Mortgage fraud

Loan application defect risk fell in December after stabilizing the prior month, but it's not dropping as it quickly as it once was, according to First American Financial.

Mortgage foreclosure rescue schemes resulted in the second highest median individual loss to consumers among all types of fraud reported to the Federal Trade Commission in 2019.

A former Fannie Mae employee is facing more than six years in federal prison for participating in a scam involving discount sales of properties owned by the government-sponsored enterprise.

In a case highlighting a fraud risk for mortgage companies and other financial institutions, two Garden State residents were sentenced for using fake money orders attempting to fraudulently discharge debts.

The drop in home buying power heightened the risk of misrepresentations on purchase mortgage loan applications during November, as consumers are more willing to fudge information in an uncertain market, First American Financial said.

The critical defect rate for closed mortgage loans continued its decline in the second quarter, as lenders benefited from increased loan volume and profitability, an Aces Risk Management study found.

A judge dismissed New York's mortgage-fraud case against former Trump campaign chief Paul Manafort, undermining the state's effort to ensure that the jailed political adviser doesn't go free if he’s eventually pardoned for his federal crimes.

Loan defect risk in purchase applications stopped falling and plateaued in October, according to First American Financial Corp.

Stephen Calk, who faces a bribery charge in connection with loans his bank made to former Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort, is asking a judge to suppress evidence that prosecutors obtained from his mobile phone.

A developer who swindled almost $400,000 from six families who sought new homes in Kirkwood, Mo., was sentenced to 12 months in prison.

The average number of attempts to defraud mortgage companies each month increased by 42% this year and hit the smallest businesses hardest, according to LexisNexis Risk Solutions.

The government has used the law to bring fraud claims against Federal Housing Administration lenders, but the new steps respond to criticism that minor offenders were also getting punished.

Fewer people are lying when buying or selling a home in South Florida.

PointPredictive has rolled out IncomePASS, which uses machine learning technology to determine if the borrower's income as stated on the application is realistic.

Three people associated with Grand View Financial have been indicted for running a mortgage fraud scheme throughout California, including San Diego County.

As global warming contributes to the spread of wildfires, those fires lead to the destruction of homes, mortgage delinquencies and defects. From Texas to California, these are the 15 housing markets with the highest wildfire reconstruction costs, according to CoreLogic.

A Rochester, N.Y., developer who faces federal mortgage fraud charges connected to apartments in Buffalo and other cities has pushed back the sale of a significant part of his real estate portfolio until later this month.

The switch to a buyer's home purchase market, as well as fewer natural disasters helped drive the five-month-long decline in mortgage application fraud risk, First American said.

While the critical defect rate for closed mortgage loans fell on a quarter-to-quarter basis, there were increases in income and packaging-related deficiencies, an Aces Risk Management study found.

An indictment unsealed in a Brooklyn federal court alleged four New Yorkers and one Floridian misled mortgage companies, the government-sponsored enterprises and a government agency regarding short-sale property prices.