Mortgage Fraud on the Rise in U.S., RI is #1

Reported incidents of mortgage fraud in the U.S. increased by 26% in 2008 from 2007, an all-time high, according to a new report issued by the Mortgage Asset Research Institute. For the first time, Rhode Island ranked first in the nation in regard to mortgage fraud. Released in Las Vegas at the MBA's annual National Fraud Issues Conference, the report found that fraud activity based on the book of business originated in the Ocean State was three times the national average. "Future reports will tell if this is a statistical anomaly," said MARI spokesman Merle Sharick. "But for now, current data suggests that the state has emerged with a problematic and heretofore unnoticed mortgage fraud problem." Rhode Island's rise up the ladder from the fourth position last year knocked Florida down to the second spot. But Nevada and Utah have dropped out of the top10 altogether. California, too, has dropped, from fourth among the list of hot spots for fraud last year to eighth this year. The position changes suggests that there might not be any more money to made in those places hit hardest by the housing downturn, so scam artists are taking their talents elsewhere.