Mortgage fraud is one of the leading white collar crimes in the U.S. today. Recent statistics from the F.B.I. report a 50 percent increase in the amount of agents assigned to mortgage fraud related cases in a single year alone. The actual criminal offenses that a defendant would be charged with for committing an act of mortgage fraud may be wire fraud, mail fraud, bank fraud, money laundering or a combination of several of these offenses. Law enforcement agencies pursue mortgage fraud related cases aggressively due to the significance of the mortgage lending and housing market on the nations economy.
Do you need a lawyer for mortgage fraud?
Contact a lawyer for mortgage fraud at Fuerst Ittleman.
A criminal investigation into a mortgage fraud related case may stem from evidence of one of several white collar crimes. Fuerst Ittleman’s criminal defense lawyers are experienced at representing clients for many areas of criminal law, such as:
• Mail fraud
• Wire fraud
• Bank fraud
• Mortgage fraud
• Corporate fraud
• RICO violations
• Health care fraud
• Money laundering
• Anti-tax law evasion
• Offshore transactions
• Securities & Commodities fraud
Mortgage fraud occurs when there is evidence of intent to misrepresent information provided for a loan application. There are numerous activities that people may perpetrate in order to commit an act of mortgage fraud. For instance, occupancy fraud occurs when a borrower states that they will acquire a property as a primary residence or second home, thereby reducing the amount of interest on the loan, when in actuality the loan is for an investment property.
Another example of an act of mortgage fraud is income fraud. Income fraud is occurs when a borrower provides inaccurate income information to obtain a loan. A common occurrence of income fraud takes place through the falsification or forgery of income documentation, tax records, and bank records. Mortgage fraud has become a central focus to federal law enforcement and through cooperation with state and local governmental agencies the federal government works to combat persons involved with mortgage fraud related crimes. Some of the agencies involved in these joint investigations include the F.B.I., the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO), the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the IRS. If you have been alleged to have committed an act of mortgage fraud, contact the white collar criminal defense team at Fuerst Ittleman.
Do you need a lawyer for mortgage fraud?
Contact a lawyer for mortgage fraud at Fuerst Ittleman.
