CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- 
A well-known builder of luxury homes in Charlotte has been sentenced to more than four years in prison for defrauding banks and launderingmoney.

Builder Fraud
Related Article: The Charlotte Observer
Fallout from several cases of mortgage fraud
Property valuations drop, losses on loans and convictions mount 
The FBI says mortgage fraud has been on the rise nationally the past three years. In Washington, concerns over mortgage fraud prompted the Federal Housing Administration this year to stop insuring loans on homes that have been resold within 90 days. Charlotte Observer

Other examples of fraud:

• In Raleigh, the N.C. Appraisal Board in September said it had uncovered 20 cases of illegal home flipping. Losses on the fraudulent loans could top $2 million, appraisal board officials say.

• Near Raleigh, Johnston County's tax value review board cut property values this summer for an entire subdivision by an average of $35,000 after hearing houses there are being investigated for possible mortgage fraud.

• In Charlotte, developer David Simonini pleaded guilty this year to conspiring to defraud banks and launder money. He was accused of diverting funds from construction loans to pay his gambling debts and to support his luxurious lifestyle. Simonini, known for building some of the city's most exclusive homes, along with luxury car dealer David Charles Smith, were charged in connection with devising schemes to fraudulently obtain more than $9 million from banks.

• In Atlanta, a crackdown on mortgage fraud led to federal charges in April against eight people, including one accused of masterminding a multimillion-dollar scheme from prison.

• In Baltimore, a federal grand jury in March indicted a man accused of fraudulently selling 200 homes, resulting in a loss of $4 million to lenders.

• In Washington, a real estate appraiser was sentenced in October 2002 to more than seven years in prison and ordered to pay $1.5 million to the U.S. government. He was convicted of taking part in a conspiracy to inflate the values of 45 houses in D.C. Of the 45 houses, 21 went into foreclosure.

• In Fort Lauderdale, Fla., last spring, 10 people, including a lawyer, an accountant, mortgage brokers and real estate agents were convicted in a property flipping scam where one buyer bought 52 properties totaling $6.5 million.