After targeting two branch offices of Prospect Mortgage for an audit, the HUD Office of Inspector General is urging the Federal Housing Administration to conduct full underwriting reviews to protect the agency from paying potential claims on 166 delinquent FHA-insured loans.

The National Credit Union Administration late Monday filed its third lawsuit alleging violations of federal and state laws related to misrepresentations in the sale of MBS to now defunct corporate credit unions.

The law firm Hagens Berman is conducting an investigation whether several real estate investment trusts made false and misleading statements to investors.

A Washington state man has been sentenced to 25 months in prison for orchestrating a foreclosure rescue scheme that defrauded distressed homeowners more than $55 million.

For purposes of this rule, payments made by creditors to loan originators are not payments made directly by the consumer, regardless of how they might be disclosed under HUD's Regulation X, which implements the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act.

Equifax subsidiary The Work Number will begin providing mortgage lenders and other consumer credit underwriters verifications of employment and income for self-employed individuals.

Prospect Mortgage LLC, Sherman Oaks, Calif., has agreed to pay the Department of Housing and Urban Development $3.1 million to settle charges that it created sham affiliated business arrangements as part of a scheme to share in “kickbacks” paid to these joint ventures.

Fidelity National Financial, Jacksonville, Fla., has agreed to pay the Department of Housing and Urban Development $4.5 million to settle allegations of the anti-kickback provision of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act.

Ambac Financial Group, the bankrupt holding company for bond insurer Ambac Assurance Corp., filed a plan of reorganization in bankruptcy court this week, but quickly came under criticism from the Wisconsin regulator in charge of overseeing Ambac Assurance.

Ever look at the word analogy? It’s an interesting word that isn’t directly used all that often but its meaning is a mainstay of American chat and storytelling.

Brett Matheson, a Phoenix real estate investor, has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in relation to a $50 million mortgage fraud scheme.

A group of real estate investors have been caught by the Department of Justice for their attempt to rig bids and commit mail fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions in California.

A San Diego judge recently ruled that there is enough evidence for a former local police officer and his wife to stand trial on felony charges in connection with the trashing of their foreclosed French Valley home, which was financed by San Diego Metropolitan Credit Union.

Almost three years to the day of seizing IndyMac Bank, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. launched a civil action against its former CEO, saying he "negligently" allowed the thrift to keep making risky loans despite signs of market stress.

CUMIS Insurance Society is asking a federal bankruptcy court to block an effort by a former senior loan officer of Staley CU, who filed for bankruptcy while she was on her way to prison for a mortgage fraud, to discharge $1.6 million in restitution she owes the credit union insurer.

On June 20, Brett Matheson pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in a $50 million mortgage fraud scheme based in Phoenix. Two others have also entered guilty pleas and are awaiting sentencing.

Taylor, Bean & Whitaker's former chairman, Lee Farkas, was sentenced last week to 30 years in prison for leading a $2.9 billion fraud scheme that brought down the top-ranked nonbank lender, and its chief warehouse backer, Colonial Bank.

ID Analytics, a consumer risk management firm, found that 16% of the nation is engaging in improper identity.

A year after "Operation Stolen Dreams" concluded tracking mortgage fraud nationwide, more than $3 billion in estimated losses resulted from this search, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The precedent set by the recent Bank of America MBS settlement raises concerns for smaller banks that might not be able to absorb large settlements as well.