Occupancy Fraud Tops Mortgage Fraud List

Occupancy fraud -- misrepresentation about whether a borrower plans to live at a property -- was the most common type of mortgage fraud reported during the first half of 2005 and was involved in nearly 53% of claims, according to The Prieston Group, San Rafael, Calif.Prieston, a provider of fraud insurance, training, and loss mitigation, reported that schemes involving hidden debt were the next most common type of mortgage fraud, implicated in 31.6% of claims. Employment fraud was involved in 30.3% of claims, and "straw borrowers" were involved in 12.9%, the company said. "Although occupancy fraud was the most commonly reported type of fraud during the first half of this year, we often find that claims contain multiple types of fraud and involve multiple people," said company chairman Arthur Prieston. "Recognizing all the fraud in a particular file is essential in identifying fraud schemes." Prieston can be found online at http://www.priestongroup.com.