Reports of Mortgage Fraud Reach Record Level

By ROBBIE WHELAN
WSJ

Reports of mortgage fraud, which have been increasing since the housing boom, rose to their highest level on record in 2010, Treasury Department figures showed.

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, a Treasury agency, reported 70,472 "suspicious activity reports" related to suspected mortgage fraud, up from 67,507 in 2009, or a 5% increase. That's the highest number recorded by the government since tracking began in 1996.

At the height of the U.S. housing boom, in 2006, more than 37,000 fraud reports were recorded. In 2001, before the housing market heated up, there were 4,695 reports of suspected mortgage fraud.

Much of the suspected fraud being reported took place several years ago and is only now coming to light, according to Lexis-Nexis's Mortgage Assert Research Institute, a data service, which issued a report Monday highlighting the statistics.

(Original here.)