NewsMine — cabal-elite — international-banking — predatory — Viewing Item

Mortgage fraud in rampant in US Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)    http://asia.news.yahoo.com/040917/ap/d855h7ig0.html http://asia.news.yahoo.com/040917/ap/d855h7ig0.html Saturday September 18, 12:41 AM FBI: Mortgage Fraud Is Rampant in U.S. Fraud is running rampant in the nation's mortgage industry, with nearly three times as many reports of suspicious activity so far this year compared with 2001, a top FBI official said Friday. "It has the potential to be an epidemic," said Chris Swecker, FBI assistant director for criminal investigations. Through the first nine months of 2004, mortgage companies and banks have reported more than 12,100 instances of suspicious activity compared with only 4,220 in 2001. The FBI currently has 533 pending mortgage fraud investigations, compared with 102 in 2001. Law enforcement officials say the lending and refinancing boom that accompanied record low interest rates in the past few years is a key reason for the increased fraud. The FBI has identified several "hot spots" around the country where fraud is especially prevalent, including Florida, California, Nevada, Michigan, Missouri and Illinois. "You can find this anywhere in the country," Swecker told reporters. One common mortgage fraud scheme is "property flipping," in which property is purchased, appraised fraudulently at a much higher price and then quickly sold. The mortgage holder is then left with property actually worth much less than the loan it issued. Other schemes involve fake identities and credit histories, use of "straw buyers" to conceal the true buyer's name and forged loan documents. Mortgage fraud is one of several financial crimes that the FBI has been targeting for extra attention in recent months. This effort, which involves 47 FBI field offices, has resulted in more than 151 charges since August in cases with potential losses to banks and other businesses of an estimated $3 billion. ___ On the Net: FBI:

Citigroup 200m Citigroup close settlement Citigroup settlement Credit card offers swamp bankruptcy filers { April 15 2005 } Credit consolidation companies hurt debtors { April 7 2008 } Credit counseling companies prey on customers { May 15 2006 } Mortgage fraud in rampant in US Shifts management { September 9 2002 } Files Listed: 8

Correction/submissions

CIA FOIA Archive

National Security Archives

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information, go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purpose of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.