Warning that mortgage loan fraud is growing at an alarming rate across the nation, the FBI and the Mortgage Bankers Association today agreed to work together to protect lenders and home buyers.
The number of mortgage fraud cases investigated by the FBI has more than doubled since 2002, FBI Financial Crimes Section Chief Karen E. Spangenberg said during the bankers association’s National Fraud Issues Conference at the Omni San Diego Hotel.
The FBI caseload rose from 436 in 2002 to 1,036 now, she said. The loan industry estimates that fraudulent loans cost the industry more than $1 billion a year, “and that’s a conservative estimate,” said bankers association Chairman John M. Robbins.
Robbins and Spangenberg signed a memorandum of understanding recognizing their approval of a mortgage fraud warning notice. The goal is to have lenders distribute it to borrowers nationwide. The notice warns that mortgage fraud is punishable by up to 30 years in prison or a fine of $1 million or both.
Posted by Emmet Pierce at 02:14 PM
March 08, 2007
San Diego Union Tribune
