Loan defects are inching upward in a market where higher rates could lead to more fraud risk.

A federal jury has convicted two businessmen on multiple bank fraud charges related to falsifying loan documents to postpone foreclosure on a parcel of land in Aurora, Ill., worth nearly $2 million.

A $165 million cash settlement has been reached in a class-action lawsuit that alleged investors were misled about the safety of mortgage-backed securities comprised of loans originated by now-defunct subprime lender NovaStar Mortgage Inc.

In a setback for Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, an appeals court reversed a ruling against a Broward County mortgage company accused of defrauding hundreds of homeowners at the height of the housing crisis.

Most real estate closings are routine for Tom Hundman, a managing attorney with the Frontier Title Co. of Bloomington, Ill., so when something doesn't appear right, he knows to check into it.

A Long Island, N.Y., man was sentenced to prison time and ordered to pay $2.5 million after pleading guilty in June to ripping off distressed homeowners, said Christy Romero, the Tarp special inspector general.

Florida's leading real estate industry group cautioned members against replying to a "Final Notice" bill from the Florida Board of Realtors.

The reduction in refinance activity as the mortgage industry pivots toward purchase transactions amid higher interest rates has caused loan defect and fraud risk to rise, according to First American Financial Corp.

A pair of Long Island, N.Y., residents admitted to defrauding a Rochester, N.Y.-based mortgage company of $1.2 million in a straw borrower scam.

Former Jefferies LLC managing director Jesse Litvak, on trial for defrauding clients on the price of mortgage bonds, is finally getting to present the evidence that he believes will keep him out of prison — testimony from his hand-picked expert witnesses.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo wants to give the state's banking regulator — one of the country's most aggressive — the power to ban "bad actors" from working in financial services, allowing it to step in when federal agencies refuse to act.

Former Jefferies LLC managing director Jesse Litvak "lied to his customers" about the prices of mortgage-backed securities, a prosecutor told jurors as the U.S tries for a second time to win a conviction that sticks.

A Fidelity National Financial Inc. subsidiary is in final talks to pay as much as $65 million to resolve U.S. government accusations that it contributed to improper and fraudulent foreclosures after the 2008 credit crisis, according to a person familiar with the deal.

Credit Suisse Group must face New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman's $10 billion lawsuit accusing the bank of fraud in the sale of mortgage-backed securities prior to the 2008 financial crisis, a state appeals court ruled Tuesday in a split decision.

September's mortgage application defect risk declined 1.4% from August and 14.8% from one year ago, because of the continued improvement in loan manufacturing processes, said First American Financial Corp.

Recently launched low-down-payment mortgage programs are presenting new opportunities for fraud. But new data and monitoring tools can help lenders mitigate those risks.

Within hours of taking the reins at Wells Fargo, new chief Tim Sloan pledged to finish the reforms begun by his predecessor, John Stumpf, who stepped aside Wednesday in an attempt to quiet the phony-accounts scandal that has rocked the company.

The Wells Fargo phony-accounts scandal is barely five weeks old, but it felt like John Stumpf had been hanging on for five years.

The No. 3 U.S. bank by assets has made a change at the top after a snowballing scandal involving the creation of fraudulent accounts.

First American Financial Corp. has acquired post-closing services and document management technology provider TD Service Financial Corp.