Florida Senate Passes Mortgage Fraud Bill
April 30th, 2008 joshua
The Florida State Senate passed a bill which could land mortgage scammers in prison for up to 15 years, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports.
The penalty could be levied on any scammer committing any form of mortgage fraud, including inflating the price of a home for a loan. This practice is a common way used to skim cash off the loan amount, money which heads directly to a scammer’s profit.
Last year Florida ranked first in mortgage fraud cases and second in the amount of foreclosures. Nearly 80 percent of all foreclosures in Florida in 2007 were linked to mortgage fraud.
This bill, by passing the State Senate, only awaits Florida Governor Charlie Crist’s signature to become law.
