New York Mayor Cracking Down on Mortgage Fraud

With all types of fraud steadily rising, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's Financial Crime Task Force has set up two programs to help fight mortgage fraud in New York City.

[IMAGE]

One of the programs will examine existing data to find ""digital fingerprints,"" or signs that point out potential fraud. These fingerprints will help law enforcement agencies and prosecutors determine what needs to be investigated.

[COLUMN_BREAK]

The other program will allow homeowners to sign up to receive notifications when transactions involving properties they own are recorded by the city.

""One of the repercussions of the housing crisis has been an increase in the number of mortgage frauds and illegal real estate transactions that victimize both lenders and homeowners,"" said Mayor Bloomberg.

He continued, ""Our Financial Crime Task Force, with the help of our district attorneys, has developed a system to alert law enforcement and property owners to irregularities in real estate transactions. These leads will give law enforcement a powerful assist in rooting out and preventing mortgage fraud in our neighborhoods.""

The city received 29.1 million in funding in 2009 from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to support criminal justice activities. Part of the money was used to establish the Financial Crime Task Force.

According to the ""CoreLogic"":http://www.corelogic.com/ Fraud Index, fraud losses for 2010 are estimated to be $11 billion, and according to the ""FBI"":http://www.fbi.gov/, New York is one of the top ten states with significant mortgage fraud issues.