Fraud
By Krista Franks | 02/07/2012
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) is expanding its reach. The agency, which in the past has required banks to establish anti-money laundering programs and notify FinCEN of suspected fraud through suspicious activity reports (SARs), will now require non-bank residential mortgage originators and lenders to do the same. FinCEN has noticed recently that many SARs it has received from banks reported suspicious activity on loans originated by independent lenders.
Read More
By Krista Franks | 02/06/2012
A New York housing counselor has been sentenced to 72 months in jail and three years supervision by a U.S. District Court judge after defrauding 136 homeowners who reached out for help as they attempted to avoid foreclosure. The judge also ordered Lori J. Macakanja to pay $298,639 in restitution to the homeowners affected. Macakanja reportedly required upfront fees from homeowners and promised in return to help them achieve mortgage modifications in order to stave off foreclosure.
Read More
By Carrie Bay | 01/27/2012
The special mortgage investigation unit announced by President Obama during his State of the Union address Tuesday night has taken shape. The new Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities (RMBS) Working Group will operate within the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force and will consists of at least 55 Department of Justice attorneys and investigators, as well as state attorneys general. The president has tasked the group with uncovering those responsible for pooling and selling mortgage bonds that contributed to the financial crisis.
Read More
By Krista Franks | 01/26/2012
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has reportedly been designated co-chair of President Obama's new investigative team to probe the mortgage industry for past misconduct. In his State of the Union address, Obama announced the creation of a special unit of federal prosecutors and state attorneys general to examine the risky lending practices that led to the financial crisis. As the industry and the economy stagger toward recovery, some believe digging into the past may not be the best way to move forward.
Read More
By Carrie Bay | 01/20/2012
Oregon Attorney General John Kroger has issued a public warning to consumers in the state to be on the lookout for scammers portending to offer independent foreclosure reviews as part of the mandate to major mortgage servicers issued by the OCC and Federal Reserve. Servicers have begun offering case reviews to consumers who faced foreclosure between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2010. Kroger says scam artists are also contacting Oregon consumers, offering to conduct an "independent foreclosure home loan review" or a "securitization review" for a fee.
Read More
By Krista Franks | 01/13/2012
Michigan is taking a strong stand on mortgage fraud. New state laws that went into effect at the start of the year have redefined mortgage fraud in the eyes of the law and outline strict consequences for perpetrators. Residential mortgage fraud is now considered a felony in Michigan, and punishment includes up to 20 years in prison and fines up to $500,000. The new laws define mortgage fraud itself as a criminal act, whereas previously, mortgage fraud fell into the categories of false pretenses and forgery.
Read More
By Krista Franks | 01/10/2012
Suspicious activity reports (SARs) involving fraud across the financial industry rose from 1.32 million in fiscal 2010 to 1.45 million in fiscal 2011, according to the latest annual report from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). FinCEN previously reported that SARs specifically related to mortgage fraud had risen 31 percent from the first quarter of 2010 to the first quarter of 2011. However, 86 percent of these reports concerned actions that took place more than two years prior.
Read More
By Krista Franks | 01/09/2012
In the third quarter of 2011, mortgage lawsuits reached their highest level since the Mortgage Litigation Index began tracking them in 2007; however, lawsuits involving servicers declined over the quarter. The index, tracked by MortgageDaily.com and prepared along with Patton Boggs LLP, observed 218 cases over the third quarter, up from 190 the previous quarter and 151 in the same quarter last year. Litigation against servicers dropped from 65 cases in the second quarter to 51 cases in the third.
Read More
By Krista Franks | 01/05/2012
Mortgage modification scams made the list of "Top Ten Scams of 2011," assembled by the Better Business Bureau (BBB). Because the federal government announced or expanded several mortgage relief programs this year, the BBB says all kinds of sound-alike websites have popped up to try to fool consumers into parting with their money. Scammers are representing themselves as government agencies or the BBB itself in order to gain consumers' trust.
Read More
By Krista Franks | 12/20/2011
At the height of the financial crisis in 2008, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac held $2 trillion in high-risk subprime loans, amounting to 42 percent of their single-family portfolios, according to Edward Pinto of the American Enterprise Institute. Pinto, who served as chief credit officer for Fannie Mae until the late 1980s, arrived at this number by relying on data from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which filed a lawsuit against six former GSE executives for fraud.
Read More
