Mortgage fraud continued at elevated levels in fiscal year 2010 and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) continues to "dedicate significant resources to the threat," the agency said in its FY 2010 Mortgage Fraud Report.
As of September 30, 2010, the FBI had over 3,100 pending mortgage fraud investigations — a 12% increase from FY 2009.
The FBI estimated that 70% of the investigations involved dollar losses totaling more than $1 million.
"The current and continuing depressed housing market will likely remain an attractive environment for mortgage fraud perpetrators who will continue to seek new methods to circumvent loopholes and gaps in the mortgage lending market," the FBI said in its annual report released on Friday.
The FBI report also highlights that the HUD Office of Inspector General has 765 pending investigations involving Federal Housing Administration single-family loans.
The fraudulent schemes being investigated by OIG include, flopping on short sales, reverse mortgages, builder bailout schemes and robo-signings.
The FBI report also pointed out that Fannie Mae is investigating fraud in relation to condominium conversions, REO sales and short sales. "Fannie continues to investigate REO flipping involving real estate agents who withhold competitive offers on REO so they can control the acquisition and subsequent flip," the FBI report said.
Meanwhile, Freddie Mac is reporting an uptick in loan origination fraud. Freddie is witnessing an increased use of false documents, fictitious assets, fabricated payroll documents and property flips with phantom renovations, according to the FBI report.
