Many believe mortgage fraud is partly to blame for the wave of foreclosures that are swamping many housing markets. And a quick scan at national headlines speaks to the depth of the issue.

In early January alone, there were several high profile convictions:

• Six people in Boston were arraigned in a $2 million mortgage fraud scheme.
• A Naples, Fla. man was sentenced to seven years in prison and ordered to pay more than $11 million in restitution for setting up straw deals to obtain inflated mortgages.
• A Colorado man was sentenced to 31 years in prison after a mortgage fraud scheme.
• Two North Carolina men were sentenced for their part in a $6 million mortgage fraud scam.
• Two New Jersey men were convicted in a multimillion-dollar mortgage fraud and property flipping scheme.

Those are just a few of the many early January mortgage fraud headlines from coast to coast. Indeed, prosecution of mortgage fraud is on the rise as the U.S. Justice Department makes the issue a priority. U.S. Attorney A. Brian Albritton has publicly declared that “Mortgage fraud will not be tolerated.” Continue reading ‘Calculating the Real Cost of Mortgage Fraud’