California Claims #1 Mortgage Fraud Ranking

DALLAS, Dec. 13, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Activity climbed on mortgage fraud cases being prosecuted in California, leaving the state with more fraud than any other. New York also saw acceleration, while Florida's mortgage fraud index topped the list and Minnesota remained prominently perched among the worst locales. But as a whole, the country's case activity was slower.

The Third-Quarter 2011 Mortgage Fraud Index from MortgageDaily.com came in at 1170. The index represents activity on civil and criminal cases. Victim lenders were deceived by fraudulent documentation or inflated appraisals. Cases were tracked from the mortgage fraud blog FraudBlogger.com.

"The Mortgage Fraud Index reflects current efforts by law enforcement officials to prosecute defendants who typically committed mortgage fraud three to five years ago," said Mortgage Daily founder and Publisher Sam Garcia said. "Many of the recently opened cases were uncovered by mortgage bankers who were forced to repurchase the loans."

The index fell 7 percent from the second quarter but climbed 16 percent from a year earlier.

On a dollar basis, the aggregate balance of mortgage fraud cases was $1.3 billion -- lower than the second quarter and the third-quarter 2010.

Index by Quarter

Period	Index	Amount	# Cases
Q3 2011	1173	$1,333.189,232	175
Q2 2011	1261	$1,587,573,586	194
Q3 2010	1007	$1,850,531,120	151

The number of cases with activity in Florida climbed, giving it the worst state fraud index. California had the second-highest index, followed by Minnesota.

Top States by Index

ST	Index
FL	170
CA	153
MN	70
NY	63
TX	60

Based solely on the dollar amount of cases with third-quarter activity, California's $204 million was highest. New York was a close second, while Minnesota maintained its standing among the five-worst states.

Top States by Total Amount

ST	Amount
CA	$204,273,490
NY	$199,600,000
FL	$144,320,669
SC	$108,978,654
MN	$76,400,000

"While mortgage fraud has historically been more prevalent in states hit hard by the housing crisis, Minnesota and New York -- two states that have not suffered as badly from foreclosures -- have recently emerged as active states for prosecutors," Mr. Garcia added.

Full Third-Quarter 2011 Mortgage Fraud Index report:
www.mortgagedaily.com/FraudIndex121311.asp

Mortgage Fraud News:
http://www.mortgagedaily.com/MortgageFraud.asp?spcode=pr

Mortgage fraud Blog:
http://www.FraudBlogger.com

About MortgageDaily.com
Founded in 1998, MortgageDaily.com is a dominant online source of news, statistics and analysis for the mortgage industry. Visit us online at http://www.MortgageDaily.com.

CONTACT:
Holly Himelright
NewsAlert@MortgageDaily.com
214.521.1300

SOURCE MortgageDaily.com