100 FBI Agents Arrest Fraud Suspects; Weekly wrap from MortgageDaily.com
DALLAS, Oct. 31 /PRNewswire/ — More than 100 FBI agents fanned out across Detroit recently and rounded up “loan officers, straw buyers, collusive sellers, real estate appraisers and closing agents,” according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s office. The scheme began in January 2003 and was designed to steal money from lenders by using fraud, according to a 20-count indictment. https://www.mortgagedaily.com/FraudDetroit102605.asp
The Mortgage Bankers Association met last week in Florida for its annual conference and announced its new chairman and chairman-elects. The group projects $2.8 trillion in mortgage production this year and said borrowers are drifting away from conventional adjustable-rate mortgages and embracing interest-only, option ARM and Alt-A programs.
A bill would that would tighten oversight of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and increase the conforming loan limit to $540,000 was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives last week. https://www.mortgagedaily.com/GseLegislation102805.asp
GMAC was the biggest unsecured creditor in a bankruptcy filing by LoanGiant.com, with $21.7 million outstanding. GMAC also increased home equity loan amounts across all credit grades for its correspondent lenders and said it was the first secondary mortgage investor to purchase and service a correspondent loan with a digital note. https://www.mortgagedaily.com/LoanGiantBankruptcy102405.asp
A subsidiary of Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway was sued earlier this month in federal court by a group of people who claimed fraud in a residential housing investment scheme and sought millions of dollars in damages. The group took action after they discovered that the mortgage company was foreclosing on loans to which they thought they were only investors. https://www.mortgagedaily.com/Lawsuit21stCentury102605.asp
Recent FHA changes expand approved lending areas to include groups of states and reduce to 13 the number of branches lenders need to operate nationwide, HUD recently said in a mortgagee letter. https://www.mortgagedaily.com/FhaBranches102505.asp
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