Mortgage Fraud – Risk To Economic Stability
Friday, June 18, 2010, 8:36 AM | Leave Comment
Whether it’s recession or booming economy, there is always some kind of fraud being committed at any given time and place.
The rate of scams goes up especially during recession.
The reason is that a lot of folks are going through tough times.
Sometimes they get to be so desperate that some folks lose the power of thinking. Or maybe greed takes over and controls their personalities.
Or maybe because of their financial circumstances, they let themselves be extremely gullible.
Whatever the reason is, FBI reports that mortgage fraud is way up in the stratosphere.
One thing is of all the federal and congressional agencies, FBI must be, arguably, at the top of the list in efficiency and swiftness – at least in most cases.
So on Thursday, July 17, 2010, the Justice Department announced that investigators have made nearly 500 arrests since March in a major crackdown on mortgage fraud.
It involves 1,215 criminal defendants in cases that uncovered more than $2.3 billion in losses.
The Justice Department also has engaged in civil enforcement actions to recover more than $147 million in the operation.
Two Countrywide companies will pay $108 million to settle allegations that they inflated the fees that homeowners paid.
Hundreds of FBI agents are working on task forces with other law enforcement agencies to combat a type of crime that poses “a risk to our economic stability” as a nation, FBI Director Robert Mueller told the news conference.
In New Jersey, the servicing manager of U.S. Mortgage pleaded guilty for his role in the fraudulent sale of more than $136 million in mortgage loans to Fannie Mae and other investors.
In a Nutshell
For mortgage and other types of loan, try your local neighborhood bank first. Watch out for the three S’s of personal finances – Scams, Scums and Schmucks. Don’t be so gullible.
When you need a mortgage, don’t let yourself be gullible. Do research online. Read reviews.
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