More mortgage fraud today than during the recent real estate boom

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Incidents of mortgage fraud rose 26 percent nationally in 2008 over 2007 even as the number of home-loan originations dropped, the Mortgage Asset Research Institute reported yesterday.

The foreclosure epidemic helped boost the numbers as scammers sought to take advantage of borrowers trying to save their homes, said Denise James, an author of the annual report, presented at a Mortgage Bankers Association meeting in Washington.

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Rhode Island led the 50 states in mortgage-fraud incidents compared with loan originations, followed by Florida, Illinois, Georgia, and Maryland.

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Application fraud accounted for 61 percent of all reported incidents, for a fifth year.

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Mortgage Bankers Association president John Courson said the data showed that mortgage fraud was more prevalent now than during the recent real estate boom.

http://www.philly.com/philly/business/2009..._data_show.html

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Mortgage Fraud Up As Credit Tightens

Mortgage fraud jumped by 26 percent last year even though fewer loans were issued nationwide, and Maryland ranked among the top five states with the most serious problems, according to an industry study released yesterday.

The study by the Mortgage Asset Research Institute concluded that fraud is more prevalent than it was at the height of the lending boom. The group singled out the most troubled states based on cases it gathered from roughly 600 lenders, mortgage insurance firms and mortgage investors, as well as federal data on loan originations.

Rhode Island topped the list, followed by Florida, which had held the No. 1 slot in 2007. Incidents of fraud in Rhode Island were three times what would have been expected given the number of loans made last year, the report said, although the authors said they weren't sure why.

Next on the list were Illinois, Georgia and Maryland, which landed on the top-10 list for the first time in the study's 11-year history, up from No. 15 in 2007. The state had the highest percentage of fraud on tax returns and financial statements.

But Sarah Bloom Raskin, Maryland's commissioner of financial regulation, said the report's findings do not mesh with information that has been released by other sources, including the FBI and mortgage financier Fannie Mae, which have not ranked Maryland or Rhode Island near the top of their lists.

The authors of yesterday's report attributed the spike in fraud incidents in part to more aggressive reporting by lenders. But they also said that the tighter lending environment is enticing borrowers and real estate industry professionals to act illegally.

"The data suggest that the economic downturn may have created more desperation, causing more people than ever before to try to commit mortgage fraud," said Denise James, one of the authors.

The most common type of fraud continues to be misrepresentation of income and other key facts on loan applications. That kind of fraud represented about 61 percent of all the cases reported in the study, followed by fraud on tax returns and then appraisals.

The incidents used to reach the study's conclusions were reported voluntarily and in the aggregate without revealing details about cases. The findings were released at a mortgage fraud conference hosted by the Mortgage Bankers Association.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...9031601612.html

[one...two...tree 2,762]

There's got to be a special place in hell for people who look to profit from other people's misfortunes.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

There's got to be a special place in hell for people who look to profit from other people's misfortunes.

Application fraud accounted for 61 percent of all reported incidents, for a fifth year.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

There's got to be a special place in hell for people who look to profit from other people's misfortunes.

Application fraud accounted for 61 percent of all reported incidents, for a fifth year.

In Dante's Inferno, they'd be on a level just above the profiteers.

[NickD 203]

There's got to be a special place in hell for people who look to profit from other people's misfortunes.

Not so sure about hell, but would certainly like to see them fried in this lifetime.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

There's got to be a special place in hell for people who look to profit from other people's misfortunes.

Application fraud accounted for 61 percent of all reported incidents, for a fifth year.

In Dante's Inferno, they'd be on a level just above the profiteers.

The most common type of fraud continues to be misrepresentation of income and other key facts on loan applications. That kind of fraud represented about 61 percent of all the cases reported in the study, followed by fraud on tax returns and then appraisals.

It's the applicants that are accounting for most of the fraud!

[lucyrich 20]

Don't you wonder how they got statistics on the level of fraud from a couple of years ago? There were lots of "stated income" loans, where the lender never required documentation to back up what the borrower claimed was his income. If the borrower lied, how did they know? I suspect there was a lot of undetected and unreported fraud.

Another point: it seems crazy that borrowers are still wanting to get loans through fraudulently overstating their income. If we have collectively learned anything during the past two or so years, haven't we at least learned that it's not such a good deal to get a loan that even the bank says you're not going to be able to afford?

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Don't you wonder how they got statistics on the level of fraud from a couple of years ago? There were lots of "stated income" loans, where the lender never required documentation to back up what the borrower claimed was his income. If the borrower lied, how did they know? I suspect there was a lot of undetected and unreported fraud.

Another point: it seems crazy that borrowers are still wanting to get loans through fraudulently overstating their income. If we have collectively learned anything during the past two or so years, haven't we at least learned that it's not such a good deal to get a loan that even the bank says you're not going to be able to afford?

Excellent point.

[NickD 203]

There's got to be a special place in hell for people who look to profit from other people's misfortunes.

Application fraud accounted for 61 percent of all reported incidents, for a fifth year.

In Dante's Inferno, they'd be on a level just above the profiteers.

The most common type of fraud continues to be misrepresentation of income and other key facts on loan applications. That kind of fraud represented about 61 percent of all the cases reported in the study, followed by fraud on tax returns and then appraisals.

It's the applicants that are accounting for most of the fraud!

The only form of tax fraud I am familiar with is from the government charging me huge taxes and giving me nothing for it. In regards to lying about your income to get a loan you can't pay back, not sure if that is fraud or stupidity. Unless they feel they can overpay for a house, live their for a year or two, and sell it to someone even more stupid than what they are to make a profit. After paying huge interest and property taxes on it.

[SuperDuper! 230]

In Dante's Inferno, they'd be on a level just above the profiteers.

How about Bernie Madoff?

[Saddle Bronc 124]

The only form of tax fraud I am familiar with is from the government charging me huge taxes and giving me nothing for it....

Basically, taxes ARE a fraud--especially when an agency (IRS) is setup to collect them which violates one of the very reasons for establishing the country ("taxation without representation" was a causative factor in 1775-1783 Revolutionary War)!

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

... taxes ARE a fraud--especially when an agency (IRS) is setup to collect them which violates one of the very reasons for establishing the country ("taxation without representation" was a causative factor in 1775-1783 Revolutionary War)!

You don't vote?