Mortgage Fraud

Mortgage fraud accounts for 20 percent of all fraud in the United States. It involves identity theft, corrupt realtors, builders, appraisers and financiers. Mortgage fraud is currently one of the fastest growing white-collar crimes in the country.

Typical mortgage and foreclosure scams include:

Property flipping: Property is purchased and falsely appraised at a higher price and quickly resold.
Falsified application data such as citizenship, employment history, income and credit history, allowing an unqualified buyer to obtain a loan.
Air loans: Falsified loan documents, including appraisals, are used to obtain a loan on a nonexistent property.
Silent second: A buyer borrows a down payment from a seller through a non-disclosed second mortgage.
Inflated appraisals: An appraiser acts in collusion with a borrower and provides a misleading report.
Foreclosure rescue scams: Homeowners either pay an exorbitant upfront fee for little or no services, or sign a quit claim deed, transferring ownership for a nominal payment.
Equity skimming: Property is acquired with a promise to use rent money to continue making mortgage payments.

The FBI identified California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Colorado, Missouri, Illinois, Maryland, Georgia, and Florida as the locations with the highest incidence of mortgage fraud.

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