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September Educational Meeting to Feature FBI Supervisory Special Agent
GREFPAC is excited to have Paul J. Fike III, FBI Supervisory Special Agent - Financial Crimes Unit, as our speaker for the September 1, 2010 complimentary educational meeting. Supervisory Special Agent Fike will cover what is happening now in the FBI regarding mortgage fraud and the plans for the future of the Financial Crimes Unit's Atlanta office. Following his presentation will be an open question and answer session. Learn more about the meeting. Register for the meeting.
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2010-2011 Board and Officers Elected
Pursuant to an election by the membership at the general meeting on June 2, 2010, the 2010-2011 GREFPAC officers and directors are as follows:
Officers:
President: Vicky Thompson, Appraisals
Vice President: Tom Merkel, Non-Profit Organization
Secretary/Treasurer: Michelle Canter, Attorney
Directors:
Brent Brewer, Community
Lisa Brown, Title Insurance
Jennifer Deal, Mortgage Lending
Ronald Heckman, Appraisals
Kelli Hutchinson, Mortgage Lending (returning)
Sue Hunt, Non-Profit Organization
Scott Kelly, Mortgage Insurance
Angie Mezza-Smith, Real Estate Sales
Michael Pierce, Attorney
Frank "Paco" Torch, Mortgage Broker/Education (returning)
Matt Wade, Community
Craig Weitzel, Mortgage Lending
Sandra Welsh, Community Affairs (returning)
Immediate Past President: Terry Franzen, Attorney
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GREFPAC Revamps Website
The GREFPAC website, www.grefpac.org, has a brand new look with easier to navigate menus. The links and other content are being updated as well. Go to the website to find the meeting registration links, renew your membership, or view recent articles relating to real estate fraud. |
NATIONAL NEWS AFFECTING GEORGIA
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FinCEN Analysis: Foreclosure Rescue Scam Reports Increase, Nature of Foreclosure Rescue Scams Shift
Fin. Crimes Enforcement Network | June 17, 2010
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) released its first analysis of suspicious activity reports (SARs) containing information about potential foreclosure rescue scams. In addition to an increase in reported activity, the analysis shows that the nature of foreclosure rescue scams had shifted during the period examined in the study. The Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta region was in the top ten metropolitan regions, ranked by the concentration of local subjects of all mortgage loan fraud SARs reported between January 1, 2009 and June 10, 2010. Read More |
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FinCEN Updates Advisory to Financial Institutions on Filing SARs Regarding Loan Modification/Foreclosure Rescue Scams
Fin. Crimes Enforcement Network | June 17, 2010
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued an advisory to supplement previous guidance regarding loan modification and foreclosure rescue scams. The advisory contains updated examples of common fraud schemes and potential "red flags" for fraudulent activities related to loan modification and foreclosure rescue schemes. It also reminds financial institutions to use key words when completing suspicious activity reports (SARs) to assist law enforcement. Read More |
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FTC Settlement Orders Ban Marketers from Selling Mortgage Relief Services; Repeat Offender Ordered to Pay $11.4 Million for Contempt
Fed. Trade Comm'n | June 17, 2010
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) settlement orders ban 16 marketers from the mortgage modification or foreclosure relief business. The promoter of a similar scam was ordered to pay $11.4 million for flouting a previous court order. And, in a new action, the FTC charged another online marketing operation with masquerading as a government mortgage assistance program. Read More |
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FBI Issues 2009 Fraud Report Fed. Bureau of Investigation | June 17, 2010
According to the FBI's 2009 Mortgage Fraud Report, mortgage fraud suspicious activity reports referred to law enforcement increased 5% during fiscal year 2009. Other key findings in the report: Georgia was one of the top mortgage fraud states. Prevalent mortgage fraud schemes included loan origination, foreclosure rescue, builder bailout, equity skimming, short sale, illegal property flipping, reverse mortgage fraud and loan modifications. Emerging trends include fraud involving economic stimulus plans/programs, property theft/fraudulent leasing of foreclosed properties and tax-related fraud. Read More |
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Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force Announces Results of Broadest Mortgage Fraud Sweep in History U.S. Dep't of Justice | June 17, 2010
Members of the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force announced the results of a nationwide takedown which targeted mortgage fraudsters throughout the country and is the largest collective enforcement effort ever brought to bear in confronting mortgage fraud. "Operation Stolen Dreams" has involved 1,215 criminal defendants nationwide, including 485 arrests, who are allegedly responsible for more than $2.3 billion in losses. Additionally, the operation has resulted in 191 civil enforcement actions, which have resulted in the recovery of more than $147 million.
The cases described in the "Two Members of Reverse Mortgage Fraud Ring Plead Guilty" article below were part of Operation Stolen Dreams. Read More |
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Interthinx Releases Mortgage Fraud Risk Report for Q1 2010 Interthinx | June 8, 2010
Interthinx has released its quarterly Mortgage Fraud Risk Report, covering data collected during the first quarter of 2010. According to the report, for the first time since 2004, the national Mortgage Fraud Risk Index has exceeded 150. The report shows the distribution of current mortgage fraud risk in metropolitan statistical areas throughout the United States. It also also indicates that Georgia had the largest quarter-on-quarter increase and entered the top 10 States with the highest mortgage fraud risk in sixth place. Read More
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FinCEN Releases Advisory on Filing SARs Regarding Reverse Mortgage Fraud Schemes
Fin. Crimes Enforcement Network | Apr. 27, 2010
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), in consultation with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Office of Inspector General, issued an advisory to highlight reverse mortgage fraud schemes potentially related to the Federal Housing Administration Home Equity Conversion Mortgage program so that financial institutions may better assist law enforcement when filing suspicious activity reports (SARs). Read More
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Mortgage Fraud Continues to Climb According to MARI Report
Mortgage Asset Research Institute-LexisNexis | Apr. 26, 2010
Reported incidents of mortgage fraud and
misrepresentation by professionals in the mortgage industry in the U.S. are
continuing to climb and increased by 7% from 2008 to 2009, according to a
new report released by the Mortgage Asset Research Institute (MARI), a
LexisNexis service. The 12th Periodic Mortgage Fraud Case Report examines the
current state of residential mortgage fraud and misrepresentation in the U.S.
committed by professionals, based on data submitted by LexisNexis
MARI subscribers. It shows that Georgia, ranked fourth in MARI's analysis of 2008 loans a year ago, is now ranked eighth for the both 2008 and 2009. Read More
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SIGTARP Quarterly Report: HAMP Initiatives Risk Increased Vulnerability to Fraud
Office of the Special Inspector Gen. for the Troubled Assets Relief Program | Apr. 20, 2010Among the recommendations contained in the quarterly report to Congress by the Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Assets Relief Program (SIGTARP): To protect against fraud the U.S. Treasury should (1) launch a broader based fraud awareness campaign for the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) and include fraud warnings when it makes program announcements and (2) adopt the Federal Housing Authority's appraisal standard for all HAMP principal reduction and short sale programs. As bases for those recommendations, SIGTARP cited (1) the high incidence of mortgage modification schemes, (2) Treasury's incentive payments to borrowers and servicers who participate in short sales increasing incentives for those participating in criminal short sale schemes, and (3) HAMP's short sale provisions permitting home valuation without a true appraisal. |
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Former UGA Football Star and NFL Player Sentenced to 69 Months in Prison for Mortgage Fraud
U.S. Attorney's Office for the S. Dist. of Ga. | June 15, 2010
Evidence presented at sentencing revealed that Arthur James Marshall, Jr. falsified sales contracts, personal finance records and other documents as part of his mortgage fraud scheme. The victims of Marshall's scheme included banks, a family who never got a property title from Marshall after paying him $100,000 for a home, and members of the American Legion. Read More
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Law Enacted to Provide GBI with Authority to Investigate Fraudulent Real Estate Transactions
Ga. Gen. Assembly | June 4, 2010
Senate Bill 371 became law and amended Official Code of Georgia Annotated provisions relating to residential mortgage fraud and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) to provide the GBI with the authority to investigate certain offenses involving fraudulent real estate transactions and to provide the GBI subpoena power for such investigations. Read More
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Emanuel County Couple Plead Guilty to Mortgage Fraud Scheme
U.S. Attorney's Office for the S. Dist. of Ga. | May 11, 2010
Evidence presented during their guilty pleas revealed that Brian and Natasha Steptoe, with the assistance of others, knowingly submitted a false loan application and other documentation to Bank of America with regard to a $400,000 home loan. The investigation revealed that the Steptoes' scheme was to defraud Bank of America in order to pocket sizeable sums of money for themselves and others. The property went into foreclosure soon after it was sold. Read More
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Former Mortgage Broker Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison in Multiple Mortgage Fraud Schemes; Real Estate Appraiser Also Sentenced to Prison
U.S. Attorney's Office for the N. Dist. of Ga. | May 4, 2010
According to U.S. Attorney Yates, the charges and other information presented in court: Edward William Farley, a former mortgage broker, operated to defraud mortgage lenders through same-day "flips" of properties. Farley paid appraiser Walter Julius Hermann to fraudulently inflate the value of each property and recruited often unqualified investor/borrowers to purchase them from one of his companies. Farley did not purchase the properties he was selling to the investors/borrowers until after the fraudulently obtained loan proceeds on the "second" "subsequent" purchase had been disbursed. During the "first" purchase, he purchased the properties for up to $100,000 less than the amount of the inflated mortgage loans he had arranged for the investor/borrowers in the "second" purchase. Read More
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Department of Banking and Finance Enters into Consent Orders
Ga. Dep't of Banking and Fin. | Apr.-June, 2010
The Georgia Department of Banking and
Finance (DBF) has entered into several consent orders with various companies and
individuals to resolve allegations pertaining to violations of the Georgia
Residential Mortgage Act and agency rules. At least one order includes a
provision that requires attendance at a DBF-approved education course in
mortgage fraud prevention. Read More
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Department of Banking and Finance Issues Q&A on GRMA and SAFE Act Applicability to Real Estate Brokers
Ga. Dep't of Banking and Fin. | Apr. 29, 2010
The Georgia Department of Banking and Finance issued questions and answers regarding real estate brokers and salespersons and licensing under the Georgia Residential Mortgage Act. Read More
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Bills to Amend Ga. Residential Mortgage Fraud Act, Establish Stop Mortgage Foreclosure Rescue Fraud Act "Dead"
Ga. Gen. Assembly | Apr. 29, 2010
2010 was the last year of the 150th Georgia General Assembly. Any bill not passed this year "died."
House Bill 42 did not pass but would have, among other things, added the following to conduct considered the offense of residential mortgage fraud: Knowingly using or facilitating the use of any deliberate misstatement, misrepresentation, or omission for the purpose of obtaining remuneration from a homeowner where such homeowner's residence is subject to the mortgage foreclosure process and in reliance upon such deliberate misstatement, misrepresentation, or omission, the homeowner pays such person any amount to prevent or forestall the foreclosure when, in fact, such person is not reasonably able to prevent or forestall the foreclosure. Read More
House Bill 508 also did not pass but would have established the Stop Mortgage Foreclosure Rescue Fraud Act. The stated intent of that bill was "to provide a homeowner with information necessary to make an informed decision regarding the sale or transfer of his or her home to an equity purchaser . . . to require that foreclosure-related rescue services agreements be expressed in writing in order to safeguard homeowners against deceit and financial hardship; to ensure, foster, and encourage fair dealing in the sale and purchase of homes in foreclosure or default; to prohibit representations that tend to mislead; to prohibit or restrict unfair contract terms; to afford homeowners a reasonable and meaningful opportunity to rescind sales to equity purchasers; and to preserve and protect home equity for the homeowners of this state." Read More
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Two Members of Reverse Mortgage Fraud Ring Plead Guilty
U.S. Attorney's Office for the N. Dist. of Ga. | Apr. 8, 2010
According to U.S. Attorney Yates, the charges and other information presented in court: Kelsey Torrey Hull and Jonathan Alfred Kimpson faked the required seniors' down payments needed to qualify for the FHA-insured purchase money reverse mortgage loans. The defendants did this through bogus "gift" letters from "relatives" and fake HUD-1 Settlement Statements purporting to document the sale of the senior's non-existent assets. All down payments were actually supplied by the defendants, not the senior citizens, to be returned to the defendants upon the reverse loan closings, along with profits substantially in excess of the true sales prices of the properties. The return of funds to the defendants were disguised as either seller proceeds or lien payoffs. All such fraudulently obtained reverse mortgages included inflated appraisals. Kimpson's plea to aggravated identity theft relates to his use of the stolen identity of Realtors and their password to falsify Georgia Multiple Listing Service records to create fake property listings and sales at inflated amounts in support of many of the fraudulent appraisals. Hull also committed refi-reverse fraud by transferring properties into seniors' names to obtain refi-reverse mortgages at fraudulently inflated amounts. He thereby avoided the down payment requirement for purchase money reverses, and was able to divert loan proceeds to his shell companies, disguised as lien payoffs. Read More
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East Point Man Sentenced in Mortgage Fraud Related to Loans Funded by Failed Bank U.S. Attorney's Office for the N. Dist. of Ga. | Apr. 1, 2010
According to U.S. Attorney Yates and the information presented in court: Mark Anthony McBride obtained fraudulent mortgage loans, vehicle loans, lines of credit, credit cards and other extensions of credit in his name, in his aliases, in the names of numerous stolen identities, and in the identities of other unqualified borrowers. McBride generated mortgage loan proceeds for himself using inflated valuations for properties securing the loans, and shared those proceeds with his straw borrowers and other conspirators. Read More
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NOTICE AND DISCLAIMER:
Copyright 2010 Georgia Real Estate Fraud Prevention and Awareness Coalition, Inc. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use of the Georgia Real Estate Fraud Prevention and Awareness Coalition, Inc. or GREFPAC names or logos is prohibited. You may reproduce a reasonable number of copies of this newsletter for your own personal use or for non-commercial distribution, but all all copies must be unmodified and must include the above copyright notice. Reproduction or distribution of this newsletter for commercial purposes is prohibited. GREFPAC cannot guarantee that material accessible from this newsletter is free of viruses or other malicious code, and GREFPAC does not accept any responsibility for any loss caused by any such code. GREFPAC is not responsible for any third party content, products or services that may be accessed through this newsletter, and the availability of links in this newsletter to such third party content, products or services should not be construed as referrals to, or endorsements of, the linked entities or the content, products or services that they make available. GREFPAC will cease providing links from future issues of this newsletter upon request from the linked party. The information in this newsletter is presented as general information and is not intended to be, and should not be relied upon as, legal advice or legal opinions on specific facts. You should not rely on information in this newsletter or its applicability to any specific questions or circumstances without first seeking your own professional's advice. GREFPAC is not a law firm and does not offer professional legal services. The information in this publication is not intended to create, and the transmission and receipt of it does not constitute, a confidential or lawyer-client relationship. The act of contacting GREFPAC will not create a confidential or lawyer-client relationship, and your communication will not be treated as confidential. GREFPAC makes no warranties, representations, or claims of any kind concerning the information available from, or the distribution of, this newsletter. GREFPAC and contributing authors expressly disclaim all liability to any person in respect of the consequences of anything done or omitted to be done wholly or partly in reliance upon the use or contents of this newsletter. The information contained in this newsletter may concern allegations made in civil lawsuits and in criminal indictments. Such allegations may be found by the court to be untrue. All persons are presumed innocent of criminal allegations until convicted of a crime. Court opinions may be subject to the parties' motion for reconsideration, the court's reconsideration, and editorial changes made by the reporter of decisions. We are eager to make corrections quickly and candidly. An aggrieved party need not have a letter to the editor published for us to correct a mistake. We will publish corrections on our own and in our voice as soon as we are told about them and can confirm them. | |
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UPCOMING EVENTS
AT A GLANCE
September 1, 2010
GREFPAC Quarterly Educational Meeting
9:30 a.m. - Noon
Atlanta Jr. League 3154 N'side Pkwy. Atlanta, GA 30327
December 1, 2010
GREFPAC Quarterly
Educational Meeting
9:30 a.m. - Noon
Atlanta Jr. League 3154 N'side Pkwy. Atlanta, GA 30327 |
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Georgia Real Estate Fraud Prevention and Awareness Coalition, Inc.
P.O. Box 190127
Atlanta, GA
31119-0127 | |
