Investment and multifamily loans remained the highest-risk categories, according to the data. An estimated one in 43 investment property applications and one in 27 multifamily applications showed signs of fraud risk during the quarter, well above the broader industry average. The percentage ofrefinancesin the Cotality data set has increased year-over-year by19%, yetthe fraud index is up 1.5% over that time.
According to Thursday reporting from MS NOW's Ken Dilanian and Carol Leonnig, a federal grand jury in Maryland has begun investigating suspected wrongdoing from the Trump administration. Dilanian continued: A federal grand jury in Maryland is investigating whether Federal Housing Finance Agency director Bill Pulte and Justice Department prosecutor Ed Martin improperly appointed unauthorized people to help in mortgage fraud investigations of President Donald Trump's critics.
Many of us have heard about, or will soon learn, the now-infamous Baltimore story. One borrower bought multiple houses on the same block, rehabbing one unit and copying its photos to make the others look renovated on paper. He changed appraisal condition statements, submitted identical photos to multiple lenders and walked through a maze of loans that started as 12-month bridge products and morphed into 30-year Debt Service Coverage Ratio (DSCR) loans.
Both MSNBC and Fox News reported that Lindsey Halligan, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, presented evidence to a grand jury on Thursday in an effort to secure an indictment against New York Attorney General Letitia James for mortgage fraud.
When the mortgage request was submitted, the technology flagged the issue and forced the lender to seek confirmation from the legal owner. EquityProtect then contacted the daughter, halting the scam process. I was shocked when I heard from EquityProtect that my father was attempting to take out a mortgage on his home, as he has no need, the victim's daughter said.
The question arises as the Trump administration threatens charges against three prominent Democrats who have angered the president: U.S. Senator Adam Schiff of California, New York Attorney General Letitia James, and Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook. All stand accused of submitting an application for a home loan stating that the property would be their primary residence, then treating another property as their primary residence.
Pulte wrote a letter, seen first by Bloomberg News, to Bondi and DOJ official Ed Martin on Aug. 15, alleging that Cook falsified bank documents and property records to acquire more favorable loan terms, potentially committing mortgage fraud under the criminal statute. Pulte also posted the official referral letter on social media platform, X, along with several other posts calling for Cook's resignation.
Ed Martin, the director of the Justice Department's Weaponization Working Group, urged New York Attorney General Letitia James to resign as an act of good faith amid a mortgage fraud investigation.
