Real Estate Fraud and Mortgage Fraud                                                 

 

Real estate fraud can be perpetrated by anyone from mortgage brokers who want to inflate their profits to drug dealers laundering money. The fraud can take many forms, and like securities fraud, it can have devastating consequences.

 

In some scams, dishonest salesmen deceive homeowners into signing mortgages, timeshare agreements, or other documents without reading them. These often contain terms very different from those they were promised, and may include hidden fees, drastically higher interest rates, and other financial hardships.

 

Common Types of Real Estate Fraud

 

According to Lawrence M. Salinger’s Encyclopedia of White-Collar and Corporate Crime, these are some of the more common types of real estate fraud that the IRS has documented:

 

Land-flipping schemes: turning quick profits on property is not, in itself, illegal. But commonly cases emerge where false statements were provided to the lender.

 

Creating a false settlement statement: separate, differing statements are provided to the seller and the lender in attempt to falsely coerce the lender into provide a loan for more than what the property is actually worth.

 

Fraudulent loan qualifications: real estate agents assist buyers who would not otherwise qualify by fabricating employment history or credit records.

 

To contact an attorney at Holman Law about real estate fraud, please contact our law office. For assistance, call (212) 481-1336 or contact us by email.