MIAMI – July 21, 2008 – Florida officials allowed thousands of mortgage professionals with criminal records into the lending industry, an investigation by The Miami Herald found.

Among the ex-convicts given access to the mortgage industry was Scott Almeida, who got into the business after being released from federal prison, the newspaper reported Sunday.

Almeida admitted on his license application that he had been convicted of cocaine trafficking, so Florida regulators asked for a character reference. He gave them a note from his mom.  The rest of the story...

Attached you will be able to view the latest items in the media package from the Mayor's Mortgage Fraud Arrest Press conference.  You will see that a licensed Realtor was arrested and announced.   As CoChair of the Education Committee with our very own Danielle Blake, we, as a committee, are working on creating an update on mortgage fraud for Realtors and a course to assist law enforcement on what to look for.  Eventhough, the police are working on over 500 cases locally, as professionals on the street we all see things that can assist in this problem that is causing such difficult financial times for so many.  

I would like to take the time to personally thank the many Realtors that are taking the TIME to complete the Mortgage Fraud "File a Complaint" form on the Mayor's website and also part of a previous blog posting to assist in combatting this crime.  

"The American dream of home ownership is under attack by mortgage fraudsters. Mortgage fraud puts lenders at risk and confronts homeowners with the possibility of foreclosures and the loss of their homes," said Alex Acosta, the U.S. attorney for the southern district of Florida.

It is our responsibility as Realtors to know what to watch for as the mortgage fraud epidemic affects us all.  Hope having a copy of the changes to the law will help keep everyone informed.

The Mortgage Fraud Task Force of Miami Dade County Meeting Tomorrow May 21, 2008 to discuss the recent arrests, tighter laws, and FBI plans.  Mortgage Fraud has created so much turmoil in our data and in our profession, we all have a responsibility to know how to combat and to report discovered mortgage fraud to the police by using the mortgage fraud complaint form on miami-dade.gov.  The recent news that the Task Force will be taken statewide with the hopes of removing Florida from the number one position is the result of tremendous work under the leadership of the Chief Legal Counsel for the Miami Dade Police Department, Glenn Theobold.

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