Mortgage fraud

The Denver judge, who last spring ruled that former foreclosure king Larry Castle and his law firm did not violate state laws designed to protect consumers against fraudulent charges, was biased and made several missteps during the three-week bench trial leading up to his decision, the Colorado attorney general's office asserts in its appeal of the verdict.

After surging earlier in the year, the number of mortgage loan application defects remained flat in November, a positive sign when it comes to fraud incidents going forward.

A breach at Alteryx that exposed sensitive information from more than 100 million U.S. households could add to fraud risks in housing finance

A Stratford, Conn., man faces up to five years in prison after he pleaded guilty to bankruptcy fraud, according to the Department of Justice.

Stephanie W. Cowart, former executive director of the Niagara Falls Housing Authority, admitted to working with her son and daughter-in-law to steal $17,580 from the authority and the state.

While the nationwide run-up in mortgage loan application defects appears to have slowed, instances of fraud remain on the rise in Texas and Florida.

A 10-year-old fraud case against two San Luis Obispo County, Calif., lenders has ended in a hung jury.

A Kiryas Joel, N.Y., man was sentenced to 18 months in prison and ordered to forfeit $1.2 million to federal authorities for his role in a mortgage-fraud operation in which prosecutors had charged 15 people in all.

Closing mortgages more quickly could introduce efficiencies but it also could introduce fraud risks if done without strong identity verification procedures in place, LexisNexis Risk Solutions finds.

A real estate agent allegedly duped two home buyers into thinking they had purchased a Boynton Beach, Fla., residence but instead pocketed their down payment and monthly payments, according to an arrest report.

Trump officials have made clear their intent to reexamine how Federal Housing Administration lenders are cited under the False Claims Act, but whether that means lenders can rest easier is an open question.

Marco Laureti owned several real estate and mortgage businesses, a real estate license, a mortgage broker's license and a house on San Marino.

Three real estate investors illegally pushed down prices in Palm Beach County, Fla., foreclosure auctions, federal prosecutors say.

The HUD secretary’s comment that such use of the False Claims Act was “ridiculous” may delight the mortgage industry but does not bode well for taxpayers or the federal government’s future fraud enforcement efforts.

Connecticut was the lone state in the nation in September to see a decline in borrowers misrepresenting facts on mortgage loan applications.

Hurricanes Harvey and Irma were responsible for an increase in loan application defects during September in Texas and Florida, according to First American Financial Corp.

Equifax continues work to add new security features and restore full access to The Work Number following a report highlighting potential security vulnerabilities in a browser-based portal of its employment verification service.

Recently exposed security vulnerabilities in an Equifax tool used extensively in the mortgage industry are raising new questions about the reliability and veracity of the beleaguered credit bureau's employment verification service.

A lawyer has been convicted on federal fraud charges for scheming to provide falsified documents to prevent foreclosure on a nearly $2 million parcel of land in Aurora, Ill.

A Hazleton, Pa., real estate agent who admitted bilking home buyers out of hundreds of thousands of dollars through bogus property sales was sentenced to serve more than four years in federal prison.