Mortgage Fraud Surges
DALLAS — (July 14, 2008) /PRNewswire/ Second quarter mortgage fraud activity doubled from a year earlier, according to the FraudBlogger Index published by https://www.mortgagedaily.com.
From April 1, 2008, to June 30, 2008, $1.7 billion in active cases of criminal and civil mortgage fraud were tracked by FraudBlogger.com. Activity soared from $1.0 billion in the first quarter and $0.8 billion during the second quarter 2007.
The FraudBlogger Index, which reflects both the dollar amount of fraud and the number of active cases, was 1,230 during the second quarter, jumping from 713 in the prior period and more than double the 590 value a year earlier.
“The surge in mortgage fraud activity was primarily driven by two factors,” MortgageDaily.com Publisher Sam Garcia said. “First, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of Justice stepped up their efforts with Operation Malicious Mortgage — yielding increased indictments and arrests. Second, we’re seeing greater stress in the 2005 through 2007 vintages as the real estate market continues to weaken, causing more of the fraudulent loans to surface.”
| — | Q2 2008 | Q1 2008 | Q2 2007 |
| Dollar Amount | $1,666,146,000 | $1,005,318,015 | $794,589,941 |
| Adjusted Index | 1,230 | 713 | 590 |
| State | Index | Dollar Amount |
| Florida | 120 | $206,900,000 |
| Illinois | 90 | $178,481,500 |
| California | 80 | $155,960,000 |
| North Carolina | 40 | $155,000,000 |
| Texas | 97 | $135,500,000 |
| Nevada | 30 | $112,600,000 |
| Arizona | 67 | $101,100,000 |
| Minnesota | 50 | $84,800,000 |
| Michigan | 123 | $81,700,000 |
| Ohio | 83 | $67,060,000 |
Compared to the second quarter 2007, Florida was up $174.0 million — increasing more than any other state. Illinois was up $153.0 million and Nevada jumped $112.6 million. Georgia saw the biggest improvement from 2007, down $146.4 million.
The state with the highest index was Michigan, at 123, which was up from 103 the prior quarter and the prior year. Next was Florida, which came in at 120, then Texas, with 97, and Illinois, at 90. The fifth highest state index was in Hawaii, at 83.
The complete FraudBlogger Index report can be found at:
https://www.mortgagedaily.com/FraudIndex071408.asp
Prior FraudBlogger Index reports are available at:
https://www.mortgagedaily.com/FraudIndex.asp
Complete mortgage fraud news coverage is at:
https://www.mortgagedaily.com/MortgageFraud.asp
About MortgageDaily.com
Founded in 1998, MortgageDaily.com is a dominant online news source for the mortgage industry. Around one million mortgage business news pages are viewed monthly at MortgageDaily.com and its affiliate publications.
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Source:Â MortgageDaily.com
