Mortgage Fraud Reports Jump 20 Percent

The number of reports of suspected mortgage fraud jumped 20 percent in the third quarter of 2011 from the previous year, and most cases involved loans made four or more years ago, according to the latest report from the federal government.

That continues a trend identified in previous fraud reports. “As housing markets look to recover, financial institutions continue to uncover apparent fraud as they work through their portfolios of earlier mortgages now in default,” said James H. Freis, Jr., Director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).

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