With the rising default rates in FHA loans, the Housing and Urban Development Department, or HUD to the rest of us, is searching out fraud with some of it’s lenders.

15 banks have been subpoenaed to see if fraud has been committed in their lending practices, reminiscent of the mortgage fraud that permeated 2000–2006.

The banks being subpoenaed are:

• D and R Mortgage Corp. of Farmington, Michigan;
• Webster Bank of Cheshire, Connecticut;
• Mac-Clair Mortgage Corporation of Flint, Michigan;
• Americare Investment Group of Arlington, Texas;
• 1st Advantage Mortgage of Lombard, Illinois;
• American Sterling Bank of Independence, Missouri;
• Sterling National Mortgage Co. 
• First Tennessee Bank N.A. of Memphis, Tennessee;
• Alethes LLC in Lakeway, Texas;
• Security Atlantic Mortgage Co. of Edison, New Jersey;
• Pine State Mortgage Corp. of Atlanta;
• Birmingham Bancorp Mortgage Corp. of West Bloomfield, Michigan;
• Alacrity Financial Services LLC of Southlake, Texas;
• Assurity Financial Services LLC of Englewood, Colorado.

This looks like a warning shot across the bow of lenders nationwide.

HUD officials, who oversee the FHA mortgage insurance program, said they haven’t found any evidence of wrongdoing at the lenders, and were singling out those with the highest default rates.

The investigation is “focusing on many of the worst performers in the FHA portfolio,” FHA Commissioner David Stevens said on a conference call with reporters in Washington.

“We aren’t making any accusations at this time, we have no evidence of wrongdoing, but we will aggressively pursue any indicators of fraud,” HUD Inspector General Kenneth Donohue said. “The fact that there are 15 institutions on this list today does not in any way suggest that there aren’t other institutions that we will not look at later. via Bloomberg

Related posts:

1. Strategic Mortgage Defaults Rising in Hard Hit Regions
2. Lenders Buried Under Load of Mortgage Re-Works
3. Top 5 Mortgage Lenders By Dollar Volume For 2008
4. Treasury Department Calls Meeting With 25 Largest Mortgage Lenders
5. Atlanta Looking To Sue Mortgage Lenders

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