Rockland task force to target mortgage fraud
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- November
- 25
As the housing market weakens and mortgage foreclosures rise in the Lower Hudson Valley, increasing numbers of con artists are targeting vulnerable homeowners.
In Rockland County, officials are trying to fight the worsening mortgage fraud problem by forming the Real Estate Fraud Investigation Task Force. The task force, a joint effort of Rockland District Attorney Thomas Zugibe, County Clerk Paul Piperato and County Sheriff James Kralik, will investigate and prosecute fraud cases involving recorded real estate documents. The task force will emphasize those instances in which the victim’s home is at risk of foreclosure.
“We must be proactive about protecting the people of Rockland County against mortgage and deed fraud,” Zugibe said. “Our team effort will strive to reassure all residents that we will catch and prosecute any and all criminals taking advantage of people at risk of losing their homes.”
Scams can involve con artists forging a home owner’s signature on deeds, transferring property ownership to themselves or mortgaging homes without the consent of the real owners.
Sometimes, the rightful owner is dead—or an occupant of a nursing home.
“Any person accused of swindling homeowners and lenders through fake deeds is a crook of the worst kind,” Kralik said. “This type of white collar crime is complex and profitable, but the criminals involved are no different from those who hold up banks or burglarize homes.”
This entry was posted
on Tuesday, November 25th, 2008 at 6:24 pm by Jay Loomis.
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Category: Housing market
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