While the overall Interthinx Mortgage Fraud Risk Index remains elevated but unchanged from the previous quarter’s value of 145 (n = 100), it is worth noting the reversal in a number of trends that have persisted over the last year or longer. It is not yet possible to determine whether these reversals represent normal fluctuations in fraud risk or herald a fundamental shift in long term trends.Read more

RealEC Technologies Inc., a provider of collaborative network solutions to the mortgage industry, has announced the addition of new income verification services to its RealEC Collaborative Partner Network (CPN), the RealEC Exchange. The income verification suite, provided by Lender Processing Services' (LPS) Applied Analytics group, enables lenders to validate a borrower's identity and verify the accuracy of income information provided during the application process.Read more

Minh-Vu Hoang of Bethesda, Md. has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the U.S. Bankruptcy Trustee in connection with a scheme to conceal millions in profits earned from the purchase and sale of foreclosure properties. The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge C.Read more

Acting United States Attorney Robert S. Cessar has announced that Robert Danenberg, a resident of Pittsburgh has plead guilty in federal court to a charge of wire fraud conspiracy in connection with a mortgage fraud scheme. Danenberg pleaded guilty to one count before United States District Judge Donetta Ambrose.Read more

By investing in communities the real estate finance industry has played a critical role in the American economy. The turmoil of the last couple of years in the industry has, however, threatened this critical responsibility.Read more

Robert Andrew Penn, formerly of Indianapolis, was sentenced to seven years in prison by Circuit Judge David F. Hamilton for Penn’s part in a multi-million dollar mortgage fraud scheme in the Indianapolis area. Penn had entered guilty pleas to charges of wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and money laundering. Co-defendant Tamara E.Read more

NCS Inc., a risk analysis leader retailing its TRV branded services through 150 plus credit reporting agencies throughout the United States, announced that the effective period of the IRS authorization forms used to retrieve the information that populates its TRV (R) Services had doubled, from a 60 day window to 120 days. The IRS forms 4506-T and 4506T-EZ are both used to retrieve income and TIN (Taxpayer Identification Number) verification from the IRS, most often in connection with a transaction through a benefit provider, such as a mortgage lender.Read more

A former Bank of America employee was convicted of wire fraud in federal court for creating false documents to secure approval of mortgage loan applications. United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Warren T. Bamford, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation - Boston Field Division; and Susan Dukes, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation - Boston Field Office, announced  that Clarista Bramble, age 59, of Randolph, Mass., pled guilty before Senior U.S. District Judge Joseph L.Read more

A federal grand jury sitting in Eugene, Ore., has returned indictments against 13 individuals on a variety of mortgage and loan fraud charges arising out of the collapse of Desert Sun Development (DSD), a company previously headquartered in Bend, Ore. From 2004 through 2008, DSD built commercial buildings and residential housing throughout Central Oregon. According to the indictments, DSD principals and other defendants caused financial institutions to lose more than $19 million. In total, five separate indictments were returned.Read more

A former Las Vegas resident has been charged with federal conspiracy and fraud charges for his involvement in a Nevada mortgage fraud scheme involving straw buyers and falsified mortgage loan documents, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.Read more