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Stop Fraud Act: U.S. Senate Tackles Real Estate Fraud
I’m not sure if it was David Jackson’s articles on mortgage fraud in his state’s largest newspaper, or pressure from somewhere else, but U.S. Senator Barack Obama did something yesterday that I applaud because it’s bound to change the way our Federal government moves on real estate-related fraud. Obama, a Democrat from the state of Illinois, has introduced a bill in the United States Senate (S.2280) aimed at putting a stop to real estate transactions that are clearly based on fraudulent activity and information. All told, if the Obama’s measure passes, the proposed legislation will provide much-needed Federal regulations and dollars–lots of dollars–to help in the fight against real estate fraud and the scammers who commit the crimes.
Unofficially titled the “Stopping Transactions which Operate to Promote Fraud, Risk, and Underdevelopment Act” or the “STOP FRAUD Act,” S.2280 is aimed at amending the U.S. Code so that it would essentially become a Federal crime for any “mortgage professional” to knowingly execute or attempt to execute a scheme that would defraud anyone, including financial institutions, in connection with an offer or extension of consumer credit secured by an interest in real property; or obtain, by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations or promises, or money or property, including fees or charges, in connection with the extension of such credit.
In plain English… if you commit mortgage fraud, you’ll face 35-years in prison and/or a $5,000,000 fine!
And in case you’re wondering, the STOP FRAUD Act defines “mortgage professionals” as:
- Real estate appraisers
- Real estate accountants
- Real estate attorneys
- Real estate brokers
- Mortgage brokers
- Mortgage underwriters
- Mortgage processors
- Mortgage settlement companies
- Mortgage title companies
- Mortgage loan originators
- Any other providers of professional services engaged in the mortgage process
If enacted, the STOP FRAUD Act would require all mortgage industry professionals–and yes, I said ALL mortgage industry professionals–to report any suspicious mortgage-related activities by either an individual or company to the United States Treasury. Other provisions of the Bill include:
- Within 18 months of enactment, the U.S. Attorney General, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, will be required to establish a system by which mortgage brokers and other authorized mortgage professionals may register and receive updates from Federal law enforcement on suspicious activity trends in the mortgage industry, as well as mortgage fraud-related convictions.
- Also within 18 months of enactment of the Act, the U.S. Attorney General will be required to establish a Debarred or Censured Mortgage Professional Database that can be accessed by authorized banks and mortgage professionals to determine the Federal and State bar status of mortgage professionals regulated by any Federal or State agency.
- According to my own reading of the language in the proposed legislation, the Federal government would commit to spending Ten Million dollars ($10,000,000) on ‘counseling for mortgage fraud,’ which basically amounts to the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) being authorized to extend contracts to private or public organizations that would provide information, advice, counseling, and technical assistance to consumers with respect to issues related to mortgage fraud.
- Another provision of the Act calls for HUD to provide another Ten Million dollars ($10,000,000) to state appraisal agencies to improve monitoring and enforcement of housing appraisal regulations in the states with the highest rates of mortgage fraud.
- Another of the Act’s provisions allows the U.S. Attorney General’s office to spend Forty Million dollars ($40,000,000) on grants to assist state and local law enforcement agencies in establishing and improving mortgage fraud task forces, and improving communications regarding mortgage fraud cases between such agencies and other Federal, state and local law enforcement entities.
- And finally, the Act calls for the U.S. Department of Justice to spend upwards of Five Million dollars ($5,000,000) to increase mortgage fraud investigation efforts.
All told, the STOP FRAUD Act authorizes Sixty-five Million dollars ($65,000,000) to combat mortgage fraud, and while anyone who knows me would tell that I’d be the first to go on record as saying that $65 million isn’t nearly enough (especially when you consider that just fifteen percent [15%] of that money is going towards education0, I’ll also be one of the first to say that it’s a start.
Filed under: Legislation,Mortgage Fraud,Real Estate Fraud,Stop Fraud Act
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There is a massive mortgage fraud on-going in Southern California. Will cause over $1 Billion in damages. I personally lost over $500,000. The perpetrators are James B. Duncan, Hendrix Montecastro, Anthony Contreras, Maurice McLeod, Steve Kayden, Helen Montecastro, Charlie Choi, Paul Sluss, Rodd Leonard, Jogn Ranic, Bridgett Holbrook, and Chris Oetting. They operate under many shell companies, Stonewood Consulting, Pacific Wealth Management a NV LLC, Inland Coast Capital, The Henson Group, Success Strategies, Coast Wealth Management, Total Return Fund, Jovane Investments, Cathedral Capital Partners, Palm Valley Advisors, and many many others.
Beware of them. They have damaged well over 1000 victims and still counting.
See our victim website to understand their schemes
http://www.coreclient.110mb.com/
Comment by Foolish One — May 23, 2007 @ 12:21 pm
This needs to be done. I still believe we need more education for so called “mortgage professionals”. We also need have michigan become licensed to do mortgages. When i ran my Mortgage branch I had come across many so called loan officers that i just could not hire due to their lack of ethics, lack of knowledge, and or lack of understanding of compliance. makes it hard to run a company of so called seasoned mortgage professionals. Training and education needs to be the forefront of the fraud battle. Even Clients dont know what to look for either, most think mortgages is a rate game. The consumers loans needs to be handled by a professional that understands the mortgage industry inside and out.
Comment by Scott Derkacz — May 29, 2007 @ 11:21 pm
Another example of Barack Obama demonstrating
good judgment and foresight.
Comment by MrUniteUs — May 3, 2008 @ 8:37 pm
S. 2280 [109th]: STOP FRAUD Act
Bill Status
Introduced: Feb 14, 2006
Sponsor: Sen. Barack Obama [D-IL]
Status: Dead
Go to Bill Status Page
You are viewing the following version of this bill:
Introduced in Senate: This is the original text of the bill as it was written by its sponsor and submitted to the House for consideration.
Text of Legislation
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=s109-2280
Comment by MrUniteUs — May 3, 2008 @ 8:49 pm
Leading to the Sub-Prime Housing Crisis: Obama vs. Clinton
http://www.progressohio.org/page/community/post/jayjayman/C3vs
My Comments:
It seems that Senator Obama understood and responded to the current mortgage crisis in April 2007, while Senator Clinton seemed unaware of the problems in March 2001, a month earlier. Obama seeks to outlaw predatory mortgage practices, while Clinton’s bill would encourage practices that would exacerbate the crisis.
LESSONS
The lesson in this one single bill is that in the housing sector, Senator Obama is seems more aware of the issues that affect home owners in this cycle of the market. He was looking to tighten the regulations, while Senator Clinton was seeking to loosen the regulations.
In beginning of my blog, I mentioned the differences in philosophy with respect to the state-market relation. I am inclined to believe that this policy difference between the two excellent Democratic Senators does stem also from the differences in philosophy. Senator Obama is more inclined to use the state to regulate areas of the economy to safeguard the people, while Senator Clinton seems inclined to let the market be.
This is just one case, over a small time span. In the weeks ahead, time permitting, I will try to add more cases, over longer time periods.
Comment by MrUniteUs — May 3, 2008 @ 9:03 pm
I am wondering when the STATUE OF FRAUDS ACT is enacted, (Hopefully) would you say that the law would be retro?
I am a victim of ID theft of GE-WMC Mortgage and Morgan Stanley who signed my name to a DEED of TRUST without me knowing, Jan.2006. This was done while I was waiting for new loan documents that they promise to send doing the escrow process, instead the Deed of Trust was recorded.
By the way, there was no application filled out by me from the start; since June 12th 2007, I am homless. I lost my business, and my children are losing out on their education.
Homeless in California
Comment by Connie Hill — November 11, 2008 @ 6:00 pm
Kareem Salessi recently made a similar evidentiary presentation, on a MORTGAGE FRAUD BLOG, about how his documents were forged in the purchase of a house at “28841 Aloma Ave. Laguna Niguel, Ca. 92677” in 2002: It is important to note that the recorded document posted on his web-page is deemed factual evidence both by federal and California codes, especially since one year has elapsed since it was recorded:
http://www.mortgagefraudblog.com/index.php/weblog/permalink/da_charges_man_with_forging_grant_deeds/
• See the recorded document image on http://www.SALESSI.info, which is best proof of similar forgeries by identified individuals in the employ of: “Baldwin Mortgage, of San Mateo, Ca.”, “Southwood Pest Control”, “first team real estate, orange county Inc.”, “Coast Cities Escrow”, “Commonwealth Land Title Insurance”, “World Savings Bank, FSB.”, “Golden West Savings Association Services, Inc.”, “Wachovia…” and their lawyers, in collaboration with the corrupt Orange County Officials at the County Recorder and Assessor’s offices.
The corrupted office of the convicted criminal O.C. Sheriff Michael Carona repeatedly refused to take any action against these deed and loan forgeries, so did the local FBI, both of which are accessories to such organized crimes by turning their backs to the crimes, and thus supporting such organized crimes.
In Orange County, and San Bernardino Counties, California, county recorders, and assessors, have contracts with organized crimes like title companies, and banks, as in here, to record any documents emailed to the county recorders from such enterprises, without the county officials even looking at the documents, let alone checking them for faults, as it occurred here. County officials have further continued to avoid responsibility when I provided them total proof of the forgeries, as in here.
All foreclosures, especially in these two counties, are fraudulent and in violation of countless laws, but because the “law-enforcement” is itself a part of the crime, victims are further victimized by the very people they pay for their protection from criminals like the American Credit Crime Industry (ACCI), as documented in my Orange County case # 04CC11080, where I obtained a large judgment against multiple defendants, and in my current federal case # SACV 08-01274 DOC(MLGx).
Such Organized crimes could probably come to a halt by dismantling county recorders altogether, as I have proven them to be the crux, the core, and the main vehicle, of real estate and lending crimes in the United States. These crimes have, in the past decade, proliferated globally causing today’s national and global financial collapses, by having counterfeited over $700 trillion worth of counterfeit dollars, under many colorful disguises, only with the backing of less than $7 trillion worth of American real estate. This amounts to a U.S. based counterfeiting PONZI scheme with the PONZI Ratio ((PONZI Index (PI)) of one hundred to one, which is beyond anyone’s wildest imaginations.
It is no wonder that “U.S. law-makers” have been corrupted, or threatened with national martial law, to pass the fraudulent bailout packages, which I saw coming, and documented, years in advance, in my 2004 lawsuit. (see pdf link attachment to http://www.salessi.info (temporary web-page). Posted by KAREEM SALESSI on 02/14 at 04:35 PM
Comment by Ron — February 19, 2010 @ 12:07 am
[...] it TWO years ago, but it certainly would be passed if he got into office – read about it here). This calls for serious punishment for fraudulent mortgage brokers (how does 35 years in prison [...]
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