MARI: 1Q Mortgage Fraud Up 42%

Reported incidents of residential mortgage fraud in the United States increased by 42% in the first quarter from the level recorded a year earlier, according to a new report from the Mortgage Asset Research Institute. Florida led the states in mortgage fraud, accounting for 24% of all properties with material misrepresentation for loans originated in the first quarter, according to the MARI Quarterly Fraud Report. California ranked second, followed by a three-way tie for third place among Illinois, Maryland, and Michigan. The top fraud incident type was in general application misrepresentation, followed closely by misrepresentations related to income and employment, MARI said. The report is based on data submitted by MARI subscribers about loans originated in the first quarter that have since been classified as fraudulent. MARI, a ChoicePoint company, can be found online at http://www.marisolutions.com.