Federal Mortgage Fraud

California was the hardest hit by the foreclosure crisis out of all fifty states in the nation, with one in every five foreclosures taking place in the Golden State. A report by the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment stated that there have been 1.2 million foreclosures in California since 2008, with the number expected to exceed 2 million after 2012. The foreclosure crisis was expected to cost homeowners, property taxes, and local governments in California $650 billion. The foreclosure crisis in the Sacramento Area has led to a wave of rescue scams and other forms of mortgage fraud.

If you are being investigated or charged with mortgage fraud either on the state or federal level, you should be aware that it is now handled as a serious offense. Choose a knowledgeable Sacramento criminal defense attorney to represent you in these proceedings. The experienced criminal defense attorneys at Law Office of Wing & Parisi can help you fight an inquiry by the FBI or charges brought by the United States. Call us at (916) 441-4888 for a consultation.

What is Federal Mortgage Fraud?

Fraud is the knowing misrepresentation or concealment of a material fact with the intent to induce another to act to his or her detriment. Mortgage fraud occurs in the mortgage process when someone makes a material misstatement, omission, or misrepresentation that is relied upon by an underwriter or lender in determining whether to fund, purchase, or insure a loan. The federal government and the FBI investigate and then prosecute mortgage fraud in those cases where aspects of the fraud cross state lines.

Mortgage fraud can be roughly divided into two types. Sometimes “industry insiders” intentionally and falsely inflate the value of a property or issue loans contingent upon fictitious properties. The FBI calls this “loan origination fraud” and it is the most serious kind of mortgage fraud because of the high dollar losses involved. However, these crimes are on the decline because of tighter underwriting standards since the recent recession.

In the second type of fraud, a borrower commits the fraud by acquiring a house under false pretenses, for example, by misrepresenting his or her income or employment history to obtain a loan. Reports of this kind of fraud have increased rapidly since 2008 in connection with the increase in foreclosures and delinquencies. In fact, this type of fraud has displaced loan origination fraud as the focus of many offices of the FBI.

In its 2010 report on Mortgage Fraud, the FBI stated that California was a top state for mortgage fraud. As mentioned above, that is because of the foreclosure crisis in California. The Treasury Department report noted that the following qualify as suspicious activities: pursuing different forms of loan workout or debt elimination strategies, loan modification attempts by borrowers or others targeting distressed homeowners, and inconsistencies between Social Security numbers submitted in loan documents.

If you are being investigated or charged with mortgage fraud either on the state or federal level, you should be aware that it is now handled as a serious offense. Choose a knowledgeable Sacramento criminal defense attorney to represent you in these proceedings. The experienced criminal defense attorneys at the Law Office of Wing & Parisi can help you fight an inquiry by the FBI or charges brought by the United States. Call us at (916) 441-4888 for a consultation.

Contact Sacramento criminal defense attorney

When you have been charged with a crime, choose a Sacramento criminal defense attorney with the experience and dedication to make a difference. The Law Office of Wing & Parisi is dedicated to provide exceptional customer service and excellent legal representation for those charged with any type of crime.

Whether it’s your first charge or your second, you need a dedicated and skilled attorney by your side. Contact us online or call at (916) 441-4888 for a free and confidential case consultation, available in Spanish. We appear in state and federal courts in the Sacramento and Davis communities as well as throughout Placer and San Joaquin counties.