Mortgage fraud reports climb 31% in first quarter (by Steve Goldstein)
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- The number of mortgage loan fraud reports climbed 31% as large mortgage lenders conducted additional reviews after receiving demands to repurchase poorly performing mortgage loans, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network said Tuesday. "A substantial majority of reports involved activities which occurred in 2006-2007, an indication that the industry is slowly making its way through the most problematic mortgages," said FinCEN Director James H. Freis, Jr. in a statement. The analysis also found that California dominated the top mortgage fraud rankings, FinCEN said. Miami dropped to the sixth most reported area after five years in the top two ranks, the agency added.