Pasadena Story: From Flipper To Accused Fraud Ringleader
Los Angeles Times - CA
an Ameriquest account executive named Jeanetta Standefor makes her pitch to appear on a cutting-edge cable TV show: She's talking about the quick money she's going to make remodeling a Pasadena condo and reselling it for a quick profit...Fast forward four years to today's newspaper: "The FBI arrested the president of a Pasadena company Wednesday...The 11-count indictment...charges Jeanetta M. Standefor of Altadena with wire fraud, mail fraud and money laundering."

Boca Firm Audited After Scam
Palm Beach Post - FL
Florida's largest title insurer launched an audit last week of a Boca Raton title agency's transactions. Fortune Title Services LLC closed a number of deals now at the heart of an alleged mortgage fraud scheme that has generated multiple federal indictments.

On The Myth Of Walking Away
Housing Wire - USA
And in terms of investor-owned properties, it’s likely tough to ascertain just how many really are out there. We know that 20 percent of mortgage fraud — and there is plenty of it out there, as HW readers know — involved so-called "occupancy fraud."

Mortgage Delinquency On The Rise
CNNMoney.com - USA
Of the top 10 markets with the highest risk of delinquency, eight are in California and two are in Florida. Previously, markets in states like Michigan and Ohio, where the labor market has been weak, dominated the list of most delinquency-prone markets.

Report: About Half Of Cleveland's Subprime Loans Ended In Foreclosure
WTTE - Columbus, OH
The Cleveland Plain dealer is reporting that about half of the city's subprime mortgage loans written by top lenders in 2005 ended in foreclosure filings.

House Stealing on the Rise in the Midlands
WIS - Columbia, SC
Stealing someone else's house -- it may sound impossible, but it's happening around the country.

Prosecutors Say Real Estate Fraud Was Motive In San Ramon Murder
Inside Bay Area - Oakland, CA
Prosecutors charged an El Sobrante man today in connection with the murder of a San Ramon man that appears to have stemmed from an alleged real estate fraud involving a piece of property in North Richmond.

Local Family Wins Sweepstakes, Has Mortgage Paid Off
KSDK - St. Louis, MO
A St. Clair family no longer has to worry about paying a mortgage after winning a contest promising a free home mortgage..."I thought it was a scam that this wasn't real...no way this could happen to us," Michno said.

Scam Artists Move In As Foreclosure Crisis Builds In Salinas
Monterey County Herald - Monterey, CA
Hernandez told them it would better to stop paying their mortgage because they were going to lose the house anyway. He then offered his services to help them sell the property, and had paperwork ready for the couple to sign.

Fraud Alert Issued After Mortgage Files Dumped
Denver Post - Denver, CO
Consumers who did business with Cove Creek Mortgage Co. could become victims of identity theft after company files were thrown into a Dumpster over the weekend, officials warned.

Mortgage-Fraud Bill Heading To Crist
Bradenton Herald - FL
In the wake of Florida's real estate downturn and rapid rise in foreclosures, the state Senate passed a second bill in as many years Tuesday increasing the penalties for those convicted of mortgage fraud.

Foreclosures Have Rental Fraud Cases On The Rise In Florida
TCPalm - West Palm Beach, FL
...But Perham didn't know the man he was paying had allowed the house to go into foreclosure in April 2007 — before getting a renter. Perham's landlord didn't own the house...The bank did.

Stewart Title Ltd. Offers Lenders Cover Against Loss Resulting From Mortgage Fraud
Business Wire - San Francisco, CA
Mortgage fraud manifests itself in several ways. Some fraudsters choose to alter the deeds to obtain the mortgage or lead the lender to believe that other parties to the transaction are agreeing to the loan. Larger frauds tend to include various parties in collusion to benefit from the illegal mortgage proceeds. By the time the fraud is uncovered, the fraudster will have disappeared with the proceeds of the fraudulent mortgage while the lender faces significant financial loss.

Forget About Feeling Sympathy For Prison Bound Dare
Albany Times Union - Albany, NY
It's a familiar tune for us by now, related to a purported mortgage scam that goes on and on and on.

Crisp & Cole To Face Judge Over Alleged Scam
TurnTo23.com - Bakersfield, CA
David Crisp, Carl Cole and several of their former employees will face a judge for allegedly taking lenders on a wild ride.

Two Moral Messages Contrasted
Carlisle Sentinel - Carlisle, PA
Speaking to the American Bar Association, Mueller lamented the growing number of public corruption cases and mortgage fraud investigations being handled by the FBI, asking, “Have we as a society become more corrupt?”

A Measure To Crack Down on Housing Appraisals
Orlando Sentinel - Orlando, FL
There are multiple causes behind the housing market meltdown, but inflated property appraisals have played a significant role.

In Land We Trust
Rocky Mountain Chronicle - Fort Collins, CO
So far, she’s suspended two appraisers who inflated appraisal values on more than 35 conservation easements. (She’s still wading through 44 boxes of evidence and says, “Every day we find more.”) The jacked-up appraisal values exploit a state program that offers landowners up to $375,000 in transferable tax credits for conservation easement donations.

Miami Firm Strikes Gold With Mortgage Crisis
Tampa Tribune - Tampa, FL
It's the equivalent of a body cavity search, but for home loans. The 1003 AppScan, an automated Web-based filter, subjects mortgage applications to more than 150 tests designed to extract both little white lies and criminal schemes used to defraud lenders.

Martinez: Housing Appraisal Reform Will Protect Consumers And Lenders
Trading Markets - Los Angeles, CA
U.S. Senator Mel Martinez (R-FL) today joined with Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) in introducing legislation to reform the appraisal process for home purchases and deter appraisal fraud schemes.

Appraisers Say WaMu Cut Corners To Increase Its Mortgage Business
Seattle Times - United States
Washington Mutual's mortgage woes come as no surprise to Graham Albertini, a real-estate appraiser who worked at WaMu's Bellevue office when its mortgage business was going gangbusters.

Need Help With A Mortgage Scam?
ABC News - USA
And now, a GMA Recession Rescue ... Sobering new numbers released this morning mean more worries for the economy. Foreclosures are up almost sixty percent over last year, homeowners are desperate and they're vulnerable to mortgage rescue offers.

Second Annual Mortgage Fraud Blog Conference Open for Registration
Earthtimes - London, UK
AllRegs, the leading online publisher for the mortgage lending industry, announces open registration for the Mortgage Fraud Blog Conference to be held November 4-5, 2008 in Miami, Florida at the Miami Regency Hyatt...Mortgage Fraud Blog is the premiere site for mortgage fraud news and information and its editor, Rachel Dollar, CMB, is at the forefront of the fight against fraud.

Mortgage-Fraud Crackdown
Deseret News - Salt Lake City, UT
The state of Utah is ramping up its efforts to target the increasing problem of mortgage fraud, and Gov. Jon M. Huntsman Jr. Friday signed into law two measures aimed at punishing those who engage in such fraud.

Maryland Makes Foreclosure Timelines a Whole Lot Longer
Housing Wire - USA
...It also requires personal service to notify a homeowner of impending foreclosure action, and requires that a sale may not occur for 45 days after service.

Idaho Fares Better Than Most Other States on Mortgage Issues
Idaho Department of Finance- Boise, Idaho
Mortgage delinquencies for Idaho remain in the range of the prior 20 years...moreover, Idaho’s total annual mortgage delinquency number is 3.86 percent of total mortgages, compared with the nationwide number of 6.31 percent.

Attorney General Terminates Foreclosure Rescue Firm
News 8 Austin - Austin, TX
According to the Attorney General's Office, the company Foreclosure Assistance Solutions Inc., operated as a "foreclosure rescue" firm, but in actuality, it was just a scam.

Cuomo Seeks Jail For Fradulent House-Flipper
Hudson Valley Press - Newburgh, NY
Attorney General Andrew Cuomo today announced his office is seeking a criminal contempt-of-court order against a Niagara Falls man who tried to defraud investors through a Western New York house-flipping scheme after he was ordered not to.

SEC Clamps Down on Real Estate Scammers
CCH Wall Street - New York, NY
A federal judge in Utah has sided with the SEC and issued a temporary restraining order and an asset freeze against the perpetrators of an alleged real estate scam.

Mortgage Fraud
Vienna/Oakton Connection - VA
Khalil Salim Arbid attempted to fraudulently obtain $2 million through a mortgage refinancing scheme involving a Vienna residential property encumbered by pre-existing mortgage loans...

Foreclosure Chasers
ABC7Chicago.com - IL, USA
They claim they'll save your home if you're being foreclosed on, but local authorities say most so-called foreclosure rescue services are rip-offs.

Fraud Linked To $17M In Possible Bad Loans
Indianapolis Star - United States
Old National Bancorp of Evansville said today that the FBI was asked to investigate a loan officer who apparently forged a signature on a loan document.

Losses From Loan Fraud Surging, Say Industry, FBI
Boston Globe - United States
Lenders are experiencing a surge in losses from mortgage fraud, according to recent reports from law enforcement agencies and industry research groups. The ripples are reaching borrowers in new ways, as mortgage banks seek to stanch the flow of dollars to con artists.

It's Same Old Scam With a Different Twist
Chicago Tribune - United States
Good news. There are no new mortgage fraud schemes. But the old plots are becoming more intricate, and the perps are more active then ever.

One Angry Man
City Paper Online
U.S. District Court Chief Judge J. Frederick Motz's temper flared during the March 20 sentencing hearing of Baltimore mortgage broker David Lincoln, who pleaded guilty last year to bank fraud for his part in an alleged drug and money-laundering conspiracy headed by fugitive Shawn Michael Green.

Wilton Attorney Loses License Over Real Estate Closings
Wilton Villager - CT
It's difficult enough navigating real estate transactions under current market conditions, and even worse when one of the lawyers involved can't account for hundreds of thousands of dollars that often change hands.

Moody’s Looks to Toughen Up on Mortgages
Housing Wire - USA
The agency also proposed sweeping changes to representations and warranties, suggesting that issuers "more explicitly address fraud, misrepresentation, data quality, early payment defaults and adherence to underwriting guidelines."

'Get-Rich-Quick' Reaches Dizzying Heights in Real Estate
Consumer Affairs - USA
First came the housing scam. Now comes the foreclosure scam.

U.S. Mortgage-Fraud Cost Seen At $2.5 Billion A Year
Reuters
Losses from mortgage fraud such as lying on loan applications and inflated appraisals will cost the industry about $2.5 billion annually for several years, according to a report published on Thursday.

Crooks Want Your Home Title
WALB-TV - Albany, GA
It's the newest crime, your house can be stolen and sold right out from under you.

'Mortgage Rescue' Scams Hit Close to Home
ABC News - USA
As the mortgage crisis continues to unfold, the FBI says incidents of suspicious financial activity banks reported to the bureau has skyrocketed, jumping from 28,000 cases in 2005 to 48,000 last year.

Feds Ramp Up Efforts to Combat Appraisal Fraud
NPR - USA
A federal agency is working to combat appraisal fraud. James Lockhart, director of the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, talks to Liane Hansen about the agency's efforts to strengthen the independence of the appraisal process.

U.S. Officials Warn of Scams
Wall Street Journal - USA
Federal officials say a wave of opportunistic scams are targeting homeowners trying to avoid foreclosure in the current housing downturn.

Federal Banks Can Buy More Mortgage-Backed Debt
Los Angeles Times - CA
The nation's 12 Federal Home Loan Banks were freed Monday to boost their purchase of mortgage-backed bonds by about $150 billion -- another government step to pump money back into a market that slumped as the housing crisis deepened.

Panel Drops Mortgage Fraud Cases
Trading Markets - Los Angeles, CA
The Minnesota Financial Crimes Task Force has decided to stop taking mortgage fraud cases in a move that may or may not dent the state's efforts to combat a widespread problem, depending on whom you talk to.

Mortgage Fraud is a Felony
MyNorthwest.com - Seattle, WA
Governor Chris Gregoire has signed a measure that makes mortgage fraud a felony.

Advanced Mortgage Fraud Detection Training Film Given to Industry for Free
Market Wire - USA
Interthinx®, Inc., the leading provider of proven risk mitigation, mortgage fraud prevention, and regulatory compliance tools for the mortgage industry, has announced the general availability of its latest and more advanced fraud-detection training film, "Fraud Angels." The film premiered at the Mortgage Bankers Association's National Fraud Issues Conference in Chicago last week and received an enthusiastic reception by approximately 350 attendees. Interthinx is now offering the training film at no cost to mortgage industry professionals and is fulfilling nearly 700 pre-orders for the film this week.

Md.: Mortgage Reforms Clear Senate
Forbes - NY
The Maryland Senate has unanimously approved mortgage lending bills aimed at addressing the state's rising foreclosure rate.

Ex-cop In US Mortgage Scheme Extradited
radiojamaica.com - Jamaica
A former Jamaican policeman, who is accused of conspiring with his wife to defraud millions of US dollars from residents in Fort Lauderdale in a mortgage racket, was ordered extradited Monday.

MARI: Documentation Key In Fighting Mortgage Fraud
Providence Business News - Providence, RI
...“our assertion is that fraud and the role it played in our current market environment must command greater attention, especially if we intend to boost investor confidence in non-conforming mortgage-backed securities.”

Colorado Improves Standing For Residential Mortgage Fraud
Bizjournals.com - Charlotte, NC
Colorado dropped out of the top 10 states last year for residential mortgage fraud for the first time in five years, according to a 2007 Mortgage Bankers Association report released Thursday.

Zaio Inc.’s New Technology Helps Lenders Overcome Mortgage Crisis
Business Wire - San Francisco,CA
The traditional process of appraising one property at a time has proven to be time consuming, inefficient, subject to fraud and abuse, and not suitable for valuing entire loan portfolios, as revealed by the current mortgage crisis.

Is There A Real Mortgage Crisis?
Gather.com - Boston, MA
The panic that has spread from a relatively few home mortgages in the US to into a world-wide credit crisis that brought down a major investment bank and caused a decline the value of the dollar on world markets appears to be based on pure fear and panic because of the leverage factor in the world financial markets.

House Committee Clears Legislation Dealing With Foreclosures, Mortgage Fraud
Baltimore Sun - United States
Another measure would make mortgage fraud a crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison or a $5,000 fine, or both.

I-Team: New Mortgage Fraud Task Force Makes First Arrest
KLAS-TV - Las Vegas, NV
Las Vegas is one of the top cities in the nation for foreclosures and that is leading to mortgage fraud. To combat the trend, federal, state and local authorities announced the formation of a new task force.

Florida Is First in Fraud for Mortgages
Forbes - NY
Florida led the nation in mortgage fraud in 2007, a dubious distinction it's had two years running.

FBI Sought Evidence In Real Estate Probe
North County Times - Escondido, CA
Authorities have expanded criminal investigations into a real estate investment group that abandoned more than 100 homes to foreclosure since late 2006, a development that could put off a series of civil lawsuits against the group's managers.

Early Briefing: Mortgage Firm Employees Under Investigation
Washington Post - United States
The FBI is investigating whether employees of a now-defunct Northern Virginia mortgage company were involved in what several lawsuits allege was a scheme to steal vacant homes by forging deeds, according to people familiar with the probe.

Outlaw Notaries Making Mark Amid Real Estate Crisis
Sacramento Bee - Sacramento, CA
Three sisters who inherited their childhood home in Oak Park were victimized by a dishonest notary public who enabled their brother to claim full ownership.

The Road Back to Growth and Profitability
National Mortgage News - Washington, DC
As we’ve now seen, there has been a persistent rise in mortgage fraud and EPD that, along with other economic factors, threaten this market.

How to Fight Back against Fraud in Our Industry
RisMedia.com - Norwalk, CT
Over the past decade, I have seen fraud rot the very foundation of our industry, but what upsets me most is that 80% of fraud involves industry insiders-professionals who earn their living from this great industry. Every day, I see cases in which real estate agents, loan originators, mortgage brokers, appraisers, and other industry insiders play an active role. But the people who could stop it often choose to look the other way.

Mortgage Application Fees May Rise On Appraisal Reform
CNNMoney.com - USA
In a recent agreement with New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE, Fortune 500) pledged that they will only buy mortgages from lenders that use independent appraisers. Since these two companies account for more than 70% of all mortgage loans, virtually all lenders will comply with the guidelines.

Attorney General Warns Vulnerable Consumers To Beware Of Scam Artists
Grand Island Independent - Grand Island, NE
As people struggle to make house payments and keep their homes out of foreclosure, scam artists are popping up to prey on them.

Mortgage Fraud Units Proposed
Chicago Tribune - United States
When Cook County Recorder of Deeds Eugene Moore discovered his cousin had been bilked out of her house, he came up with an early warning system for mortgage fraud -- the humble postcard.

Appraiser Evaluates Whether 303 Homes Are Overpriced
Tampa Tribune - Tampa, FL
The Pinellas County Property Appraiser's Office is combing through each of 303 sales, first detailed in a Tampa Tribune investigation, and will likely disqualify them as comparable sales used to determine the value of nearby homes, said Ron Anderson, deputy for appraisals...Rachel Dollar...said Pinellas County's decision is "very uncommon" and that other municipalities should take note. "The county is definitely doing the right thing," Dollar said.

Fugitive Mortgage Brokers To Be Extradited From Jamaica
CARIBWORLDNEWS.COM - Jackson Heights, NY
That indictment had charged that the Pattersons conspired to commit mail and wire fraud, mail fraud, wire fraud, and identity fraud involving mortgage fraud ...

Beware Of Ads That Promise To Stop Foreclosure
Houston Chronicle - United States
When a foreclosure starts, so do the sales pitches. They come with a knock at the front door, a letter in the mailbox or a bright sign on the telephone pole. "You'll lose your home if you don't call now!" Or "Sign here and we'll save your home!" Or "Stop foreclosure!" But watch out for this last-ditch offer: a rescue from foreclosure.

FBI Probes Countrywide For Possible Fraud
CNNMoney.com - USA
On Friday Countrywide's founder and CEO, Angelo Mozilo, testified before the House Committee on Government and Oversight Reform, along with two other CEOs who resigned in the wake of the mortgage crisis - Charles Prince of Citigroup (C, Fortune 500) and Stanley O'Neal of Merrill Lynch (MER, Fortune 500).

Real Estate Investors In South St. Petersburg Run Into Trouble
Tampa Bay Online - Tampa, Florida
A group of 65 real estate investors made 303 property transactions in south St. Petersburg during the past five years. The buyers purchased their homes through a no-money-down investment program. Now, 65 percent of the sales have gone into foreclosure. Lenders are on the hook for millions in failed loans.

State Joins Inquiry Of Unusual Loans
Tampa Bay Online - Tampa, Florida
Hundreds of peculiar home sales and foreclosures clustered in low-income neighborhoods in south St. Petersburg have attracted the attention of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

Iowa Not Feeling Depth Of Foreclosure Crisis
DesMoinesRegister.com - Des Moines, IA
Daily news headlines scream doom and gloom in the home mortgage industry. But local lenders say there's no cause for panic in Ames and Story County.

INTEGRA Integrates With Interthinx for Streamlined Risk Mitigation and Regulatory Compliance
Market Wire - USA
Interthinx®, Inc., the leading provider of proven risk mitigation, mortgage fraud prevention and regulatory compliance tools for the mortgage industry, has successfully integrated its validated loan-level fraud detection system and automated regulatory compliance solution with INTEGRA Software Systems.

Editorial: Cuomo Shines Light On Appraisal Fraud
Newsday - Long Island, NY
Few positive developments are coming out of the mortgage crisis. But there is one change that will prevent some abuses, such as inflated home appraisals, from occurring again.

The Perils of Mortgage Fraud: Why Cities Should Care
Center For American Progress - Washington, DC
Mortgage fraud is likely to occur whenever urban neighborhoods see prices of real estate drop catastrophically in some neighborhoods while they remain much higher in places nearby.

Mortgage Fraud Cases On The Rise
News 14 Carolina - Raleigh, NC
Because of the increase in buying and selling real estate, the FBI has made mortgage fraud the No. 1 priority within our white collar crime or financial crime program...

Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac Agree To New Appraisal Standards
Los Angeles Times - CA
Mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac agreed Monday to take steps to combat inflated home appraisals, but critics doubted the changes would do much good.

Helena Man Gets To Keep Houses In Mortgage Fraud Case
Great Falls Tribune - Great Falls, MT
A judge here decided a man gets to keep houses he bought using fraudulent mortgages, even though prosecu-tors said the move would allow him to profit from the crime.

Sentence Delayed In Mortgage-Fraud Case
GoErie.com - Erie, PA
The amount of restitution that Erie businessman Robert L. Dodsworth must pay in relation to a widespread mortgage fraud scheme is at the ...

"Iowa Mortgage Help" Will Aid Home Owners Struggling with Mortgage Payments
Attorney General's Office- Des Moines, Iowa
The State of Iowa has received a federal grant of $1,503,757 to help homeowners who are struggling to pay their mortgage, Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller and Iowa Finance Authority (IFA) Executive Director Bret Mills said Thursday.

Investors: Banks Aided In $100 Million Real Estate Fraud Scheme
Asheville Citizen-Times - NC
Three banks have been added to a multimillion-dollar lawsuit stemming from federal and state investigations into a failed real estate venture in Western North Carolina.

Kane County Fights Mortgage Schemes
Chicago Daily Herald - Chicago, IL
The increasingly common crime of mortgage fraud and related schemes have prompted Kane County officials to step up communication with homeowners.

Mortage Scheme May Have Driven Doctor To Violence
ABC12.com - Flint, MI
Banks say fraud may be among county's largest ever.

As Perils Abound, He's a Protector of Home Buyers
News & Observer - Raleigh, NC
Now, as deputy commissioner of the N.C. Banking Commission, he has been fighting to help people keep their homes. This time he has battled mortgage fraud, subprime lending and a foreclosure epidemic.

This House Was A Steal
Chicago Tribune
The new buyers of a rundown graystone on the South Side showed up Jan. 9 to look at the house they won at a foreclosure auction. They took the plywood off the front door and went inside to make sure the utilities had been shut off. Then they called the police...Sitting upright in the corner of a bedroom off the kitchen was a human skeleton in a red tracksuit...Somehow, Johnson's house was transferred three times to new owners without anyone noticing he was inside. It's a story involving forged deeds, a corrupt title company and a South Side family that has been under investigation for mortgage fraud.

Santa Clara County Prosecutors Besieged By Mortgage Complaints
San Jose Mercury News - CA
The district attorney's office opened 125 new investigations into mortgage scams last year, four times as many as in 2006, prompting one prosecutor to call 2007 "the year of lending dangerously." The total loss to victims topped $40 million during the 2006-07 fiscal year, the office said.

Ch 11 Judge Mulls Mortgage Lender Fees
Forbes - NY
Amid mounting allegations of abuse by big lenders, a federal judge has indicated he is leaning toward to reining in mortgage companies that have been foreclosing on consumers who brought their home loan payments up to date while in bankruptcy.

Your Rights - Appraising Real Estate Appraisers and Appraisals
RisMedia.com - Norwalk, CT
Appraisers are being punched up in the courts and the press for not always providing honest real-estate valuations. So what’s going on? What exactly do appraisers do?

FBI Focusing On Rash Of Mortgage Fraud In Central Florida
WFtv.com - Orlando, FL
Complaints of mortgage fraud have more than quadrupled in the last three years and the FBI and state investigators are working several major cases involving local homeowners. Wednesday, the FBI revealed how some of the cases work and what they're doing about it.

State, U.S. Preparing Loan Fraud Crackdown
Las Vegas Sun - Las Vegas, NV
The FBI and the IRS are teaming up with Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto, state regulators and Metro Police to tackle a surge in mortgage fraud that is overwhelming Nevada authorities. The announcement of a task force is expected early next month.

Realtors' Culture Not Tough On Fraud
St. Petersburg Times - St. Petersburg, FL
This is all in keeping with the way the crisis of apparent mortgage fraud has unfolded in Hernando Beach: Other than unconfirmed reports of an FBI investigation, the agencies with power to take action have barely lifted a finger.

Financial Fraud Involving Seniors Arises From Country’s Mortgage Crisis
Senior-Spectrum - Sacramento, CA
Last week, U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging Chairman Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) held a hearing on the rise of financial scams across the country, the result of a sharp increase in foreclosures.

Lieutenant In Alleged Mortgage Fraud Gets 7-Year Sentence
Macon Telegraph - Macon, GA
A man accused of being the second-in-command in a multimillion-dollar mortgage fraud was sentenced Thursday to seven years in federal prison and ordered to pay $40.2 million in restitution.

Metro Atlanta Mortgage Fraud Ring Convicted
Bizjournals.com - Charlotte, NC
A federal court jury has found several Atlantans guilty for their roles in a mortgage fraud ring that racked up $6 million in just 10 weeks from SunTrust Mortgage.

New Program Helps Spot Mortgage Fraud, ID Theft
Chicago Daily Herald - Chicago, IL
"The threat of mortgage fraud and identity theft crimes continue to rise, and all too often victims of these types of fraudulent activities are unaware their homes or identity have been stolen,"

Lying Buyers Broke Law But Most Won't Do Time
Santa Rosa Press Democrat - Santa Rosa, CA
Defrauding a lender by lying on a loan application is a federal crime carrying a potential $1 million fine or 30 years in prison...But the FBI places a low priority on pursuing borrowers who inflated their incomes to buy a home...Investigators are focusing on real estate fraud by organized rings that illegally flipped properties, staged bogus foreclosure rescue operations and carried out other schemes...

Fraud Case Ruins Real Estate Lawyer, Attorney Says
Daily Report - Atlanta, GA
When Atlanta attorney R. Joseph Costanzo Jr. pleaded guilty to bank fraud this month, he did so as “a broken man,” Costanzo's attorney said.

2007 Mortgage Litigation Dominated by Shareholder Actions
PR Newswire - New York, NY
Mortgage fraud was alleged in 25 cases. In many of those suits, lenders allegedly pressured appraisers to inflate values.

New Mortgage Rescue Goes Beyond Subprime
Forbes - NY
At-risk borrowers with all types of mortgages, not just high-cost subprime loans, could be eligible for help under a new plan involving six big home lenders.

AllRegs Partners with Smith Dollar Law Firm
Originator Times - USA
AllRegs announced that its Ask the Expert - Legal Content Support Services (LCSS) will be offered through Santa Rosa, Calif.-based Smith Dollar P.C., a leading mortgage banking law firm.

Appraisers Coerced To Raise Valuations
Honolulu Advertiser - Honolulu, HI
Appraiser coercion is described as part of a national problem that quietly evolved over the past decade or so and helped undermine housing markets around the country, though to a much lesser degree than fraudulent loan practices and subprime lending abuses.

How Could So Many People Afford Homes At Peak Of Boom?
Santa Rosa Press Democrat - Santa Rosa, CA
"The entire real estate debacle is the fault of everybody that was involved. And it was all about greed and speed," said Rachel Dollar, a Santa Rosa attorney who represents lenders in fraud and other cases. "The brokers wanted their commission. The lenders wanted their premiums. The borrowers wanted their homes."

A Visit to Fraud's Zip Code
WXIA-TV - Atlanta, GA
The impact was profound. Along nine blocks of Lucile Avenue, there are 64 houses that are foreclosed from mortgage fraud. From Malaguerra's front porch, he can see almost a dozen houses that sit vacant, victims of fraud.

Real Estate Woes Turning Into Tangled Bankruptcies
Milwaukee Business Journal - Milwaukee, WI
Investors in Maxim Enterprises - a former turnaround company for foreclosed properties - have alleged Chen-Young and Maxim were involved in a large Ponzi scheme, a scam that fell apart with last year's residential market collapse.

Rescue Me
Willamette Week - Portland, OR
As national foreclosure rates hit their highest levels ever, people calling themselves “foreclosure consultants,” are filling Craigslist, billboards and mailers with offers to “save your home.”

Time to Check Rumors About Mortgage Fraud
St. Petersburg Times - St. Petersburg, FL
Many suspect it, although no one can say for sure if shady real estate transactions in Hernando Beach amount to mortgage fraud.

Brokers: Legislation Not Needed
Gresham Outlook - Gresham, OR
As a national tide of home foreclosures spreads to Oregon, the state Legislature is responding with a bill to reform mortgage-lending practices. Some East County brokers and real estate agents are unconvinced this is an appropriate response to what they see as a cyclical phenomenon.

A Call for Action on Foreclosure Relief
Washington Post - United States
Maryland officials delivered an alarming forecast of continuing erosion in the state's housing market as lawmakers started work yesterday on a key portion of Gov. Martin O'Malley's legislative agenda aimed at slowing the rate of home foreclosures.

O'Malley's Initiative on Foreclosure Issue is Found Lacking
Baltimore Sun - United States
Consumer-rights advocates and some legislators said yesterday that Gov. Martin O'Malley's proposals for addressing the mounting foreclosure crisis don't do enough to help homeowners now, but industry lobbyists argued in a Senate hearing that parts of the bills are onerous and need to be tweaked.

Mortgage Fraud Rising in Las Vegas
NPR - USA
The FBI is cracking down on improper subprime lending. But there's a new worry as turmoil in the real estate market spreads: mortgage fraud. In Las Vegas, the number of fraud cases is rising, and the city is gaining a reputation as the mortgage fraud capital of the U.S.

Mortgage Fraud Targeted by Task Force
Monessen Valley Independent - Monessen, PA
Three years ago, Tiffany Lynn Sprouts used her father to help obtain a mortgage loan with documents that exaggerated his financial strength, according to federal court documents released Monday.

When the Price is Wrong
St. Petersburg Times
Sometimes, a sudden jump in the price of a house could indicate mortgage fraud.

U.S. Attorney's Office is First Step
St. George Daily Spectrum - St. George, UT
Utah U.S. Attorney Brett Tolman told the editorial board Thursday that when he was put into his position in July 2006 his first intention was to establish a satellite office in St. George. Tolman reaffirmed his commitment to that goal with the board during his visit. He said fighting mortgage fraud will be his No. 1 priority. All we can say is it is about time. We thank Tolman for keeping this part of the state on his radar.

Mortgage Fraud Victims Get Help
Lancaster Newspapers - Lancaster, PA
Secretary of Banking Steve Kaplan said in a statement that 13 lending institutions have agreed to continue accepting reduced mortgage payments from victims of OPFM Inc., Snyder's bankrupt company.

Inflated Mortgages
The Columbus Dispatch
More out-of-towners have reported being stuck with inflated mortgages on houses in low-income Columbus neighborhoods, where they were directed by real-estate investment classes.

F.B.I. Opens Subprime Inquiry
New York Times
The Federal Bureau of Investigation has opened criminal inquiries into 14 companies as part of a wide-ranging investigation of the troubled mortgage industry, F.B.I. officials said Tuesday.

FBI Mortgage Fraud Probes Triple
Newsday - Long Island, NY
Many facets of the U.S. economy may be in a downturn, but there is one definite new growth industry: investigating mortgage fraud.

Advanced Mortgage Fraud Detection Training Film
Insurance News Net - Harrisburg, PA
During a time of significant industry correction, Interthinx®, the leading provider of proven risk mitigation, mortgage fraud prevention and regulatory compliance tools for the mortgage industry, will continue its leadership role and provide mortgage bankers and law enforcement another free training tool necessary to combat the newest forms of mortgage fraud in the wake of record foreclosures.

Don't Hand Your House To a Thief
By Abraham Martinez
Mortgage scams are like Baskin-Robbins offerings -- they come in 31 flavors..."It's kind of become the new get-rich-quick scheme out there," says attorney Rachel Dollar, publisher of Mortgage Fraud Blog.

Foreclosure Rescue Scam Exposed...
The Bee - Portland, OR
Nationally, and locally, real estate and mortgage fraud is rising to unprecedented levels...

FBI Investigating 14 Companies for Mortgage Fraud
CNN International - USA
Complaints about potential mortgage fraud are up...and the FBI has opened criminal investigations of 14 companies related to subprime mortgage loans, the agency said Tuesday.

White Paper Now Available on How the Mortgage Industry Can Achieve Profitability
Business Wire - San Francisco, CA
A white paper titled, "Rebuilding the Mortgage Industry - the Path Back to Profitability" details how originators and investment banks can cost-effectively improve the quality of their portfolios. The changes recommended include using fraud and risk management technology...sharing data across the industry to catch more fraud and better identify early payment default risk.

Kern Leads Mortgage Risk Llist
Bakersfield Californian - Bakersfield, CA
“It was just a matter of time before (mortgage lenders) realized we are at the highest risk for mortgage defaults,” Moreno said.

New Bill Would Protect Against Mortgage Fraud
KHNL-TV/KHBC/KOGG - Honolulu, HI
Home mortgages are risky these days. Now, in addition to the public's concern for a deepening mortgage crisis, is a new problem: scam artists looking to prey on vulnerable homeowners.

Solutions to Foreclosure Crisis for Low-Income
Brooklyn Daily Eagle - Brooklyn, NY
Most of South Brooklyn’s cases involve mortgage fraud and lenders who are “unresponsive to loan modifications,” she said.

Newly Formed Grand Jury Hearing Mortgage Fraud Case
KHOU - Houston, TX
A new grand jury is now on the job in a high profile mortgage fraud investigation. The original indictments of 28 people in this case were thrown out after a paperwork mistake at the DA’s office.

Ex-Mortgage Broker's Case Goes to Jury
Arkansas Democrat Gazette - AR
As traffic inched by outside the federal courts building in downtown Little Rock on Friday afternoon, a jury huddled inside to begin deliberating on 16 fraud charges against Nelson Miller, former owner of a mortgage brokerage firm in Little Rock called Freedom Financial of Arkansas.

Blame to Go Around
Philadelphia Inquirer - Philadelphia, PA
That has led to accusations by borrowers that mortgage brokers misrepresented the loans, and charges by investors that brokerages failed to disclose the risky nature of the investments, among other disputes.

New Details in Suspected Mortgage Fraud Case
abc13.com - Houston, TX
There's new evidence in a massive mortgage fraud case that's being presented to a new grand jury. It's the latest twist in the controversy stemming from the arson case involving Texas Supreme Court Justice David Medina.

Home Rescue Fraud Is Targeted
Tampa Bay Online- Tampa Bay, Fl
The Florida attorney general's office and two state legislators said Tuesday that they will more aggressively pursue and prosecute companies that use deception to acquire the homes of people trying to avoid foreclosure.

Illegal Alien Buys Home With Phony SS Number
Rocky Mountain News - Denver, CO
"...I wrote about an illegal alien that used a phony Social Security number to buy a home that is headed to foreclosure garnered a fair amount of attention. I sent an e-mail to Rachel M. Dollar, a real estate attorney in Santa Rosa, Calif., to ask her a few questions about the issue. I asked her because she has her own blog, appropriately called mortgagefraudblog.com."

House Flipping Scammers Continue Swindling New York Homebuyers
New York Daily News - New York, NY
Would-be homeowners beware: A scam aimed at fleecing unsuspecting homebuyers is popping up at an alarming rate across the city, a Daily News probe has found.

Florida To Launch Campaign Against Mortgage Fraud
CBS 4 - Miami, FL
State investigators are concerned that as foreclosures rise, scams by people claiming to rescue homes from foreclosures will rise as well, so Tuesday the Florida Attorney General's Office is expected to make a big announcement that will help many homeowners to keep their homes.

States Fight Foreclosure Rescue Scams
Consumer Affairs - USA
The wave of foreclosures has brought even more pain to some strapped homeowners – a wave of mortgage rescue scams.

Mortgage Fraud Surging In Florida
Tampa Bay Online
More potential mortgage fraud cases were reported by lenders in Florida in 2007 than in the entire country the previous year, William Stern, a supervisory special agent with the FBI, said Friday.

Appraiser Exposes Toxic Debt Tie to Inflated Values
Bloomberg.com
Home appraiser Julian "Tony" Perez conjured $7.5 million out of thin air in the first six months of 2001 by overvaluing 33 condominiums in the Atlanta area.

Berkshire County Listed as Hotspot for Home Loan Fraud
Capital News 9 - Albany, NY
She's the victim of home loan fraud and she's not alone.

FBI Expects Mortgage Scams to Continue to Rise
The Tennessean - Nashville, TN
Federal mortgage fraud convictions have more than doubled in the past year, and the FBI expects new growth in foreclosure scams as the crisis over substandard, high-interest home loans escalates.

Tips Designed To Help Every Homeowner Survive The 2008 Real Estate Market
PR Web - Ferndale, WA
According to Americas Watchdog, "the biggest two issues associated with our nation's mortgage/real estate crisis are appraisal fraud...".

State: 'Foreclosure Rescue' Company Ripped Off Hoosiers
INDYchannel.com - Indianapolis, IN
Capital Foreclosure Inc. offered a service it said would save homeowners from being foreclosed upon, but didn't follow through on the promise, according to Indiana Attorney General Steve Carter.

Metro Targeting Real Estate Fraud
KLAS-TV - Las Vegas, NV
Metro says they're currently cross training all of its fraud investigators to handle potential mortgage fraud.

Interthinx® Introduces Free Class on Mortgage Document Fraud
Market Wire (press release) - USA
Interthinx®, a unit of ISO, and the leading provider of proven risk mitigation, mortgage fraud prevention, and regulatory compliance tools for the mortgage industry, announced it is making available to the financial services industry free online training on Mortgage Document Fraud.

Action Isn’t Enough: Saving the Industry with the Continued Pursuit of Self-Correction
National Mortgage News - Washington, DC
The good news? The mortgage industry is now doing a better job at establishing a good offense. It has realized that mortgage fraud and lax lending practices have wounded the industry, and is now taking steps to prevent it from inflicting further damage. Lenders are increasingly using the tools that are available to them.

Mortgage Fraud: New Snake Oils
Seattle Post Intelligencer - USA
USA Today says: Low interest rates, rising home values and lax lending standards created what FBI financial crimes section chief Sharon Ormsby calls "the perfect storm of lending fraud."

Mo. Governor: Criminalize Mortgage Fraud
Houston Chronicle - United States
Blunt's plan would make mortgage fraud a state felony, with a sentence of up to seven years in prison. It also would allow state departments to punish those who committ mortgage fraud.

FBI: Housing Scams More Than Double
USA Today - USA
Federal mortgage fraud convictions have more than doubled in the past year, and the FBI expects a growth in foreclosure scams as the crisis over substandard, high-interest home loans escalates.

Mortgage Fallout: Skim Scam
Review Journal - Nevada
Mortgage fraud is being conducted through a system that is broadly referred to as "equity skimming," Secretary of State Ross Miller said.

Mortgage Meltdown Spurs Lawsuits, Negotiations
Long Island Business News - Ronkonkoma, NY
Eric S. Rosenblum, chairman of the real property committee of the Nassau County Bar Association, said "We're dealing primarily with lower to middle class who were dangled an opportunity to buy a house that they really couldn't afford."

Lenders: Reread Agreements
National Mortgage News - Washington, DC
The current situation involving loan buybacks should make lenders sit up and take notice about what their rights are in that situation, a panelist told attendees at the SourceMedia Fraud and Risk Conference in Las Vegas.

Most Lenders Accept Tough New Mortgage Rules in Mass.
Boston Globe - United States
Some of the companies have tightened qualification standards, such as requiring more documentation of a borrower's income. Others have changed how they pay the independent mortgage brokers who arrange most loans. The relationship between brokers and lenders is a focus of the new regulations.

Condo Buildings Buckle Under Foreclosures
MiamiHerald.com - Miami, FL
Others said widespread mortgage fraud, involving inflated appraisals and faux buyers, also led to the dizzying rise in defaults.

With Fraud Gaining Attention, New Appraisers Now Must Go to College
Voice of San Diego - San Diego, CA
With prosecutors nationwide illuminating real estate fraud schemes undertaken during this decade's heated housing market, at least one of the state's legions of real estate professionals face new training requirements. California's Office of Real Estate Appraisers raised the bar last week for would-be appraisers wishing to join the 19,500 appraisers already licensed and working around the state.

Lamb: 'Superman' to Federal Prisoner
Charlotte Observer - Charlotte, NC
The man who overcame his small size to play in the NFL and used similar nerve to forge his own business embezzled more than $1 million from his company and conned his father-in-law into buying a house with a hidden mortgage.

Fannie Mae Will Reimburse Its Servicers for Referrals to HOPE Hotline
Fannie Mae News
As part of its ongoing commitment to support borrowers facing potential foreclosure, Fannie Mae (FNM/NYSE) will reimburse its servicing partners when they refer homeowners who are behind in their mortgage payments to the HOPE Hotline for counseling.

Buyer Still Beware?
GoErie.com - Erie, PA
Pesch said such safeguards are badly needed in cities like Erie, which has been rocked by widespread mortgage fraud and spiking mortgage foreclosures.

Bad Appraisals Contribute to Housing Mess
Arizona Republic - Phoenix, AZ
"Almost all the mortgage fraud and foreclosures in the Valley now can be linked to appraisals that were too high," said Drue Bates, who has been a Valley appraiser for 18 years. "When a home appraises for $400,000 but recent comps of similar houses on that block are $300,000, it's easy to see something is wrong."

Brokers Seek to Regain Borrowers' Trust With New Set of Standards
San Francisco Chronicle - CA
Mortgage brokers, who have borne much of the blame in recent months for the subprime mortgage crisis, are trying to reassure borrowers that they are worthy of trust.

2008 Legislative Preview: Mortgage Brokers, Lenders Face More Scrutiny
Daily Record - Baltimore, MD
Rising foreclosures in Maryland have become a prime concern for lawmakers on the eve of the 2008 session. In addressing the issue, the General Assembly is expected to look to the source for mortgage lending: the people who originate loans in the state.

Accused Foreclosure Scam Artist Behind Bars
KVBC - Las Vegas, NV
It's a housing scam so big investigators admit the cases they know about may be just the tip of the iceberg. A Las Vegas man is behind bars accused of preying on those who were about to lose their homes. He said he could save them from foreclosure.

Seeking Honest Home Values
Los Angeles Times - CA
Starting today, the educational requirements for California home appraisers will be tougher, but a veteran property evaluator who teaches how to spot fraud says the rules won't alter how many appraisers do their jobs.

The Cult of Plausible Deniability
OpEdNews - Newtown, PA
Mortgage fraud is typically portrayed as the classic white-collar crime perpetrated only by "prolific and egregious" offenders. The exploits and subsequent convictions of a handful of notorious fraudsters receive wide spread media attention.

How a Bank Fell Victim to Loan Fraud
Los Angeles Times - CA
Kathy Moore's loan application sailed through the mortgage desk at Lehman Bros. Bank, and little wonder. With sterling credit, deep pockets and two appraisals pegging the value of the Benedict Canyon house she wanted to buy at $2.5 million, she seemed a perfect fit for a $1.47-million loan.

Lender Lobbying Blitz Abetted Mortgage Mess
Wall Street Journal - USA
During the housing boom, the subprime industry succeeded at more than just writing mortgages. It also shot down efforts by some states to curtail risky lending to borrowers with spotty credit.

How Life Worked Out For 4 Bay Area Homeowners Facing Foreclosure
San Francisco Chronicle - CA
Belief that fraud ran rampant in the mortgage lending system is strong, but few have been held accountable to date. That can be seen on a small scale in the four Bay Area stories: While all four homeowners say that fraud or misrepresentation occurred when they got their mortgages, there is no clear-cut way to prove it.

Real Estate Grey Zones or "Can They Really Do That?"
San Francisco Chronicle - CA
"But can they really do that?" It's a question I've been asked again and again from first-time home buyers, seasoned sellers, just about anyone who finds herself in the middle of a real estate transaction that seems to have slipped into a gray zone between common practice and legal technicalities — between friendly business-as-usual and hardball negotiating.

Officials Falling Behind on Mortgage Fraud Cases
New York Times - United States
The number of mortgage fraud cases has grown so fast that government agencies that investigate and prosecute them cannot keep up, lenders and law enforcement officials have said.

Don't Fall For The Scams In San Bernardino County
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin - Ontario, CA
San Bernardino County Assessor Bill Postmus was warned of a growing property foreclosure scam being promoted throughout the county.

Mortgage Probes Face Big Hurdles
Washington Post - United States
As credit woes sparked by the troubled housing market threaten the broader economy, investigators are trying to determine whether Wall Street investment banks bundled risky loans with good ones without properly disclosing such risk to investors.

New State Law Targets Fraud in Home Lending
Albany Times Union - Albany, NY
In response to growing concern over fraudulent home loans, beginning Jan. 1 all of the state's 50,000 brokers and loan officers must register with the state Banking Department.

SEC Starts Inquiry of WaMu
Seattle Post
The Securities and Exchange Commission is looking into Washington Mutual Inc.'s mortgage lending practices, deepening a controversy over whether the Seattle-based company pressured appraisers to come up with inflated values to justify making home loans.

Wall Street: Crimes or Misdemeanors?
Denver Post, CO
There has been criminal conduct at every stage of the mortgage business, and there is ample proof that virtually every major investment bank in the mortgage securitization business initiated fraud, or through conscious avoidance or reckless disregard of facts known to them, enabled, aided and abetted fraud.

Guest Opinion: More Must be Spent to Stop Mortgage Fraud
Tucson Citizen, AZ
Over the past several years, we have read and heard countless testimonials from Arizona residents on the devastation of mortgage fraud, including many reports within this very publication.

The Real Mortgage Fraud
Mexia Daily News, TX
Contemplating the subprime mortgage problem, with numerous borrowers unable to pay their debts, the party’s presidential candidates and congressional leaders have a simple solution: Fleece the lenders.

Fraud Seen as a Driver In a Wave of Foreclosures
Wall Street Journal
Skyrocketing foreclosures are a testament to how easy it was to borrow from mortgage lenders in recent years.

Fed Tightens Up Lending Rules
CNNMoney.com - USA
...That would mean an end to claims of loans with 1 percent interest rates when the rate is actually much higher. The 1 percent usually refers merely to the minimum payment consumers are required to make. Each payment made at that level means the balance owed on the mortgage grows.

FBI to Focus On Area Mortgage Loan Fraud
Washington Post
The FBI today will launch a mortgage fraud task force in its Washington field office, joining a widening net of state and local investigators digging into the market crisis.

FBI Reports Top Areas for Mortgage Fraud
Originator Times - USA
Mortgage Fraud is defined as the intentional misstatement, misrepresentation, or omission by an applicant or other interested parties, relied on by a lender or underwriter to provide funding for, to purchase, or to insure a mortgage loan.

The Hijacking of Mile High Capital Group and Its More than 1,000 Victims
RisMedia.com - Norwalk, CT
Rick Dryer, founder and former CEO of Mile High is currently under indictment on 67 felony charges ranging from theft to securities fraud for his involvement in an alleged real estate Ponzi scheme.

Fraud Probe Figure Seeks Lawyer
GoErie.com - Erie, PA
Another local businessman has been connected to the federal criminal probe of suspected mortgage and housing fraud in Erie.

Web Video Combats Foreclosure Scams
PC World - USA
Fraudsters are targeting troubled borrowers facing foreclosure in a scheme that could leave homeowners with even more debt than they otherwise would face, a new online video warns.

Home Mortgage Bailout More Political Expediency Than Viable Solution
Stockton Record - Stockton, CA
Lending, appraisal, real estate fraud and predatory practices also might become the targets of federal prosecution.

Mortgage Meltdown Linked to Fraud
Deseret News - Salt Lake City, UT
Speaking Thursday to the Utah chapter of the Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW) Network, Blake Heiner, vice president and regional counsel for First American Title Insurance Co., said fraud is a key component of the current mortgage meltdown.

We'll Buy Your Home. Not!
San Jose Mercury News - CA
No, they won’t. One hint that these are scofflaws: signs are often posed on public property. That is usually against the law. This is a popular scam. Suffice it to say that you shouldn’t fall for it. You might get caught up in a “mortgage rescue” scam that will end up costing you.

RPT-Online Video Helps Troubled Borrowers Spot Fraud
Reuters - USA
Fraudsters are targeting troubled borrowers facing foreclosure in a scheme that could leave homeowners with even more debt than they otherwise would face, a new online video warns.

Woman Claims She's a Mortgage ID Theft Victim
WOOD-TV - Grand Rapids, MI
Instead...Salazar conspired with a couple of Ottawa County brothers working in real estate and made Maldonado sign documents that refinanced her home, and bought another one near Holland.

Town Center Bankers Expect to be Indicted
Pioneer Press - St. Paul, MN
William Sandison, head of Community National Bank in North Branch, and Curtis Martinson, the former senior lending officer at the bank, are under investigation for allegations of bank fraud, according to "target letters" from the U.S. attorney's office.

Fannie Mae Deems Denver a Declining Market
Denver Post - Denver, CO
Too many appraisers, under pressure to not derail a purchase, were marking the "stable" box instead of the one that said "declining," said Wolfe, who works with Freddie Mac on appraisal-fraud cases. Appraisers also have failed to properly account for concessions from sellers, which inflate the value of a home.

Inner-City Landlord Shifts to the Suburbs and Loses
The Charlotte Observer - Charlotte, North Carolina
The Helmses bought three, six, 12 homes at a time. They invested primarily in four neighborhoods -- Brookmere, Hemby Woods, Northridge Village and Stewarts Crossing -- all of which became high-foreclosure areas.

New Suburbs in Fast Decay
The Charlottle Observer - Charlotte, North Carolina
The best of them show subtle signs: Vacant houses. Overgrown weeds. Trash piled at the curb.

Mortgage Meltdown
San Francisco Chronicle - CA
But unfortunately, the "freeze" is just another fraud - and like the other bailout proposals, it has nothing to do with U.S. house prices, with "working families," keeping people in their homes or any of that nonsense.

No Hope Now
San Francisco Chronicle - CA
If our elected officials really want to get involved in a helpful way, they must take steps to ensure that the mortgage industry is purged of fraud. ...

Bush to Announce Freeze on Mortgage Rates
Providence Business News - Providence,RI
...Its analysts predict that 775,000 homes, with mortgage debt totaling $143 billion, will enter foreclosure in the next two years.

Some Families Affected by Mortgage Fraud Scheme Struggle to Find Homes
Southeast Missourian - Cape Girardeau, MO
Orman lived in one of the homes that was part of the mortgage fraud scheme that hit Sikeston. She's known that she would eventually have to vacate her home, and had made arrangements to move into an apartment by Monday.

White House's Mortgage Rescue Plan Announced
San Jose Mercury News - CA
The general gist is that people who occupy their homes, aren't late yet on their payments but would become delinquent in the event of an impending rate reset between next year and July 31, 2010, can qualify to get their introductory rate frozen where it is for five years.

Mortgage Fraud Scheme: How It Worked
Sikeston Standard Democrat - Sikeston, MO
About six months after a housing scheme dealing with mortgage fraud in Scott County was uncovered, people are putting together the pieces on what exactly happened.

House OKs Plan to Rescue Homes
DetNews.com - Detroit, MI
Michigan legislators on Tuesday passed the first of several expected remedies to the growing threat of foreclosures, approving a loan program that could help thousands stay in their homes.

How to Spot a Foreclosure Scam
Blogger News Network - USA
With 1-2 million foreclosures on the horizon, we are probably going to see a lot of shady characters advertise on lamp posts, classified ads, pay-per-click advertising and spam e-mails with questionable promises to rescue people in a difficult situation.

Mortgage Fraud Eases
PR Newswire - New York, NY
Civil and criminal mortgage fraud case activity eased during November from October...

More Single Women Buying Homes and Becoming Targets for Real Estate Thieves
OpEdNews - Newtown, PA
According to mortgage fraud research, older people, single women and minorities top the hit parade as targets of mortgage fraud. Who woulda thunk it?

Easy Loans Mean Painful Losses
Denver Post - Denver, CO
From 2000 to 2006, the percentage of home loans to investors doubled nationally, and the number of mortgage-fraud cases leapt 700 percent, from about 3,500 to about 28,000

New Attempt to Curb Mortgage Fraud
KTAR.com - Phoenix, AZ
A state senator plans to make another attempt in January to provide more money for the Arizona Department of Financial Institutions, which hands mortgage fraud complaints.

Foreclosure Rescue: No Help For You
CNNMoney.com - USA
A plan put together by U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to stave off foreclosures leaves out a lot troubled borrowers.

Mortgage Fraud: It's So Bad Feds Just Track Cases Over 50K
OpEdNews - Newtown, PA
Welcome to mortgage fraud central, where criminal conspiracies between banking insiders, fraud rings and greedy government officials are taking Uncle Sam and tax payers to the cleaners.

Foreclosures Point Way to Criminal Investigation
The Courier News - Elgin, IL
A former Elgin-based mortgage broker is scheduled to be sentenced next month after pleading guilty to fraud charges in the scheme that left at least 18 Fox Valley homes on the path to foreclosure.

Foreclosures Have Ripple Effect
WXIA-TV - Atlanta, GA
Foreclosures in Georgia are up 64 percent to one in every 332,000 households. Sub-prime loans and mortgage fraud can shoulder much of the blame for the increasing numbers.

Prosecutors Want 10-Year Sentence for Cunningham Figure
North County Times - Escondido, CA
Thomas Kontogiannis, an international businessman who admitting laundering bribe money for Congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham, continued to run a $100 million mortgage fraud scheme for months after he pleaded guilty in the political corruption case, prosecutors said in new court documents.

Foreclosures in Shelby Township Neighborhood Raise Suspicions
DetNews.com - Detroit, MI
The FBI said it cannot confirm whether an investigation is ongoing. Mark Bowling, the FBI's supervisory senior resident agent for Macomb, St. Clair and Sanilac counties, said his agents are actively working mortgage fraud cases throughout the county.

Mortgage Firm Owner Pleads Guilty
Motley Fool - USA
The owner of a shuttered mortgage business pleaded guilty Wednesday to a federal charge of mail fraud, two months after hundreds of his customers first realized they owed more on their mortgages than they previously believed.

FBI Investigates MN Mortgage Company For Fraud
WCCO - Minneapolis, MN
Newly-released documents confirm that the FBI is investigating a Roseville, Minn. company for alleged mortgage fraud.

Equity Skimming Plagues Region
DetNews.com - Detroit, MI
Financial One wasn't in Delaware -- it was incorporated in Michigan. Those who walked through its doors in an office building in Lathrup Village looking for home improvement loans sometimes ended up homeless, with their equity stripped and their houses in foreclosure, according to state documents detailing the mortgage scheme.

Team Collects $1 Million in Commissions from Bad Loans
Originator Times - USA
At times they used third parties with higher credit scores as straw buyers, misrepresenting to lenders that the third parties would occupy the homes.

Fitch: Underwriting & Fraud Significant Drivers of Subprime Defaults
Business Wire - San Francisco, CA
--Apparent fraud in the form of occupancy misrepresentation; --Poor or lack of underwriting relating to suspicious items on credit reports; --Incorrect calculation of debt-to-income ratios; --Poor underwriting of 'stated' income loans for reasonability; --Substantial numbers of first-time homebuyers with questionable credit/income

Georgia Cracks Down on Fraud
DetNews.com - Detroit, MI
State makes mortgage shams a crime, leading to dozens of arrests.

Foreclosures Follow Dealmaker
St. Petersburg Times - St. Petersburg, Fl
Padded prices on contracts send money to a man who is not even listed as part of the transactions.

Snyder Fails to Show at Hearing
Lancaster Newspapers - Lancaster, PA
About 300 customers victimized by Wesley A. Snyder's multimillion-dollar mortgage scam were disappointed Tuesday when the broker failed to show up at a bankruptcy hearing in Berks County.

Fraud Deepens Michigan Housing Crisis
DetNews.com - Detroit, MI
Metro Detroit's foreclosure explosion linked in part to mortgage scams.

Mortgage Fraud Hits the Courts
Voice of San Diego - San Diego, CA
In one of the first local cases in a national crackdown on mortgage and real estate fraud, four people connected with a San Marcos realty office have pleaded guilty to charges that they went to great and illegal lengths to secure mortgages for financially unqualified consumers, thereby pocketing more than $1 million in fraudulent commissions.

Money From Suburbs Helped Finance Inner-City Fraud
GoErie.com - Erie, PA
The story of Erie businessman Robert L. Dodsworth is messier. Dodsworth's getting what he deserves as part of the ongoing federal investigation into suspected mortgage fraud in Erie.

Fraud Will Get You
By Expert
"A lot of these practices are taught at the get-quick-rich seminars that explicitly teach you how to find straw buyers," says Rachel Dollar, a Santa Rosa attorney (ibid.).

Loan Was Too Good To Be True
Newsday - Long Island, NY
Through a friend, they met Aaron Wider, a Garden City mortgage banker who also owned several homes in the Massapequa area. They settled on a two-family high ranch in North Massapequa at a sales price of $805,000.

Mortgage Fraud Cases Yield Tough Sentences
Houston Chronicle - United States
As the meltdown of the subprime mortgage market plays itself out in Houston, prosecutors are getting some stiff sentences fighting fraud that grew from weaknesses in the industry. At the Harris County District Attorney's Office, the consumer-fraud section has multiple cases, and the major-fraud section has about half its resources in mortgage fraud cases.

What Should Loan Officers' Duties Be?
Statesman Journal - Salem, OR
Should a loan officer's responsibility to customers be akin to a Realtor? A lawyer? An investment adviser? A used-car salesman? The duties and proper role of those who offer mortgages lie at the heart of the subprime-loan and related lending crisis sweeping the nation, according to some industry representatives and lawmakers trying to reform Oregon home-lending practices.

Home Foreclosure Nightmare Getting Worse
WHIOtv.com - Dayton, OH
The foreclosure crisis has been well documented in Montgomery County. Records obtained from the Montgomery County Clerk of Courts indicate 5,075 foreclosure cases were filed in 2006, setting an all-time high.

Woman Accused of ID Theft Skips Court
ReporterHerald.com - Loveland, CO
A woman accused of stealing a long-time friend’s identity to buy a $320,000 home in Loveland, then trying to steal personal information from her new neighbors, failed to show up for a plea hearing.

State Going After Real Estate Broker
Pittsburgh Post Gazette - Pittsburgh, PA
Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett yesterday said he would ask federal prosecutors to open an investigation into a North Hills real estate broker and his associates, saying James C. Platts and his company, Easy Realty Solutions, flagrantly violated state and federal laws.

Mortgage Company Accused of Blatant Fraud
KSL.com
Falsifying loan documents, changing tax records, forging signatures -- we try to track down those involved in what the state says was blatant mortgage fraud. The State Department of Commerce's Division of Real Estate has just shut down one mortgage company and is going after the people involved.

Bear Gets 23 Co-Sponsors for Bill
Lancaster Newspapers - Lancaster, PA
Those families include at least 53 of his Lititz-area constituents who were victims of the Personal Financial Management mortgage scam. Some called to ask him for help. Bear formally introduced legislation Monday that would clarify state laws governing mortgage lenders and brokers in an attempt to prevent another devastating scam.

Plea Expected in Fraud Case
GoErie.com - Erie, PA
Robert L. Dodsworth, a central figure in the ongoing federal mortgage-fraud investigation in Erie, is expected to plead guilty in U.S. District Court today to felony conspiracy and money laundering charges related to the probe.

Home Lost In Foreclosure Scheme
Central Florida News 13 - Orlando, FL
The Secret Service is now investigating a possible case of mortgage fraud that possibly includes hundreds of local homeowners.

Ohio Court Gives Victory to Homeowners Facing Foreclosure
BloggingStocks - USA
A federal district court in Ohio dismissed 14 foreclosure cases brought by Deutsche Bank (NYSE: DB) on behalf of mortgage investors because they couldn't produce proof that they owned the properties they were trying to seize...

Mortgage Marketing Online
By grigsbykstd
Publish a mortgage blog about your particular niche or specialty. Check out the Mortgage Fraud Blog for a great example of this. Talk about search engine success ... Google the p