cases involving law enforcement and court proceedings, showed that mortgage fraud crawled up in the first quarter of 2012. The index was 1151, slightly above Q4 2011├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós 1141 index. The highest recorded index was 2790 in fourth-quarter 2008. According to the website, most of the cases involve crimes committed five or more years ago.