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By Romesh Navaratnarajah: Cases of residential mortgage fraud in the US done in collusion with mortgage industry professionals dropped 35 percent between 2010 and 2011, according to the LexisNexis Risk Solutions Mortgage Fraud Report. The report tracked actual cases of mortgage fraud or misrepresentation by mortgage sector professionals, as reported by lenders and other financial institutions. These include cases of borrowers falsifying information on mortgage documents but only if they conspired with mortgage industry professionals. One reason for the significant decline is because mortgage loan originations fell to its lowest level in 2011 since 2001, indicating a sharp reduction in sales of new and previously-occupied homes. Another reason is that fewer fraud schemes are committed when a buyer is trying to get a home loan. However, the FBI noted that loan fraud involving selling or buying homes is more common at some stages of foreclosure, adding that mortgage fraud investigations led to 1,082 convictions in FY 2011. According to the LexisNexis study, home appraisal and loan application fraud, along with misrepresentation, accounted for the biggest category of fraud investigated by lenders in 2011. Related Stories: Fixed-rate mortgage in demand despite cheaper tracker-rate loans 15% discount on mortgages reappears in Shanghai US mortgage rates fall to new record lows More from PropertyGuru: Fixed-rate mortgage in demand despite cheaper tracker-rate loans 15% discount on mortgages reappears in Shanghai US mortgage rates fall to new record lows HK mortgage numbers shrinking

LA CRESCENTA, Calif. (KABC) - More than two dozen people say they fell victim to a costly home loan scam that targeted Korean immigrants. The lawyer accused of orchestrating it all is being sued. It took a life savings to buy this La Crescenta home. Losing it took mere months, all because of accused lawyer Timothy D. Thurman and Trinity Law Associates. Ok Kee Shin is just one of 28 alleged victims. "It is just such a shock, and that the house had been sold and foreclosed," said Shin through a translator. In a lawsuit, the Asian Pacific American Legal Center details a web of fraud. Though the plaintiffs are all Korean immigrants, people of any nationality could fall for this one. The suit says Trinity Law Firm hired Koreans to place ads, then illegally paid them, like bounty hunters, to bring in customers. "This practice known as 'running and capping' is against the law," said Yungsuhn Park, Asian Pacific American Legal Center. "Attorneys are prohibited from paying non-attorney agents to find clients." Everything seemed so credible. The Trinity Law Firm operated out of a high-rise on Wilshire Boulevard. "So he flipped through my loan documents and he told me that this was a bank that had a lot of errors in their loan documents," said Shin's translator, quoting her. She says Thurman assured her he could fix her loan for a fee of $7,000, and that she should stop paying her mortgage and ignore the foreclosure notices. Legal advocates now spread a warning: Avoid any person who offers guarantees to stop a foreclosure. Don't pay up-front fees: They are also illegal after a state law was passed last October. And seek help from a non-profit first. You don't need an attorney for loan modifications. As for Thurman, he was in trouble even before this suit. He pleaded guilty to forging the signature of a judge on a foreclosure document, a crime punishable by five years in prison - a penalty that comes too late to save former homeowners.

ATLANTA - Cases of residential mortgage fraud reported by institutions in the home financing industry fell last year for the second year in a row, according to a new study. The LexisNexis Risk Solutions Mortgage Fraud Report released Wednesday tracks verified instances of home loan fraud or misrepresentation by mortgage industry professionals, as reported by banks and other financial institutions. The fraud could include a borrower falsifying information on loan documents but only if the borrower was conspiring with a mortgage industry professional. The study found that mortgage fraud reports declined 35 percent between 2010 and 2011. One factor in the decline is that mortgage loan originations sank to their lowest levels since 2001 last year, reflecting a sharp drop in sales of new and previously occupied homes. Another is that fewer mortgage fraud schemes are taking place at the point where a buyer tries to get a home loan. Mortgage fraud involving the buying or selling of homes in some stage of foreclosure is becoming more common, according to the FBI. Mortgage fraud investigations by the FBI resulted in 1,082 convictions in fiscal 2011, the agency has said. Loan application and home appraisal fraud and misrepresentation made up the largest category of fraud type being investigated by lenders last year, according to the LexisNexis study. Among the trends identified in the report: Instances where buyers and sellers potentially colluded in a home sale or purchase transaction are running at an elevated pace. One red flag of collusion in a real estate transaction is when there is an undisclosed relationship between buyer and seller, or agent, which could potentially lead to a conflict of interest. Unless disclosed, real estate transactions are expected to be arm's-length, or with buyer and seller having no relationship to each other. In 2011, lenders reported that transactions where such a relationship was not disclosed declined t

Scope Note The purpose of this study is to provide insight into the breadth and depth of mortgage fraud crimes perpetrated against the United States and its citizens during 2009. This report updates the 2008 Mortgage Fraud Report and addresses current mortgage fraud projections, issues, and the identification of mortgage fraud "hot spots." The objective of this study is to provide FBI program managers with relevant data to better understand the threat, identify trends, allocate resources, and prioritize investigations. The report was requested by the Financial Crimes Section, Criminal Investigative Division (CID), and prepared by the Financial Crimes Intelligence Unit (FCIU), Directorate of Intelligence (DI). This report is based on FBI, state and local law enforcement, mortgage industry, and open-source reporting. Information was also provided by other government agencies, including the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development-Office of Inspector General (HUD-OIG), Federal Housing Administration (FHA), the Federal National Mortgage Association, and the U.S. Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). Industry reporting was obtained from the LexisNexis Mortgage Asset Research Institute (MARI), RealtyTrac, Inc., Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), and Interthinx®. Some industry reporting was acquired through open sources. While the FBI has high confidence in all of these sources, some inconsistencies relative to the cataloging of statistics by some organizations are noted. For example, suspicious activity reports (SARs) are cataloged according to the year in which they are submitted and the information contained within them may describe activity that occurred in previous months or years. The geographic specificity of industry reporting varies as some companies report at the zip code level, and others by city, region, or state. Many of the statistics provided by the external sources, including FinCEN, FHA, and HU

Scope Note The purpose of this study is to provide insight into the breadth and depth of mortgage fraud crimes perpetrated against the United States and its citizens during 2009. This report updates the 2008 Mortgage Fraud Report and addresses current mortgage fraud projections, issues, and the identification of mortgage fraud "hot spots." The objective of this study is to provide FBI program managers with relevant data to better understand the threat, identify trends, allocate resources, and prioritize investigations. The report was requested by the Financial Crimes Section, Criminal Investigative Division (CID), and prepared by the Financial Crimes Intelligence Unit (FCIU), Directorate of Intelligence (DI). This report is based on FBI, state and local law enforcement, mortgage industry, and open-source reporting. Information was also provided by other government agencies, including the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development-Office of Inspector General (HUD-OIG), Federal Housing Administration (FHA), the Federal National Mortgage Association, and the U.S. Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). Industry reporting was obtained from the LexisNexis Mortgage Asset Research Institute (MARI), RealtyTrac, Inc., Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), and Interthinx®. Some industry reporting was acquired through open sources. While the FBI has high confidence in all of these sources, some inconsistencies relative to the cataloging of statistics by some organizations are noted. For example, suspicious activity reports (SARs) are cataloged according to the year in which they are submitted and the information contained within them may describe activity that occurred in previous months or years. The geographic specificity of industry reporting varies as some companies report at the zip code level, and others by city, region, or state. Many of the statistics provided by the external sources, including FinCEN, FHA, and HU

ATLANTA - Cases of residential mortgage fraud reported by institutions in the home financing industry fell last year for the second year in a row, according to a new study. The LexisNexis Risk Solutions Mortgage Fraud Report released Wednesday tracks verified instances of home loan fraud or misrepresentation by mortgage industry professionals, as reported by banks and other financial institutions. The fraud could include a borrower falsifying information on loan documents but only if the borrower was conspiring with a mortgage industry professional. The study found that mortgage fraud reports declined 35 percent between 2010 and 2011. One factor in the decline is that mortgage loan originations sank to their lowest levels since 2001 last year, reflecting a sharp drop in sales of new and previously occupied homes. Another is that fewer mortgage fraud schemes are taking place at the point where a buyer tries to get a home loan. Mortgage fraud involving the buying or selling of homes in some stage of foreclosure is becoming more common, according to the FBI. Mortgage fraud investigations by the FBI resulted in 1,082 convictions in fiscal 2011, the agency has said. Loan application and home appraisal fraud and misrepresentation made up the largest category of fraud type being investigated by lenders last year, according to the LexisNexis study. Among the trends identified in the report: Instances where buyers and sellers potentially colluded in a home sale or purchase transaction are running at an elevated pace. One red flag of collusion in a real estate transaction is when there is an undisclosed relationship between buyer and seller, or agent, which could potentially lead to a conflict of interest. Unless disclosed, real estate transactions are expected to be arm's-length, or with buyer and seller having no relationship to each other. In 2011, lenders reported that transactions where such a relationship was not disclosed d

ATLANTA - Cases of residential mortgage fraud reported by institutions in the home financing industry fell last year for the second year in a row, according to a new study. The LexisNexis Risk Solutions Mortgage Fraud Report released Wednesday tracks verified instances of home loan fraud or misrepresentation by mortgage industry professionals, as reported by banks and other financial institutions. The fraud could include a borrower falsifying information on loan documents but only if the borrower was conspiring with a mortgage industry professional. The study found that mortgage fraud reports declined 35 percent between 2010 and 2011. One factor in the decline is that mortgage loan originations sank to their lowest levels since 2001 last year, reflecting a sharp drop in sales of new and previously occupied homes. Another is that fewer mortgage fraud schemes are taking place at the point where a buyer tries to get a home loan. Mortgage fraud involving the buying or selling of homes in some stage of foreclosure is becoming more common, according to the FBI. Mortgage fraud investigations by the FBI resulted in 1,082 convictions in fiscal 2011, the agency has said. Loan application and home appraisal fraud and misrepresentation made up the largest category of fraud type being investigated by lenders last year, according to the LexisNexis study. Among the trends identified in the report: Instances where buyers and sellers potentially colluded in a home sale or purchase transaction are running at an elevated pace. One red flag of collusion in a real estate transaction is when there is an undisclosed relationship between buyer and seller, or agent, which could potentially lead to a conflict of interest. Unless disclosed, real estate transactions are expected to be arm's-length, or with buyer and seller having no relationship to each other. In 2011, lenders reported that transactions where such a relationship was not disclosed declined to

Scope Note The purpose of this study is to provide insight into the breadth and depth of mortgage fraud crimes perpetrated against the United States and its citizens during 2009. This report updates the 2008 Mortgage Fraud Report and addresses current mortgage fraud projections, issues, and the identification of mortgage fraud "hot spots." The objective of this study is to provide FBI program managers with relevant data to better understand the threat, identify trends, allocate resources, and prioritize investigations. The report was requested by the Financial Crimes Section, Criminal Investigative Division (CID), and prepared by the Financial Crimes Intelligence Unit (FCIU), Directorate of Intelligence (DI). This report is based on FBI, state and local law enforcement, mortgage industry, and open-source reporting. Information was also provided by other government agencies, including the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development-Office of Inspector General (HUD-OIG), Federal Housing Administration (FHA), the Federal National Mortgage Association, and the U.S. Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). Industry reporting was obtained from the LexisNexis Mortgage Asset Research Institute (MARI), RealtyTrac, Inc., Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), and Interthinx®. Some industry reporting was acquired through open sources. While the FBI has high confidence in all of these sources, some inconsistencies relative to the cataloging of statistics by some organizations are noted. For example, suspicious activity reports (SARs) are cataloged according to the year in which they are submitted and the information contained within them may describe activity that occurred in previous months or years. The geographic specificity of industry reporting varies as some companies report at the zip code level, and others by city, region, or state. Many of the statistics provided by the external sources, including FinCEN, FHA, and HU

These house poor families were spending more than 30 percent of their income to pay back the principal and interest for their loans, and had more liabilities than available assets, meaning they would be unable to repay their debts even by selling off all their non-home assets. Most house poor, or 96.3 percent, said in the survey that they were finding the repayment ofloans extremely burdensome. About three-quarters of them said they were reducing their spending to pay off the loans.Sixty-four percent said they would like to sell their homes soon. As for the reasons for wanting to sell off their home, 26.9 percent said they wished to readjust their asset portfolio, and 25.4 percent cited the burden of repaying loans.Others said they wished to change the size of their homes (18.7 percent) or to withstand the economic downturn (13.7 percent).Nearly two-fifths of the house poor were in their 30s and 40s. Following those in their 30s (19.6 percent) and 40s (18.9 percent) were people in their 50s (13.5 percent) and 60s (11.2 percent), indicating that many people were financially squeezed before and after retirement.The more expensive the homes, the greater the number of house poor. Some 22.3 percent of the house poor in the survey hadmortgage loans on residential properties worth more than 900 million won. About 14.5 percent had homes worth between 600 million and 900 million won. Seventeen percent had homes worth between 300 million and 600 million won, and 15.6 percent between 150 million and 300 million won. Only 13.2 percent had homes valued less than 150 million won. Seoul (17.4 percent) and the surrounding Gyeonggi Province (18 percent) showed the highest rate of house poor families. In the capital, four of the 25 districts - which have the most expensive apartments - accounted for 17.2 percent of the house poor. "About 26.2 percent of all mortgage loans were taken out by people with a low ability to repay the debts," the research instit

These house poor families were spending more than 30 percent of their income to pay back the principal and interest for their loans, and had more liabilities than available assets, meaning they would be unable to repay their debts even by selling off all their non-home assets. Most house poor, or 96.3 percent, said in the survey that they were finding the repayment ofloans extremely burdensome. About three-quarters of them said they were reducing their spending to pay off the loans.Sixty-four percent said they would like to sell their homes soon. As for the reasons for wanting to sell off their home, 26.9 percent said they wished to readjust their asset portfolio, and 25.4 percent cited the burden of repaying loans.Others said they wished to change the size of their homes (18.7 percent) or to withstand the economic downturn (13.7 percent).Nearly two-fifths of the house poor were in their 30s and 40s. Following those in their 30s (19.6 percent) and 40s (18.9 percent) were people in their 50s (13.5 percent) and 60s (11.2 percent), indicating that many people were financially squeezed before and after retirement.The more expensive the homes, the greater the number of house poor. Some 22.3 percent of the house poor in the survey hadmortgage loans on residential properties worth more than 900 million won. About 14.5 percent had homes worth between 600 million and 900 million won. Seventeen percent had homes worth between 300 million and 600 million won, and 15.6 percent between 150 million and 300 million won. Only 13.2 percent had homes valued less than 150 million won. Seoul (17.4 percent) and the surrounding Gyeonggi Province (18 percent) showed the highest rate of house poor families. In the capital, four of the 25 districts - which have the most expensive apartments - accounted for 17.2 percent of the house poor. "About 26.2 percent of all mortgage loans were taken out by people with a low ability to repay the debts," the research instit

Scope Note The purpose of this study is to provide insight into the breadth and depth of mortgage fraud crimes perpetrated against the United States and its citizens during 2009. This report updates the 2008 Mortgage Fraud Report and addresses current mortgage fraud projections, issues, and the identification of mortgage fraud "hot spots." The objective of this study is to provide FBI program managers with relevant data to better understand the threat, identify trends, allocate resources, and prioritize investigations. The report was requested by the Financial Crimes Section, Criminal Investigative Division (CID), and prepared by the Financial Crimes Intelligence Unit (FCIU), Directorate of Intelligence (DI). This report is based on FBI, state and local law enforcement, mortgage industry, and open-source reporting. Information was also provided by other government agencies, including the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development-Office of Inspector General (HUD-OIG), Federal Housing Administration (FHA), the Federal National Mortgage Association, and the U.S. Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). Industry reporting was obtained from the LexisNexis Mortgage Asset Research Institute (MARI), RealtyTrac, Inc., Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), and Interthinx®. Some industry reporting was acquired through open sources. While the FBI has high confidence in all of these sources, some inconsistencies relative to the cataloging of statistics by some organizations are noted. For example, suspicious activity reports (SARs) are cataloged according to the year in which they are submitted and the information contained within them may describe activity that occurred in previous months or years. The geographic specificity of industry reporting varies as some companies report at the zip code level, and others by city, region, or state. Many of the statistics provided by the external sources, including FinCEN, FHA, and HUD-OIG,

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

South Korea announced steps Thursday to bolster its sagging property market, including easing restrictions imposed on some districts of the capital. Seoul in 2003 restricted mortgage loan-to-value ratios to 40 percent and banned buyers from spending more than 40 percent of their income on repayments in three southern Seoul areas seen as most attractive to speculators. From now on, the same rules will apply citywide, with buyers able to borrow up to 50 percent of a property's value and spend up to 50 percent of their income on repayments. House prices in the Seoul metropolitan area have been falling for 10 successive months, with the latest April reading showing a 0.3 percent month-on-month decline. The government said it would also cut taxes on capital gains from property in the three districts, and would offer low-interest loans to a wider range of potential home-buyers in the capital. "We're rolling back excessive regulations adopted back in the early 2000s when the property market was overheating," the land ministry said in a statement. "Despite an increase in home supply... transactions in the housing sector are shrinking, while new apartment sales are also sluggish, hit by (economic) uncertainties." You can also visit us @ http://newscenter.springhillgrouphome.com/