Mortgage Fraud is becoming increasingly more sophisticated and one of the primary risks affecting our industry today.  The FBI is spending more time and money combating mortgage fraud because mortgage lending and the housing market have a significant effect on the nation's economy.  According to the FBI, each mortgage fraud scheme contains some type of "material misstatement, misrepresentation, or omission relied upon by an underwriter or lender to fund, purchase, or insure a loan.  Unfortunately, there are a small number of appraisers who crossed over to the dark side and actively participate in these fraud schemes.  Our experience in identifying fraudulent appraisal practices is unlimited.  We use the best automated tools in the business and provide forensic analysis to determine if malicious intend exists.  We then determine the extent of your losses and provide solutions to mitigate any future loss. 

Common Mortgage Fraud Schemes (information provided by www.FBI.gov)

Silent Second - The buyer of a property borrows the down payment from the seller through the issuance of a non-disclosed second mortgage. The primary lender believes the borrower has invested his own money in the down payment, when in fact, it is borrowed. The second mortgage may not be recorded to further conceal its status from the primary lender.

Nominee Loans/Straw Buyers - The identity of the borrower is concealed through the use of a nominee who allows the borrower to use the nominee's name and credit history to apply for a loan.

Fictitious/Stolen Identity - A fictitious/stolen identity may be used on the loan application. The applicant may be involved in an identity theft scheme: the applicant's name, personal identifying information and credit history are used without the true person's knowledge.

Inflated Appraisals - An appraiser acts in collusion with a borrower and provides a misleading appraisal report to the lender. The report inaccurately states an inflated property value.

Foreclosure Schemes - The perpetrator identifies homeowners who are at risk of defaulting on loans or whose houses are already in foreclosure. Perpetrators mislead the homeowners into believing that they can save their homes in exchange for a transfer of the deed and up-front fees. The perpetrator profits from these schemes by remortgaging the property or pocketing fees paid by the homeowner.

Equity Skimming - An investor may use a straw buyer, false income documents, and false credit reports, to obtain a mortgage loan in the straw buyer's name. Subsequent to closing, the straw buyer signs the property over to the investor in a quit claim deed which relinquishes all rights to the property and provides no guaranty to title. The investor does not make any mortgage payments and rents the property until foreclosure takes place several months later.

Air Loans - This is a non-existent property loan where there is usually no collateral. An example of an air loan would be where a broker invents borrowers and properties, establishes accounts for payments, and maintains custodial accounts for escrows. They may set up an office with a bank of telephones, each one used as the employer, appraiser, credit agency, etc., for verification purposes.

We urge anyone that feels they are a victim of mortgage fraud or if you have any knowledge of a fraud scheme taking place to call the property authorities.   For a detailed list of all of the FBI's Field Offices  Click Here!

Learn about mortgage fraud through MortgagFraudBlog.com