(Canadian Institute of Mortgage Brokers and Lenders)

The Canadian Institute of Mortgage Brokers and Lenders says mortgage fraud is on the rise and costing Canadians hundreds of millions of dollars each year. The most common method used to perpetrate mortgage fraud is to misrepresent the purchase price of a property

(CBC ersonName>MarkersonName>etplace)

laceName>OntariolaceName> laceType>LandlaceType> Title Registry Office: Responsible for province-wide administration of local land title offices. Tesoro was able to walk into a local land title office with forged documents and transfer title to six homes to himself.

In 1999, the province began a pilot project allowing online registration of land titles. By September of 2002, the service was extended to 12 municipalities, including Toronto.

The tate>Ontariotate> government describes it as the first ever self-serve, electronic land registration system in the world. The Ministry of Consumer and Business Services says electronic registration will cut down on frauds like Tesoro’s. Others suggest the system may provide opportunities for a technologically savvy con artist.

(The Law Society of tate>Upper Canadatate>)

The Law Society of tate>Upper Canadatate> is aware of increasing instances of fraud in relation to mortgage loan transactions. These frauds usually involve either complicit or fraudulent purchasers, and/or real estate agents, mortgage brokers and unfortunately, in some cases, lawyers.

Typically, mortgage fraud involves the use of false identities and the artificial inflation of property values. Both these elements can be present in the same transaction.

A PROPOSAL TO SOLVE THE MORTGAGE FRAUD PROBLEM

HOUSE KEY

A house or property owner is given a card with an 18 digit code.   This code is kept by the true owner of the property and the government land titles office. 

The filing of the code does not form part of the land titles public record but is filed with the land titles office.  

Title cannot be transferred, conveyed, or charged unless the pass codes match between the land titles office and the true property owner when instruments are to be applied to the title of the property.

This concept would have to be administrated through the government land titles office.  Private corporations who have been selected to computerize the land title data would have to work with the government to administrate the program.  

The House Key program could be a free or paid service whereby property owners have to voluntarily subscribe to the program to protect their properties.    Insurance companies may insist that property owners subscribe to the program before underwriting any policy be it, property insurance or title insurance. 

What about Judgments, Executions, and Construction Liens?

It is doubtful that a perpetrator of fraud would file a fraudulent Judgment, Execution or Construction Lien.  In most cases these instruments are paid upon the sale of a property.   The true owner of a property is usually notified of outstanding charges upon a close.   

Why are other fraud programs failing?

Proactive vs Reactive

Kevin Bousquet, a Certified Fraud Examiner and President of The Corpa Group, a 15 year old Private Investigation agency maintains the focus of most fraud programs are on a failing REACTIVE program.  Reactive meaning “after the fact”. Reacting to the fraud after it has been perpetrated.   

Bousquet’s agency continues to be retained by title insurance companies and their legal counsel and states that his case load is increasing more and more each month.

Victims of mortgage fraud (and fraud in general) are relying on public law enforcement to punish perpetrators and the civil court system to collect their losses. “Both of which will most certainly fail” says Bousquet.  

Most municipal Police forces are backlogged over a year on fraud matters, some over two says, Bousquet.     By that time the perpetrator has ample time to get away. Witnesses have probably moved, documentation relating to the matter can become harder to find.   “It’s all a big waste of time says Bousquet”. 

“If you think you’re going to actually collect your losses through the civil court system you’re well mistaken” says Bousquet.   Statistically most perpetrators have no assets in their name.   The proceeds from fraud are seldom deposited in any bank account that could be garnished.  While victims of fraud may succeed in getting a civil court judgment (or a criminal restitution order) it will most certainly be an uncollectible worthless piece of paper.    

Bousquet says, “the rules of civil collection with a judgment or a restitution order are very simple.   You have to try and collect on a bank account, employment wages, property, or a vehicle that has no lien on it”.  “Good luck and don’t expect the court to help you find these assets in order to collect on them, you’re on your own” says Bousquet.       

These methods of attacking fraud are nothing more then punishment and collection all of which fail without doubt.  At the end of the day the property owner is completely victimized and in some cases financially ruined with their credit record destroyed.  

Bousquet argues that a true fraud program should be towards a PROACTIVE program to stop the act before it can occur.      A clear program with the cooperation of the government land titles office and the companies that they are using to computerize the land title data to protect property owner.  

In Bousquet’s system the true property owner is notified every time an instrument is being applied to the title of their property be it a mortgage, lien, transfer or conveyance.  “No different then a password or secret code that may be associated with your credit card” says, Bousquet.    A kind of system where the land registry office must see the true owners secret code when the documents are being filed either at the land registry office or through the computerized system. 

Bousquet has forwarded his ideas to Teraview, a company that has been responsible for computerizing the land title data in tate>Ontariotate>. 

Bousquet maintains mortgage fraud is completely out of control. The changes have to start with the government implementing this kind of a program or at least focusing on a Proactive system.  

While many experts are maintaining that people should be checking their credit bureau file on a regular basis.  Bousquet maintains this is still a reactive view. It has to start with the government implementing a new proactive system.

“Everything I am seeing now is all about changes to the laws, hiring more police.  It’s not going to resolve the problem” Bousquet says.

Kevin Bousquet is Certified Fraud Examiner and President of The Corpa Group Inc (www.corpa.com).

Corpa is a 15 year old private investigation agency involved in Fraud, Asset and corporate  Investigation.  Corpa continues to be retained by law firms, banks, insurance companies (and their legal counsel) as it relates to their specialized area of investigation.

Kevin Bousquet

The Corpa Group Inc.

www.corpa.com

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