Mortgage Fraud Rampant In U.S.

The sexy fraud of 2008 in North America is clearly mortgage fraud.

Further to our May 13th, 2008 story, the U.S. F.B.I. today made a major announcement of charging over 400 citizens involved across the U.S. in numerous mortgage fraud files. The FBI announcement is right here.

The Michigan area has been hit particularly hard with mortgage fraud. Today stories have come out of Detroit where the U.S. Attorney’s office in Detroit has charged 28 Michigan residents in 15 separate criminal cases. The Detroit news is right here.

The size and scope of mortgage fraud in the U.S. is just stunning. In 2007, The FBI states that there were 46,700 cases of mortgage fraud reported. In 2008, most industry experts expect there will be at least 60,000 such cases.

The value of mortgage fraud in the U.S. per year is now accepted to be in the billions.

One particularly good site keeping up on the U.S. mortgage fraud scene is the Mortgage Fraud Blog from California. Seldom a day goes by when there is no news to this blog of new mortgage fraud cases. Click here to reach the www.mortgagefraudblog.com

In Canada the situation has not been quite as bad for a variety of reasons. First of all, Canada’s economy has not been challenged to the same degree as the U.S. economy. Foreclosures in Canada are nowhere near the numbers they are in the U.S.

However, that does not mean we in Canada are immune – far from it! The Canadian Bankers Association members are very much aware of real estate fraud. Click here for the CBA definition of mortgage fraud from a Canadian perspective

In Alberta, we remain concerned that a buoyant economy, an unregulated mortgage brokerage industry, a less than perfect land titles system, and an entrepreneurial orientated government that is not big on investigation and enforcement could be the exact recipe for more mortgage fraud here in the not too distant future.

A reasonable resource on Canadian mortgage fraud is right here.

Date of Story: Thursday, June 19, 2008
Story Posted By: Ron Reinhold
Source: FBI/WXYZ/Mortgage Fraud sites

Return to the Investigative News

To Top of Page