Anticipating 60,000+ Mortgage SARs in FY

Federally regulated lenders will file more than 60,000 mortgage-related suspicious activity reports this fiscal year, a federal crime fighter said at last week's Mortgage Bankers Association's National Fraud Issues Conference in Chicago. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network fielded nearly 15,000 SARs in the first quarter of fiscal `08, according to FBI special agent Scott Broshears. And he expects the flood of filings to continue at the same pace as the year progresses. "We'll get over 60,000" reports from suspicious lenders, the FBI's mortgage fraud coordinator said. In fiscal `07, 46,717 SARs were filed, up from 35,617 in fiscal `06. The FBI is currently working on 1,284 cases. Last fiscal year, the unit worked on 1,210 cases, some of which are still open. According to Mr. Broshears, the investigations cover "approximately $3 billion" in mortgage losses, which is the highest government estimate yet of the impact fraud has had on the lending business.