Mortgage Fraud Cases Jump 55%

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Aug 23, 2010, 07:00 ET

DALLAS, Aug. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- A big surge in the number of active mortgage fraud cases helped push the Second Quarter 2010 FraudBlogger.com Index higher. The heavier caseload follows increased efforts by the Obama administration to prosecute mortgage crimes.

The mortgage fraud index, which is published by MortgageDaily.com based on activity tracked at the mortgage fraud blog FraudBlogger.com, was 1699. The index was higher than the prior quarter's 1144 and also elevated from a year earlier.

The highest level for the FraudBlogger.com Index was 2790 in the fourth-quarter 2008.

The index reflects both the number and dollar amount of active mortgage fraud cases. The latest index was impacted by a surge in active cases as the administration's Operation Stolen Dreams targeted mortgage fraud activity.

"The government's push to bring mortgage fraudsters to justice is certainly welcome, but the cases brought to date represent only the tip of the iceberg in terms of how much fraud was actually committed during the real estate boom," according to Ann Fulmer, vice president business relations at Interthinx. "It's sobering to know that only a small minority of cases are ever prosecuted, and it ought to serve as a reminder that the industry must protect itself by focusing on prevention."

Period	U.S. FraudBlogger.com Index	Amount	# Cases
Q2 2010	1699	$2,248,657,052	266
Q1 2010	1144	$1,920,057,275	172
Q2 2009	1323	$1,609,569,347	195

Fulmer, who began fighting fraud in 1996 when a local fraud ring targeted homes in her Georgia neighborhood, speculated that the number cases has also escalated as the government sponsored enterprises have increased repurchase demands and the originators that are buying back the loans are discovering fraud through their own investigations.

California had the highest index: 283. Cases in the Golden State involved around $436 million in mortgages -- more than any other state.

State	Q2 2010 State Index	Q2 2010 State Amount
California	283	$435,833,116
Florida	213	$146,710,706
Pennsylvania	120	$263,550,000
New York	107	$80,651,000
Minnesota	93	$139,292,500

Full FraudBlogger.com Index report:

http://www.mortgagedaily.com/FraudIndex.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, http://www.MortgageDaily.com provides online mortgage news and analysis for the mortgage industry. Around 1 million news pages are viewed monthly at MortgageDaily.com and its affiliate publications.