Enforcement

Zombie properties become the living dead as a result of bank foreclosures. They sit and often fall into disrepair — a situation likely to go from bad to worse.

The Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach County, Fla., and two homeless assistance agencies are the surprise beneficiaries of a successful lawsuit against a notorious South Florida foreclosure attorney, who was later disbarred.

Carlyle Group LP was exonerated in a lawsuit tied to the collapse of a mortgage fund from 2008, avoiding $1 billion in damages sought by the pool's liquidators.

The New York State Department of Financial Services hasn't issued a single penalty against a bank or mortgage provider for failure to maintain and secure a property more than a year after the law requiring this upkeep was signed and eight months after it went into effect.

A Collier County, Fla., man was arrested last week after he forged signatures to obtain mortgage loans totaling $180,000, state investigators said.

Laurance H. Freed, a Chicago developer, has been sentenced to three years in prison and ordered to pay $825,000 in fines and restitution in connection with a double-pledging scheme.

A new state law meant to combat the blight of "zombie" homes across New York lacks effective enforcement to hold banks accountable for actually maintaining the properties on Staten Island.

A Lexington, Ky., man was sentenced Monday to five months in prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and making false statements to a federal agency after he was paid for home appraisals he didn't do.

Zillow Group and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will attempt to negotiate a settlement to resolve an investigation into whether its co-marketing advertising for real estate and mortgage companies violates the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act.

Critics of recent False Claims Act enforcement argue the Justice Department is too heavy-handed toward lenders and servicers. But in an industry reputed for shoddy processes during the crisis, perhaps stringent oversight is warranted.