And Florida Pulls out into First Place!

[Secret!]

Florida Now Leads in Loan Fraud

Florida has replaced Georgia as the hottest spot in the country for mortgage fraud, according to the latest figures from the Mortgage Asset Research Institute. Utah moved up to second place, while the Peach State slipped to third, MARI said in a statistical report released at the Mortgage Bankers Association's First Annual National Fraud Issues Conference. Officials at the meeting Monday attributed the decline in the MARI Fraud Index for Georgia to the state's year-old law which codifies mortgage fraud as a crime. To date, Georgia is the only state to specifically make loan fraud a criminal offense. But at least five others -- New Jersey, Utah, Colorado, Oklahoma and California -- are considering similar legislation. "It's getting people's attention," Georgia Attorney General Thurbert Baker said at the conference. "It shows the impact that state laws can have," agreed California attorney Arthur Prieston, a specialist in fraud. According to the MARI index, the fraud rate in Georgia went from three times the national average to less than twice the national average, "a far cry from 2003, when it far outstripped every other state." On a national level, however, MARI found that problems in loan application misrepresentation remain high. Colorado and Illinois are seeing more instances of fraud, while South Carolina has shown a marked improvement, according to the report."

also in the news today ...


Standing Room Only Seen at Fraud Conference

Based on the overwhelming response to its first full-blown conference on loan fraud, the Mortgage Bankers Association is considering adding a second event later this year. Opening the National Fraud Issues Conference Monday in Chicago, Chairman-elect John Robbins said the MBA "expanded the room twice" and still had more than 150 people on the list waiting to get in. Georgia Attorney General Thurbert Baker, who is in line to become chairman of the National Association of Attorneys General, said he is "urging" his counterparts in other states to follow Georgia's lead in enacting laws making mortgage fraud a felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison. "Most important," Mr. Baker told the meeting, "we don't have to wait until the money's taken. We can act as soon as the misrepresentation is made, and that allows us to get at the problem before (lenders) are bilked out of millions and entire neighborhoods are destroyed." The Georgia AG said more than 100 cases have either been or opened or are waiting to be opened," and "we are training prosecutors all over the state." Assistant Georgia AG David McGlaughlin said he takes great delight in being able to lock up scam artists. "Drug dealers live in fear that today is the day they are going to have their faces pushed into the concrete and handcuffed. Now mortgage fraudsters feel the same way," Mr. McGlaughlin said. "That’s the beautiful thing for me as a prosecutor."

[jakehussie]

This is quite alarming for all businessmen engaged in mortgaging and for people wanting to purchase a house. I hope this may be solved in the near future.