Jamaica worst in the nation for mortgage fraud

South Jamaica, Queens — zip code 11436 — ranks first in the nation for mortgage fraud, according to a new report from First American CoreLogic, which used data from 80 million loans nationwide between 2004 and 2009. Jamaica, which is also the New York City neighborhood hit hardest by the foreclosure crisis, has a mortgage fraud rate four times the national average, the report says. Mortgage fraud there included faking income statements, inflating home values through straw-buying schemes, bribing appraisers and stealing identities. [NYDN]