Tag Archives: Mortgage Fraud

The Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP) has had laser sharp focus on ensuring foreclosure fraud offenders suffer the consequences of their offenses. A northern California man is now behind bars after a SIGTARP investigation found he used the U.S. bankruptcy courts to con desperate homeowners into paying him monthly fees to postpone foreclosure proceedings. He was sentenced to 10 months in federal prison and three years of supervised release on fraud charges.

After hearing arguments for a month in a Manhattan federal court, a 10-person jury found Bank of American liable for one charge of fraud involving high-risk mortgages originated by Countrywide and then sold to the GSEs. Also found liable for fraud was Rebecca Mairone, who worked as COO for one of Countrywide's lending divisions and who was responsible for overseeing the company's "High Speed Swim Lane" program, often referred to as "the Hustle."

CoreLogic released Wednesday its quarterly Mortgage Fraud Report, which measures overall fraud activity based on the company's Mortgage Application Fraud Risk Index. According to CoreLogic's data, fraud risk among mortgage applications declined 5.6 percent year-over-year in Q2, with approximately 19,700 of mortgage applications being flagged as having a high risk of fraud. In Q2 2012, the company identified 20,900 high-risk applications, which represented about 0.7 percent of all applications tracked.

In its 15th Annual Mortgage Fraud Report, LexisNexis Risk Solutions put a spotlight on three economic indicators: mortgage fraud and misrepresentation involving industry professionals, potential collusion activity, and volume of properties in default. Looking at mortgage loan fraud levels, researchers at LexisNexis determined that most states have seen fraud fall to normal levels since 2008, though the fallout from prior years continues to build.

Mortgage fraud risk edged up slightly in the first quarter of 2013, Interthinx revealed in its latest quarterly Mortgage Fraud Risk Report. California was the riskiest state in the nation, boasting a mortgage fraud risk index of 125. The report also shows that purchase mortgages have a higher fraud risk than refinances, with index values of 118 and 88, respectively. In addition, 10 states are in the "very high risk" category when considering only purchase loans.

Mortgage fraud risk saw a slight increase last year, with the largest concentration located in the eastern half of the country, Interthinx revealed in its annual Mortgage Fraud Risk Report. According to the yearly report--based on analysis of loan applications processed throughout 2012 by Interthinx's FraudGUARD system--the 2012 Annual Mortgage Fraud Index was 150, a 3.4 percent rise from 2011's index reading of 145. The firm also observed a notable shift in fraud risk from west to east.

Mortgage Daily's Mortgage Fraud Index fell to its lowest level in nearly five years in Q4 2012, but the drop may just be a temporary dip. The fraud index read 758 in the fourth quarter, down from 1,017 in Q3 and 1,141 in Q4 2011. According to Mortgage Daily, the fourth-quarter index reading was the lowest since first-quarter 2008. In terms of dollar amount of loans involved in fraud, California posted a decline from the third quarter, when it ranked No. 1. It was replaced by Florida, which reported about $246.9 billion involved in fraudulent activity.

According to Interthinx's latest Mortgage Fraud Risk Report, the company's mortgage fraud risk index climbed to 159 in last year's fourth quarter, representing a 16 percent increase from Q3 2012 and 9 percent increase from Q4 2011. Reflecting the national trend, the number of "very high risk" metros spiked from 70 in Q3 to an unprecedented 125 this quarter, the report revealed. In addition, 26 states have at least one newly added "very high risk" metro.

A newsletter from DBRS asserts those states still reporting high levels of mortgage fraud risk may see their home values drop.

A report from Kroll Factual Data, Inc., shows the risk of mortgage fraud rose 1.1 percent throughout the country between the second and third quarters of 2012.