Sometimes crime occurs and there is no obvious victim. Such crimes can fall int many categories. White collar crimes may not always have an obvious victim and do not involve violence. One such type of crime is mortgage fraud. If you face charges for this crime in California, then it is important to understand what exactly it is.
According to the FBI, mortgage fraud occurs when you providing misleading information when securing a mortgage loan from a lender. It will influence the loan in some way that providing accurate information would not. Here are some ways it may occur.
- Flipping
If you buy a property and work with an appraiser to value the home for more than its actual value, this is fraud. You could also falsify appraisal documents. The point is you represent the house value for more than it is.
- Foreclosure
You may take advantage of property owners who are facing foreclosure by making them think you can save their home. This may involve making promises that you can stop the foreclosure if they transfer the deed to you. What usually happens next in this situation is that you then sell the property to an investor.
- Invented property
You get a loan for a property that does not exist. This usually requires someone on the inside since lenders do check validity of properties.
- Borrowing the down payment from seller
If you borrow the down payment for your home from the seller of the home through a second mortgage that you do not let the lender know about, this is fraud. It is fraud because you let your lender believe the money is yours when you actually borrowed it.
These are short examples of the many types of mortgage fraud. Not all fraud involves a scheme. Something as simple as lying on your mortgage loan documents could be fraud.