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Whenever scammers and con artists see an opportunity, they seize on it. One fallout from the subprime mortgage crisis of 2008 was that many people found themselves with a mortgage they could no longer afford. When faced with foreclosure, some people become desperate, which sets the stage for swindlers to try to make a buck off of another's misfortune. Mortgage elimination scams are nothing new, but they have reared their ugly heads in recent years. History Before the subprime mortgage crisis of 2008, mortgage elimination scams were popular in the 1980s and early 1990s when farmers in the Midwest were losing their land to the banks. The problem was so great that in 1985, concerts known as "Farm Aid," organized by Willie Nelson, Neil Young and John Mellencamp, began to raise money for farmers. This desperation by farmers made them susceptible to con men who tried to sell them kits to teach them how to use allodial title schemes, put fake liens on their property or claim that the bank never actually made any loans. How the Scams Work Most mortgage elimination scams work the same way, by coming up with untrue and crazy theories about why you don't really owe a mortgage at all and that your mortgage is not legally enforceable, according to Quatloos.com. The scammers find quotes from the Federal Reserve, taken out of context, that your mortgage is somehow illegal in the first place, and therefore, you don't owe any money. Features Once the homeowner decides that these schemes may actually work, he goes to the local courthouse and files a bogus claim. An "allodial title" is one, whereby the homeowner makes the argument that it is illegal to foreclose because of a concept that exists in some systems of property law, whereby property cannot be taken for any reason. The fallacy of this argument is there is no allodial title in the U.S. And, even if there was, an allodial title cannot be mortgaged in the first place. The courts view this as a frivolous claim. The s

Mortgage fraud is crime in which the intent is to materially misrepresent or omit information on a mortgage loan application to obtain a loan or to obtain a larger loan than would have been obtained had the lender or borrower known the truth. In United States federal courts, mortgage fraud is prosecuted as wire fraud, bank fraud, mail fraud and money laundering, with penalties of up to thirty years imprisonment.As the incidence of mortgage fraud has risen over the past few years, states have also begun to enact their own penalties for mortgage fraud. Mortgage fraud is not to be confused with predatory mortgage lending, which occurs when a consumer is misled or deceived by agents of the lender. However, predatory lending practices often co-exist with mortgage fraud. Types Occupancy fraud: This occurs where the borrower wishes to obtain a mortgage to acquire an investment property, but states on the loan application that the borrower will occupy the property as the primary residence or as a second home. If undetected, the borrower typically obtains a lower interest rate than was warranted. Because lenders typically charge a higher interest rate for non-owner-occupied properties, which historically have higher delinquency rates, the lender receives insufficient return on capital and is over-exposed to loss relative to what was expected in the transaction. In addition, lenders allow larger loans on owner-occupied homes compared to loans for investment properties. When occupancy fraud occurs, it is likely that taxes on gains are not paid, resulting in additional fraud. It is considered fraud because the borrower has materially misprepresented the risk to the lender to obtain more favorable loan terms. Income fraud: This occurs when a borrower overstates his/her income to qualify for a mortgage or for a larger loan amount. This was most often seen with so-called "stated income" mortgage loans (popularly referred to as "liar loans"), where the borrower, or a l

owers may conceal obligations, such as mortgage loans on other properties or newly acquired credit card debt, to reduce the amount of monthly debt declared on the loan application. This omission of liabilities artificially lowers the debt-to-income ratio, which is a key underwriting criterion used to determine eligibility for most mortgage loans. It is considered fraud because it allows the borrower to qualify for a loan which otherwise would not have been granted, or to qualify for a bigger loan than what would have been granted had the borrower's true debt been disclosed. Fraud for profit: A complex scheme involving multiple parties, including mortgage lending professionals, in a financially motivated attempt to defraud the lender of large sums of money. Fraud for profit schemes frequently include a straw borrower whose credit report is used, a dishonest appraiser who intentionally and significantly overstates the value of the subject property, a dishonest settlement agent who might prepare two sets of HUD settlement statements or makes disbursements from loan proceeds which are not disclosed on the settlement statement, and a property owner, all in a coordinated attempt to obtain an inappropriately large loan. The parties involved share the ill-gotten gains and the mortgage eventually goes into default. In other cases, naive "investors" are lured into the scheme with the organizer's promise that the home will be repaired, repairs and/or renovations will be made, tenants will located, rents will be collected, mortgage payments made and profits will be split upon sale of the property, all without the active participation of the straw buyer. Once the loan is closed, the organizer disappears, no repairs are made nor renters found, and the "investor" is liable for paying the mortgage on a property that is not worth what is owed, leaving the "investor" financially ruined. If undetected, a bank may lend hundreds of thousands of dollars against a property that is act

Mortgage fraud is crime in which the intent is to materially misrepresent or omit information on a mortgage loan application to obtain a loan or to obtain a larger loan than would have been obtained had the lender or borrower known the truth. In United States federal courts, mortgage fraud is prosecuted as wire fraud, bank fraud, mail fraud and money laundering, with penalties of up to thirty years imprisonment.As the incidence of mortgage fraud has risen over the past few years, states have also begun to enact their own penalties for mortgage fraud. Mortgage fraud is not to be confused with predatory mortgage lending, which occurs when a consumer is misled or deceived by agents of the lender. However, predatory lending practices often co-exist with mortgage fraud. Types Occupancy fraud: This occurs where the borrower wishes to obtain a mortgage to acquire an investment property, but states on the loan application that the borrower will occupy the property as the primary residence or as a second home. If undetected, the borrower typically obtains a lower interest rate than was warranted. Because lenders typically charge a higher interest rate for non-owner-occupied properties, which historically have higher delinquency rates, the lender receives insufficient return on capital and is over-exposed to loss relative to what was expected in the transaction. In addition, lenders allow larger loans on owner-occupied homes compared to loans for investment properties. When occupancy fraud occurs, it is likely that taxes on gains are not paid, resulting in additional fraud. It is considered fraud because the borrower has materially misprepresented the risk to the lender to obtain more favorable loan terms. Income fraud: This occurs when a borrower overstates his/her income to qualify for a mortgage or for a larger loan amount. This was most often seen with so-called "stated income" mortgage loans (popularly referred to as "liar loans"), where the borrower, or a l

SEOUL: Seoul shares rebounded on Thursday from losses the previous session, tracking an overnight Wall Street rally as solid U.S. corporate earnings lifted the S&P 500 index to a two-and-a-half month high. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index ( KOSPI) was up 1.66 percent at 1,824.63 points as of 0240 GMT. Dampening the rebound, though, were sharp falls for shares of Korean banks being probed by authorities investigating how a key interest rate has been set. The overall market got a boost after the S&P 500 hit its highest level since early May, helped by quarterly numbers from bellwethers such as Intel Corp and Honeywell and better-than-expected U.S. housing starts. Seoul's broad market rally lifted 17 of the 19 industry group sub-indices tracked by the main bourse operator Korea Exchange. But analysts remained cautious on whether the rally can be sustained as concerns about growth persist. "There is a dearth of fundamental cues to make any solid bets on," said Lee Woo-jin, an analyst at Woori Investment & Securities. Investors looking for fresh signs of further easing by the U.S. Federal Reserve were left wanting, after Chairman Ben Bernanke repeated the central bank's pledge to act if the economy needed it, but remained tight-lipped over any specific measures. Index-giant Samsung Electronics soared 3.6 percent while SK Hynix rose 1.2 percent. Shares in South Korea's top four banks bucked broader market trend to post steep falls on Thursday after being investigated by the Fair Trade Commission (FTC), the local anti-trust agency, as part of a widening probe into suspected collusion in fixing certificate of deposit rates. Hana Financial slumped 3.5 percent while Woori Finance Holdings tumbled 4.1 percent. Shinhan Financial and KB Financial each declined more than 2.5 percent.

"http://www.fhanewsblog.com/2012/10/fha-warns-about-home-equity-mortgage-loan-scams/ The FHA official site includes a page about reverse mortgages and Home Equity Conversion Mortgages. On that page, you'll find a warning from the FHA and HUD about scam artists who take advantage of some loan applicants who don't know enough about the FHA's free information on HECM loans and reverse mortgage loans. "Reverse mortgages are becoming popular in America" the FHA site says, "Reverse mortgages are a special type of home loan that lets a homeowner convert the equity in his/her home into cash. They can give older Americans greater financial security to supplement social security, meet unexpected medical expenses, make home improvements, and more. If you are interested in a reverse mortgage, beware of scam artists that charge thousands of dollars for information that is free from HUD!" The warning is good-but what kind of information are these scam artists charging so much money for? According to the FHA, simple details such as the nature of a HECM loan, who is eligible, even free advice about whether a borrower should us an estate planner to find a participating lender. On this topic, the FHA and HUD advise: "FHA does NOT recommend using any service that charges a fee for referring a borrower to an FHA-approved lender.  You can locate a FHA-approved lender by searching online at www.hud.gov or by contacting a HECM counselor for a listing. Services rendered by HECM counselors are free or at a low cost.  To locate a HECM counselor Search online or call (800) 569-4287 toll-free, for the name and location of a HUD-approved housing counseling agency near you". Very good advice for borrowers age 62 an older (the only people who qualify for FHA HECM loans) interested in applying for an FHA Home Equity Conversion Mortgage. Here's another fact about HECM loans you might not know-according to the FHA official site: "By law, you have three calendar da

"Two men jailed in the UK's first criminal trial involving land banking fraud in the City of London Police investigation A £3 million was proven to be gathered from 300 investors the pair cheated, evidence was pointing the two as culprits. Their strategies were to fool their victims like elderly and those who are vulnerable into buying plots of land that were either worthless or massively over-priced. Found guilty of five counts of money laundering, the two men (42 and 32 years old) were sentenced to seven and six years at Isle worth Crown Court. Their claim was that the locations of the supposed to be valuable plots were marketed as being in a prime position for development and would quickly increase in value. But the truth of the fact is that investors were putting their money into plots located on farmland, in the Green Belt, within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty or on the sides of hills, with no chance of gaining planning permission let alone building houses."

"Real Estate Scam Used Fake Adoption to Buy Rights - News Center - Springhill Group Home Loans Posted in News by isabelamber01 1 hour 23 minutes ago (http://newscenter.springhillgrouphome.com) South Korean Police said yesterday they have Busted ares fifteen-Member Group that faked the Adoption of Children to pull off ares Real-Estate Scam. The ring earned about four hundred eighty million Won ($ four hundred and seventy-nine thousand five hundred twenty) abusing are housing Law that Gives preference to are private Home Buyer Children are healthy and child or with an. The ringleader while WAS 14 Others Arrested, Including Real Estate Brokers and loan shark are, Were charged but not detained, said spokesman for the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency are. Government Regulations FIX anti-speculation the price of some Apartments built privately and Reserve ares are seen as what percentage of homes for deserving applicants. Officials are trying to Overcome Traditional reluctance in South Korea are, which places stress on Great Family Bloodlines, to Adopt Children. Police said the loan shark visited ares Street vendor last July and received 10 million won. "

"Springhill Group Home Loan 11/07/20120 Comments   Springhill Group Home Loan's unrelenting aim on Corporate Governance, superior standards of ethics and focus of perspective - Confidence, Reliability, Transparency and Expert Service are the essential attitude of SGH. Customer satisfaction is the tradition of all Springhill Group Home Loan's services. With SHG's state-of-the-art information and facts methods to provide customer's needs inspire customers in order to make the right home buying decision. This is what sets apart SGH's customer service philosophy - Housing Finance With You, All Through"

"Real Estate Scam Used Fake Adoption to Buy Rights - News Center - Springhill Group Home Loans http://newscenter.springhillgrouphome.com/2012/07/real-estate-scam-used-fake-adoption-to-buy-rights/ http://article.joinsmsn.com/news/article/article.asp?total_id=3085827&cloc= South Korean Police said yesterday they have Busted ares fifteen-Member Group that faked the Adoption of Children to pull off ares Real-Estate Scam. The ring earned about four hundred eighty million Won ($ four hundred and seventy-nine thousand five hundred twenty) abusing are housing Law that Gives preference to are private Home Buyer Children are healthy and child or with an. The ringleader while WAS 14 Others Arrested, Including Real Estate Brokers and loan shark are, Were charged but not detained, said spokesman for the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency are. Government Regulations FIX anti-speculation the price of some Apartments built privately and Reserve ares are seen as what percentage of homes for deserving applicants. Officials are trying to Overcome Traditional reluctance in South Korea are, which places stress on Great Family Bloodlines, to Adopt Children. Police said the loan shark visited ares Street vendor last July and received 10 million won. Return to rights he waived in HIS HIS Daughters are let and Street Cleaner "Adopt" them. The Street Cleaner used to the Adoption Document to Secure rights are Buy Luxury Condominium but are resold the rights to high School Teacher. Using fake Adoption Documents, the Obtained the right ring to Buy Apartments in Seoul and nearby Cities twenty-one. Police also charged 20 biological and nineteen "adoptive parents" for accepting up to 10 million Won in Each Case. AFP "