The industry may be trying to go digital where it can, but paperwork isn’t going anywhere. Here's how real estate professionals can take steps to prevent fraud—in both the high-tech and low-tech realms.
Read More »RBS Faces 10 Years Without Profits
The Royal Bank of Scotland has agreed to pay a monetary penalty of $35 million to settle a residential mortgage-backed securities fraud claim and is ready to “build a simpler, stronger bank.”
Read More »U.S. v. Shapiro: When is a Lie OK?
Three former traders from a financial services company are on trial for conspiracy and fraud regarding mortgage-backed bonds, but in a report this week by Bloomberg writers Chris Dolnetsch and Matt Scully, they discussed the interesting question the jury is being asked: when is a lie is considered deceiving and when is it not? The three were falsifying price information in order to get the money managers to pay a higher price and receive more money. The defense argues that deception is seen so often in the profession that it was a non-issue.
Read More »Fraud Risk Increases Nationwide
Mortgage fraud risk is up across the country, according to the CoreLogic National Mortgage Application Fraud Risk Index (FRI) for Q1 2017. The FRI is a measure of loan-application level fraud risk in the mortgage industry, based on residential mortgage loan applications processed by CoreLogic Loan Safe Fraud Manager. The index jumped 8 percent in Q1, up to 132 from 113 a year ago and 122 last quarter.
Read More »Fraud in Loan Apps Up in February
More lenders in February saw defects in mortgage applications compared to January, according to a new report by First American Financial Corp. The firm’s chief economist cited rising interest rates as the likely culprit. As rates rise, more borrowers are seeking ARMs, which are inherently riskier and, thus, ripe for more misrepresentation.
Read More »Fifth Third to Pay $85 Million to Settle Claims of Fraud on FHA-Insured Loans
Fifth Third made a voluntary disclosure of approximately 1,400 loans from 2003 to 2013 that the bank had certified as eligible for FHA insurance that were later found to contain material defects that would have made those loans ineligible for FHA insurance.
Read More »Former Nomura RMBS Traders Charged With Conspiracy and Fraud
According to the indictment, Shapiro, Gramins, and Peters conspired to defraud Nomura customers by fraudulently inflating the purchase price at which Nomura could buy an RBMS bond to induce customers to buy the bond at a higher price.
Read More »Florida Man Receives 21-Month Prison Sentence for Fraud
A Florida man has been sentenced to 21 months in federal prison for a fraud scheme perpetrated against businesses and individuals seeking lines of credit, according to an announcement on Friday from Christy Romero, the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP).
Read More »Former HUD Employee Receives Prison Sentence for Defrauding Government of $843K
A former loan guarantee specialist for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) was sentenced to 26 months in a federal prison for defrauding the federal government of $843,000, according to an announcement from the U.S. Department of Justice.
Read More »Kentucky Man Pleads Guilty to Fraud, Bribing Executives at TARP Applicant Bank
A Kentucky man has pleaded guilty for his role in a massive tax scheme and for bribing executives at a Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) applicant bank, according to an announcement from Christy Romero, Special Inspector General for TARP (SIGTARP).
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