Mortgage fraud

The former president of a defunct Long Island, N.Y.-based national mortgage lender was sentenced in federal court in Central Islip to three years of probation and ordered to pay $20 million in restitution to taxpayers.

Borrower and mortgage eligibility problems, a sign of the shift to a purchase market, were the leading cause of critical defects found following post-closing reviews, according to Aces Risk Management.

A federal judge awarded treble damages totaling $296 million in a False Claims Act case alleging Texas lender Allied Home Mortgage defrauded the Federal Housing Administration mortgage program.

Automated data validations are integral to a seamless digital mortgage experience. But the extent of data exposed in the Equifax breach raises questions about the risk of fraudsters exploiting those technologies to further compromise consumer data.

The shift to a purchase market and an increase in wholesale mortgage originations contributed to a nearly 17% year-over-year rise in fraud risk during the second quarter, according to CoreLogic.

Three executives from Vanguard Funding are facing fraud charges related to their alleged misuse of nearly $9 million in warehouse lending funds.

A new documentary that aired Tuesday on PBS raises questions about why prosecutors targeted a small bank after the financial crisis and left bigger institutions untouched.

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.

Loan application defects were unchanged for July compared with June, the first time in eight months there has not been an increase, according to First American Financial Corp.

Kidder Matthews, the top commercial real estate firm on the West Coast, is being sued by a former employee who alleges its brokers engaged in a scheme to defraud property owners and that higher ups knew about it and did nothing.

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.

Reporting requirements for title insurers and agents have been expanded to cover more types of high-end real estate transactions, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network said.

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.

The North Carolina Department of Justice is warning real estate agents and companies about an email scam aimed at potential home buyers.

Loan application defects increased for the seventh consecutive month in June, due to the highly competitive purchase market, according to First American Financial Corp.

A Muskogee, Okla., woman charged with embezzling more than $10,000 from a local church also is a federal mortgage loan originator licensed to represent a local bank, according to national registry records.

Three California men who previously operated Star Reliable Mortgage were ordered to pay $1.1 million in restitution and are facing multiyear prison terms related to a foreclosure rescue scheme.

A former California mortgage lender agreed to pay $4.2 million to settle civil fraud allegations that its lending practices in the Southeast caused taxpayers to lose millions of dollars when homeowners defaulted on their loans after the Great Recession.

Last month, Natalie and David Buckholdt were searching for a home to rent in Lima, Ohio, where David was being transferred.