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Mortgage/Real Estate Fraud

South Florida and specifically, the Miami area, has become one of the national leaders of real estate and mortgage fraud related to the purchase and sale of real estate and the financial transactions related to buying and selling real property.

State and federal law enforcement agencies are focusing on many their investigations on mortgage and real estate fraud.  The State of Florida and the U.S. Government have created task forces comprised of investigators, financial analysts and prosecutors who are targeting fraudulent real estate deals.  Mortgage and real estate fraud prosecutions have multiplied significantly due to a massive number of foreclosures throughout the United States. There are a wide variety of fraudulent schemes that are prosecuted. Defendants charged with real estate and mortgage fraud face charges including wire fraud, mail fraud, bank fraud and money laundering.

Our Miami criminal lawyer specializes in mortgage and real estate fraud.  The other trial attorneys at DMT have been involved in many investigations of people involved in all aspects of real estate transactions and we understand the complexities involved in real estate sales and purchases. Our Miami and South Florida criminal lawyer has represented real estate brokers, mortgage brokers, title companies, bankers, property owners, property sellers and property buyers in different cases in which we have been involved.

The most common frauds related to a real estate deal involve straw buyers or purchasers of real property; the unreported or concealed payment to one or more parties involved in the real estate transaction; the use of inflated real estate appraisals; the falsification of mortgage documents that are then relied upon by a federally insured bank which lends money based upon the false information; and the agreement between buyer and seller to increase the purchase price of the property to obtain more money from lender than would otherwise be provided.   Other forms of mortgage and real estate fraud include property flipping, equity skimming, chunking, false down payments, double selling, foreclosure fraud, and bait and switch schemes. Often these criminal prosecutions involve false documentation, appraisal fraud, and identity theft. State and federal prosecutors are bringing formal charges against real estate agents, under writers, mortgage brokers, title agents, property appraisers, and straw purchasers/buyers.

Mortgage and real estate fraud cases are normally complex and require significant investigation and the critical analysis of all evidence collected and presented by the state or federal government.   All suspects of alleged mortgage and/or real estate fraud must be aware that there are several defenses to these cases, including a lack of knowledge and being used or manipulated by others for purposes of another defendant’s fraudulent practices.

The Miami criminal lawyers at DMT aggressively represent parties involved in fraudulent real estate transactions. Although a real estate deal has a fraudulent component, that does not necessarily mean that everyone involved in the deal is involved in the crime. While law enforcement officers may take the view that anyone involved in a fraudulent real estate deal had to know it was a “bad” deal, the law does not support such a view. There are innocent participants in real estate deals where fraud has been committed.

The criminal lawyers at DMT always want our clients to speak with us before they speak to investigators who have contacted them to discuss a real estate transaction where fraud is suspected or detected. We can and have made a difference between our clients being witnesses in a fraudulent real estate deal as opposed to defendants charged with a crime in a fraudulent real estate deal.