The surrogate
It begins with a woman who yearns for a baby and another who is willing and able to give her one. You can imagine the motives of the prospective parents. But what about the woman willing to carry a baby, give birth and then walk away?
Friday Night Rewind It doesn't matter which team you cheer for. We've got video previews of every high school football program in Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco and Hernando County.
NEW YORK — Reported incidents of mortgage fraud jumped 42 percent nationwide in this year's first quarter, with Florida reporting the highest number of cases, according to industry data released Monday.
Florida properties accounted for nearly a quarter of all mortgage fraud incidents, the Mortgage Asset Research Institute said. California ranked second, followed by a three-way tie for third among Illinois, Maryland and Michigan.
The report is based on data submitted by MARI subscribers about loans that originated in the first quarter of this year and have since been classified as fraudulent.
The most common mortgage fraud cases included misrepresenting income, employment history, and debt and assets.
Mortgage fraud has represented about $1-billion in losses over the past decade, the Mortgage Bankers Association has said.
The increase in reported incidents comes as lenders raise credit standards to curb rising foreclosures. Critics say the industry has been lax in qualifying risky borrowers during the boom, which fueled an overheated housing market.
But the stricter requirements have done little to curb fraud.
"Tightening credit standards by itself doesn't eliminate fraud," said Merle Sharick of MARI.
[Last modified: Aug 26, 2008 11:43 AM]
Comments on this article
by Jay
Aug 26, 2008 11:41 AM
Until lrnders do their do diligence, fraud will remain problem number 1. AS they often say, "no one makes any money until the loan closes."
Subscribe to the Times
Click here for daily delivery
of the St. Petersburg Times.
News
