State Monitors Mortgage Firms

Most states are watching mortgage companies closely in the last few years as the amount of mortgage fraud reported has increased. Illinois took the initiative from a local paper to investigate a dew of their mortgage companies.

Reading through the Tribune, most days would yield at least one story of new or updated instances of mortgage fraud in Illinois. The state regulators there decided to listen to the stories and do some investigating into six mortgage firms that allegedly used workers not registered with the state. These employees throughout the state originated more than 700 home loans, and the regulators decided to take action before fraud became an issue.

Mortgage originators in the state of Illinois must go through training and be licensed to practice in the state. The people accused of the crimes are facing fines and, perhaps, incarceration for practicing without going through the proper screening and training. The companies that employed the originators could loose their license and face penalties as well. State regulators point out that the Tribune was a main reason for the investigation, saying that the stories brought to light a potential problem which they could address before it became overwhelming.\r\n