October 31st, 2008 joshua
Seventeen people have been indicted in what is being called an upscale mortgage fraud ring that included lenders from Missouri, Kansas and Nebraska to California.
According to The Kansas City Star, those indicted by a federal grand jury conspired as part of a $12.6 million scheme that targeted homes in upscale neighborhoods.
The scheme paid kickbacks to […]
October 29th, 2008 laurie
Dow Jones reports that the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., expressed concern Tuesday that the Justice Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are not doing enough to investigate mortgage fraud.
“A national crisis requires a national response, and the department has yet to convince us that it did, and is […]
October 29th, 2008 joshua
Florida led the nation in mortgage fraud activity during the third quarter, according to Orlando Business Journal.
The Sunshine State accounted for more than $293 million in mortgage fraud activity from July to the end of September, nearly double the next state.
California was second, with at least $160 million in fraud activity. Nevada, Minnesota and Texas […]
October 27th, 2008 laurie
The Washington Post reports that the Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case that could impact the government’s crackdown on illegal immigration, agreeing to review whether prosecutors must prove that defendants in aggravated identity theft cases knew they were victimizing real people.
The Supreme Court will hear the appeal of Ignacio Flores-Figueroa, a […]
October 24th, 2008 laurie
Prepaid phone cards don’t always give the number of minutes they claim. Others have undisclosed fees. MSNBC reports that there are connection fees, hang-up fees, and maintenance fees. Some card companies charge 99 cents per call if you dial from a pay phone. Others round the charge up to the nearest three- or four-minute increment. […]
October 24th, 2008 joshua
A Congressman from New York state wants to know why gasoline prices in his district are distinctly higher than others.
Brian Higgins, from the 27th District in western New York (Buffalo area) says the gas prices in his district are nearly 40 cents higher per gallon than other parts of upstate New York.
Prices earlier this week […]
October 21st, 2008 joshua
A former Pennsylvania Superior Court judge faces insurance fraud charges after he allegedly lied about injuries following a low-speed automobile accident.
Prosecutors in a case set to begin this week must decide if 59-year old Michael Joyce is guilty of fraudulent insurance claims worth $440,000.
The case against Joyce does not look good from the outset. Though […]
October 15th, 2008 laurie
The Associated Press reports that Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Bill Mason and the Cuyahoga County Mortgage Fraud Task Force plan to announce the indictment of three defendants who are responsible for over $5.8 million in fraudulent loans for 78 houses in the Slavic Village area. The announcement is scheduled to take place at 10:30 a.m. October […]
October 14th, 2008 joshua
A Minnesota couple is being accused of converting apartment buildings into condominiums as part of a healthy mortgage fraud scheme.
According to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, James and Teresa Hoffman sold dozens of so-called condos for considerable profits, and used phony buyers and falsified bank records to rack up more than $5.5 million in financing.
The couple sold […]
October 10th, 2008 laurie
More auction rate securities to be bought back from banks, this time by Bank of America and Royal Bank of Canada.
The East Bay Business Times reports that Bank of America Corp. has agreed to buy back as much as $4.7 billion in auction-rate securities it sold to about 5,500 investors, small businesses and charities […]
