New York City was first in the nation for mortgage fraud last year, according to a report by LexisNexis Mortgage Asset Research Institute, released today (see the full report after the jump). The metro area accounted for 12 percent of all suspicious activity reports filed with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network in 2009, squarely defeating second-ranked Los Angeles, whose suspicious activity reports accounted for 8 percent of the nation’s total. On the whole, New York state has seen a sharp increase in mortgage fraud over the past few years. This year, the state — ranked 18th in 2007 — took second place, behind Florida. [more]