Archive for the 'Legal' Category

Calculating the Real Cost of Mortgage Fraud

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’