Claims relating to housing and mortgage fraud represented a huge chunk of the amount recovered by the federal government under the False Claims Act last year. An analysis by the WilmerHale law firm found that the Department of Justice continued to give high priority to FCA investigations and prosecutions in 2016, resulting in more than $4.76 billion in settlements and judgments, nearly $1 billion more than in 2015. The increase also reflected a continued focus on financial institutions and the mortgage lending industry, with approximately $1.6 billion in recoveries last year, the law firm said. The DOJ, working on referrals from the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s inspector general, has used the FCA effectively as a tool in prosecuting FHA-related fraud cases against lenders. The DOJ ...
Three federal agencies have announced a joint settlement agreement and consent order with a New York FHA lender and several of its top executives to resolve alleged violations of the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act and the False Claims Act. The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Inspector General of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. announced the $1.25 million settlement with Franklin First Financial, Ltd., its Chief Executive Officer Frederick Assini, Chief Operating Officer Christopher Berman, and Andrew Dauro, a manager of the company. The lawsuit alleged that the defendants made illegal payments on behalf of borrowers from February 2009 through March 2010 to keep default rates low so that Franklin First could keep its ...
The Government Accountability Office released a report this week highlighting “high-risk” areas that the federal government should address, including ongoing concerns about capital requirements for the FHA’s Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund. “As evidenced by the $1.68 billion FHA received in 2013, the current 2.00 percent capital requirement for FHA’s fund may not always be adequate to avoid the need for supplemental funds under severe stress scenarios,” the GAO said. Issues involving the MMIF first received the GAO’s “high-risk” designation in 2013. The GAO reiterated its call for Congress or the FHA to specify the economic conditions that the MMIF would be expected to withstand without requiring supplemental funds. The government watchdog noted that the issue could be addressed as part of broader efforts involving reform of the ...
While one would usually expect a VA lender to entice military borrowers to take out a VA loan, AAFMAA Mortgage Services defies convention by giving military families the option of choosing a mortgage that best suits their financial needs. That means presenting the pros and cons of every product type – conventional conforming, FHA, VA and USDA loans – for prospective veterans and active duty military and boiling it down to the best possible loan choice, said Andy May, chief operating officer of AAFMAA Mortgage Services. AAFMAA stands for American Armed Forces Mutual Aid Association, a member-owned, tax-exempt nonprofit that provides life insurance, survivor assistance, financial planning, investment management and trust services to military communities nationwide. The association has an interesting history. According to Wikipedia, a group of U.S. Army officers ...
The Department of Veterans Affairs has issued guidance regarding various aspects of the VA Home Loan program. On Valentine’s Day, the VA sent out a reminder to VA lenders regarding the continued use of the current National Pest Management Association (NPMA) Department of Housing and Urban Development Forms NPMA-99-A and NPMA-99-B. Circular 26-17-07 has instructions for filling out both forms. HUD NPMA-99-A, Subterranean Termite Protection Builder’s Guaranty, is completed and certified by the builder. The licensed pest control company completes the HUD-NPMA-99-B. Also on the same day, the VA announced a new requirement for staff appraisal reviewers (SARs). In 2015, VA released guidance, that established a low-risk and a high-risk appraisal review process. This requires SARs to review the LoanSafe Appraisal Manager product during the issuance of the ...
Nominee for HUD Secretary Purchases House Prior to Confirmation. With his Senate confirmation still up in the air, Ben Carson, President Trump’s pick to head the Department of Housing and Urban Development, has bought a $1.3 million house in an affluent neighborhood in Fairfax, VA, the Washingtonian has reported. According to the magazine, Carson’s new abode is a 6,400-square-foot traditional-style house with five bedrooms and four and a half baths. It is located on a 1.5 acres, a short distance from the Wolf Trap concert venue and the Meadowlark Botanical gardens. The 65-year-old neurosurgeon and his wife Candy also own million-dollar homes in Florida and Baltimore County, MD. The Senate Banking Committee approved Carson’s nomination on Jan. 24 but the full Senate has yet to vote on it. No date for a confirmation vote has been set ...
The secondary market for bulk agency mortgage servicing rights is beginning to pick up a decent head of steam, but one factor is holding it back from a full-throttle: worries about prepayment speeds. “We’ve had one month of low prepayment numbers,” said Mark Garland, president of MountainView Servicing Group, Denver. “A couple of more months would be better.” According to investment bankers who work the market, although rates have been on a steady climb since the November election – the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury is...
Sponsors can generally meet the requirements by retaining the most subordinate tranches of the securitization equaling at least 5.0 percent of the deal…
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