Florida had the most mortgage fraud activity of any state in the country during the fourth quarter of 2012, according to Dallas-based website Mortgagedaily.com, the South Florida Business Journal Reported.
Mortgagedaily.com’s national mortgage fraud index fell to its lowest level in five years, but the rate of mortgage fraud in Florida went up in the same period, the Business Journal noted. During the fourth quarter, the site reported $246.9 million in mortgage fraud cases in Florida. California was next on the list, at $194.3 million.
The site found $1.25 billion in mortgage fraud nationally, meaning that nearly 20 percent of U.S. mortgage fraud took place in Florida in the fourth quarter of 2012, the Business Journal said.
Mortgagedaily.com also cautioned that mortgage fraud activity nationwide appears to be on the upswing in the first quarter of 2013. With the real estate market in South Florida improving at such a rapid pace, the opportunities for fraud will also likely increase. [South Florida Business Journal] –Evan Bleier