South Florida Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog
In conclusion of Attorney Ralph Behr’s personal thesis on mortgage fraud prosecution:
On the other hand, this defense would not be legally cognizable under § 817.545, Fla. Stat. (2009) and two other federal statutes aforementioned.115 § 817.545, Fla. Stat. (2009) concerning violations committed during the mortgage lending process do not require a person or entity to rely or to be injured by a defendant’s fraudulent activity it is enough that “..any material misstatement, misrepresentation, or omission…” is made “…with the intention that the misstatement, misrepresentation, or omission will be relied on…”116 This statute is more aligned with two other federal statutes punishing statements or omissions on applications or forms submitted to federally approved agencies that are in the business of extending credit, 18 U.S.C. § 1010 (2009) and 18 § U.S.C. 1014 (2009). The actual submittal of these forms or applications for loan or credit advances coupled with either the “…intent that such loan or advance of credit shall be offered to or accepted…”117 or “…for the purpose of influencing in any way the action of…” any federally approved agency in the business of extending credit118 would be sufficient for a conviction under either statute.
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Thank you for reading this article written by Attorney Behr. It was his pleasure to distribute it online over the course of several weeks in order to better inform the public on legal definitions and precedence in cases involving mortgage fraud, as well as to better demonstrate the current environment surrounding prosecutions of those who commit white collar crimes and mortgage fraud.