FBI Mortgage Fraud Task Force
In 2007 the Federal Bureau of Investigation had around 120 agents working on Mortgage Fraud. That number is currently over 250 agents, 18 task forces, and 47 working groups. What does that mean? It means that the Bureau has been directed to focus on the mortgage industry. There will be innocent people taken down with the rest of the individuals who will be indicted in the coming months and years. These investigations take a considerable amount of time to investigate because of the paper trail needed to prove the case. Most of the fraud cases require some type of document confirmation. Usually this entails a mortgage application with false information, falsified tax returns, or lying about assets in order to get a mortgage. The problem with most mortgage fraud cases is not all the guilty parties are charged. For instance, the mortgage broker who tells you what to write on your application, the property appraiser who takes a little extra money to up the value of the home, or the bank who could care less about the application as long as they make money.
Defending a mortgage fraud indictment is document intensive. You must have an attorney that is familiar with the application process and the necessary elements the government must prove in order to convict.
Mortgage Fraud is actually one or a combination one or more of the following:
-Bank Fraud
-Mail Fraud
-Wire Fraud
And the fraud must have impacted a federally insurance bank. This means that the bank needs to be part of FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation). Many credit unions and other investment houses cannot complain that they are a victim of fraud because they lack the FDIC requirement. The government has continually taken the position that they will not prosecute fraud cases that are against non-FDIC companies. This policy may change as more and more mortgage fraud cases are brought to light.
Our federal defense attorneys in South Carolina are available to speak with you about any possible case that may be being investigated by the government. We have criminal attorneys in Charleston and in Myrtle Beach. We also have criminal defense attorneys in Columbia.
