Mortgage meltdown claims new set of victims
Rick Thompson watched from the sidelines this month as his company unraveled. In a matter of weeks, Houston-based Aegis Mortgage, the company he co-founded 14 years ago, went from being a big nationwide mortgage lender to a bankrupt husk, undone by the mortgage meltdown rippling across the markets. Aegis has told many of the 1,200 employees it had at the start of the month, including 300 locally, that their jobs will end by late September.

FOX News Poll: Many Concerned About Losing Their HomesA new FOX News poll finds that more than 4 of 10 Americans are concerned they or someone close to them could lose their home in the current economic climate. Even so, sizable majorities say the government should not bail out homeowners who took out mortgage loans they are having trouble paying or the banks that made those loans...Nearly half of Americans (44 percent) are concerned that they or a close friend or relative could lose their home, including 23 percent that say they are "very" concerned and 21 percent "somewhat" concerned. Slightly more (54 percent) say they are not concerned.

American Home's explosive growth capped by bankruptcy
American Home Mortgage Investment Corp., a publicly traded real estate investment trust that grew rapidly during the housing boom to become the nation's 10th-biggest residential mortgage lender, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Home employed about 7,500 workers at more than 550 loan production offices in 47 states and the District of Columbia. The New York-based lender funded 196,000 mortgage loans in 2006 totaling $58.9 billion -- more than double the $23.1 billion in loan production for 2004 -- for a 2.2 percent market share, according to the company's last annual report to investors.

 Loan predators remain safe
Guest perspective: Guidelines aren't rules, they're suggestions. If there was ever a time when federal regulators should be knocking heads it's now. The plain truth about the subprime meltdown is that investors got greedy and lenders began looking the other way. Final subprime underwriting guidelines were released recently by the patchwork of federal regulators charged with overseeing the soundness of our banking system. (See FDIC press release from June 29, 2007.) Guidelines aren't rules, they are suggestions.

5 Indicted in Multimillion Dollar Texas Fraud Scheme
A licensed Texas attorney and real estate developer, a sports agent, two bank loan officers, and a real estate appraiser have been indicted in a multimillion dollar mortgage fraud scheme.  The indictment alleges involvement in a mortgage fraud scheme that reached every aspect of a real estate loan: seller, buyer/borrower, loan officer, appraiser, escrow officer, and title company.

Special Report: Mortgage Fraud Scheme Gets Cash Through Fraud
The State has made a mortgage fraud scheme which tacks extra money onto a mortgage illegal, because it defrauds lenders and endangers home ownership.  Gov Crist has signed a bill into law that makes mortgage fraud a felony crime.  The following video is 4 ½ minutes summarizing this bill and the FBI’s efforts in following the massive paper trails of fraud in the State of Florida.  View CBS4 Report

Three indicted in McKinney mortgage fraud
Last fall, a News 8 investigation revealed questionable real estate transactions in the Hills Creek neighborhood of McKinney. Yesterday, a Collin County grand jury indicted three men for allegedly lying on deeds on three different homes in the neighborhood. On Hills Creek in McKinney, a house went from $315,000 to a sale price of $625,000 in four years. Now the Collin County Grand Jury has indicted three men for lying on deeds to homes on Hills Creek. Not one lives in the neighborhood. All allegedly told their mortgage lenders they were.

Mortgage Bankers Association calls for more FBI agents, prosecutors
With an industry database showing a 30 percent increase in loans involving suspected mortgage fraud in 2006, the Mortgage Banker's Association is asking Congress to set aside $31.25 million over five years to hire more FBI investigators and prosecutors.

Mom Turns into Mortgage Fraud Sleuth
Georgia - She used to be a DeKalb County stay-at-home mom. Now she is a nationally recognized mortgage fraud expert and her mission is to spread the word about taking back control. Mortgage fraud can work dozens of ways but here is one typical scenario: Fraudsters move in and flip a house again and again, driving the price up on a property that is not worth it. The fraudsters get big loans from banks and the banks, many times, end up eating the loss. The community suffers from un-sellable eyesores that sit empty for years.

17 penalized in 'mortgage flipping'
As part of an elaborate mortgage-flipping scheme that has bilked lenders and blighted neighborhoods, a vacant house in the 5300 block of South Laflin Street sold for $165,000 last year and was resold for twice that amount just hours later, state officials said Tuesday. After a three-month investigation, 17 businesses and individuals have been disciplined for their involvement in a mortgage-fraud ring that falsified documents and created bogus appraisals, Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation officials announced Tuesday.