Posted on 12/18/2007 8:50:46 AM PST by DCPatriot
A federal grand jury has indicted nine people and one Anchorage mortgage company for allegedly using fraudulent home loans to illegally pocket $1.7 million.
The case is the biggest fraud scheme ever prosecuted in Alaska and is unique because it involves players from all segments of the local real estate industry -- buyers, sellers, agents, appraisers and mortgage and title companies, federal prosecutors said Monday.
The Fibbies are too busy chasing phantoms and rumors about terror suspects. The Fed has been asleep while all sorts of con artists took over the real estate and mortgage industries. Today they took a half-hearted action. Like chasing the cow, months after the barn door was left ajar. Meanwhile, our borders stand wide open in a time of war.
Ironic isn't it? The only thing that is consistent about Iraq, Afghanistan and the U.S. is OPEN BORDERS !
No, I don't buy that, although I have no doubt that lending fraud was widespread. I just hate to paint everybody with the same brush and indict an entire industry of mostly honest people. (Disclaimer: I have, at one time or another, worked in literally every aspect of the residential lending industry for over thirty years.)
In the end, competent underwriting and routine internal audits could have, and should have, exposed most of the fraud. Unfortunately, there is too much built-in conflict of interest. For example: A mortgage company needs profits from loan closings to survive and meet payroll. The company's underwriters are on that payroll.
The most common one was seeing the Buyers' real estate agent, the buyers' lender and sometimes the title company all blood related or business-owned related....wife owns real estate office, husband owns mortgage broker company and they both own the settlement company jointly.
Incidentally, they were all of African or Middle Eastern descent.
The aroma, Vet6780, may behind chuckie shumers' and the Speaker's door...
This is like about four years too late.
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