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FBI issues 2008 Mortgage Fraud Report
THE NEWS TRIBUNE
Last updated: July 8th, 2009 12:15 AM (PDT)
Falling housing prices are driving up reports of mortgage fraud, with the FBI saying Tuesday that reported losses are up 83 percent last year and climbing even higher in 2009.
In its 2008 Mortgage Fraud Report, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said the downturn in the economy, a spike in foreclosures and defaults and diminishing credit availability “fueled a rampant mortgage fraud climate fraught with opportunistic participants desperate to maintain or increase their current standard of living.”
The FBI considers two types of mortgage fraud. Fraud for property involves an applicant making misstatements like embellishing income and concealing debt to get a loan. The second type, fraud for profit, is a bigger problem with elaborate schemes involving falsified appraisals and loan documents and techniques like straw buyers, identity theft and shell companies.
The Associated Press
Originally published: July 8th, 2009 12:15 AM (PDT)
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