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Less than Two Percent of Bank SARs on Mortgage Fraud Mirrored by Other Reports

Less than two percent of the individuals and companies suspected by banks of mortgage fraud are identified by other financial institutions for separate crimes, according to the U.S. Treasury Department. Between July 2003 and June 2008, approximately 1.5 percent of the subjects identified in the 156,000 bank suspicious activity reports (SARs) involving mortgage fraud were also identified for suspicious behavior by money services businesses (MSBs), casinos and securities companies, according to a study by the department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). In most cases, the non-bank institutions believed the suspected mortgage fraudsters were committing separate crimes, including money laundering, structuring,...

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