Compliance

The Massachusetts Department of Banking told a credit union-owned mortgage lender in a new legal opinion that its mortgage officers must obtain state licenses under the SAFE Act.

Two top executives at the now defunct Taylor, Bean & Whitaker were sentenced late last week for their involvement in a $2.9 billion fraud scheme that brought down the top ranked nonbank lender, and its chief warehouse backer, Colonial Bank.

The Department of Justice has more than a dozen open investigations into violations of the nation's fair lending laws -- probes that could lead to charges against mortgage firms if investigators find a pattern of abuse, according to a key department official.

On May 28 PHOENIX RESIDENT PAIGE KINNEY, AKA JAIMELEE LAWLER, 42, pleaded guilty in two separate cases in federal district court. In one case, Kinney admitted to her leadership role in a $40 million mortgage fraud involving Countrywide Home Loans, and in the second case, she admitted to committing bankruptcy fraud, bank fraud, and mail fraud.

The former president of Home Free Realty Inc was sentenced yesterday to serve 51 months in prison for committing two separate real estate fraud schemes.

A Minneapolis mortgage broker was convicted last week of orchestrating a loan fraud that cost local lenders, including Anoka Hennepin Credit Union, losses of more than $4.6 million.

Two federal lawsuits against appraisal management companies could become weapons for mortgage-backed securities investors seeking to make lenders buy back soured loans.

The Georgia Department of Banking and Finance early this week slapped Kondaur Capital, Orange, Calif., with a final consent order, prohibiting it from lending or buying any loans in the state.

The Homeownership Preservation Foundation has found that nearly half the victims of mortgage loan modification scams were either of African-American, Hispanic or Asian background.

Interthinx revealed in its latest Mortgage Fraud Risk Report that occupancy and employment fraud continue to be a major problem nationwide.

The Federal Reserve published for public comment a proposed rule amending Regulation Z (Truth in Lending) to implement amendments made by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

A Minneapolis federal jury recently convicted a man who was part of a conspiracy to swindle mortgage lenders out of more than $43 million.

U.S. Bancorp Chief Executive Richard Davis should be happy that his company will escape having to pay a hefty fine for sloppy servicing practices, a fate that likely awaits the nation's top five mortgage servicers.

State regulators this week fined Mortgage Access Corp., an affiliate of realty giant Weichert, $3 million for using unlicensed mortgage originators. The settlement covers 10 states.

The varieties of mortgage fraud never cease to amaze.At a session at the Texas Mortgage Bankers Association’s annual conference in Austin, attendees heard that mortgage fraud can now be combined with legal fraud.

In the first part of May, a prominent Realtor, her son and daughter-in-law pleaded guilty to an expanding mortgage fraud that enabled them to buy expensive vacation homes at Alabama’s Gulf Shores using “straw borrowers” to qualify for credit union loans. Lenders victimized by the scheme were First Tennessee Bank, U.S. Bank and First Choice Funding.

As mortgage fraud becomes a more prevalent issue throughout the country, Credit Plus Inc. has automated its fraud detection tools to help mortgage professionals verify loan application data to detect fraud incidences.

While not a huge fan of reality television, I recently paused to see some knucklehead being dropped from a helicopter into the jungle with just the clothes on his back and a few basic skills. His situation reminded me of the current state of the mortgage industry.

Two women recently pleaded guilty in Federal Court in the District of Minnesota to their roles in a mortgage fraud scheme that defrauded lenders approximately $4.2 million.

A securities regulator late this week fined two Wall Street firms with each then settling the matter which involved separate allegations that the companies misrepresented and improperly supervised certain subprime RMBS delinquency figures.