Florida Man Arrested In Connection To Alleged Mortgage Fraud

On Behalf of | Jan 12, 2011 | Mortgage Fraud

Government authorities have recently been very aggressive in their pursuit of mortgage fraud. One example of this is the recent arrest of a Florida man in connection to an alleged mortgage fraud scheme.

The person arrested was a 37-year-old man from Hialeah, Florida. The man was a real estate appraiser. The man has been accused of participating in a mortgage fraud scheme believed to have been led by a Miami Realtor. Authorities claim that the fraudulent scheme involved millions of dollars. The man is accused of contributing to the scheme by reporting artificially high values for certain real estate properties. The man allegedly received payments for doing this.

The man now faces charges for this alleged real estate value inflation. He is one of eighteen individuals that authorities have brought charges against in connection to the alleged mortgage fraud scheme.

A police tip led to these arrests and charges. The police received a tip from an individual alerting them to alleged criminal activity related to the scheme. This tip triggered a police investigation into the alleged fraud scheme. It was this investigation that led to the recent arrest of the Florida man. Thus, this case illustrates how police will sometimes use tips in their enforcement of fraud offenses.

This case also shows that authorities continue to put a lot of focus on mortgage and real estate fraud. Florida’s CFO, in reference to crimes like those alleged in this case, said that “I am committed to exposing these crimes and those who perpetuate them.” Thus, do not be surprised if Florida continues to see increased enforcement of real estate fraud crimes.

Source: South Florida Business Journal, “Hialeah man charged in $11.5M mortgage fraud scam,” 7 Jan 2011

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