Mortgage fraud

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.

South Florida is the nation's capital of mortgage fraud, property data firm CoreLogic says.

Mortgage application fraud risk plummeted in the second quarter as refinance loans poured into the market, according to CoreLogic.

A West Chicago, Ill., property developer is accused by federal authorities of operating a Ponzi scheme that defrauded more than 300 investors in 32 states of at least $41.6 million.

A Pinellas County, Fla., Realtor with a controversial past faces possible revocation of his real estate license.

Paul Manafort, the disgraced former campaign chairman for President Trump, is seeking dismissal of a mortgage fraud case against him in New York because he was already tried on similar charges in federal court.

A growing share of refinances born by lower rates is pushing down risk levels for fraud on a mortgage application, according to First American.