Mortgage Fraud

The blanket term "mortgage fraud" can refer to any one of a number of actions that are taken for the express purpose of misrepresentation of facts on a mortgage loan application.

These actions might include occupancy fraud, a scenario in which the borrower is actually seeking to purchase a property as an investment but claims to have plains to occupy the property in hopes of securing a lower interest rate on the mortgage. Beyond the fact that such an arrangement denies the lender sufficient return on their investment, non-owner occupied properties are subject to higher delinquency and foreclosure rates.

Other mortgage fraud actions include employment or income misrepresentation or a failure to disclose existing liabilities that effect the borrower's overall financial position. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigations, various kinds of mortgage fraud represent one of the fastest growing of all white collar crimes reported in the U.S. today.

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