Housing Mortgages Information

Reverse Mortgages Get Special Attention from Federal Investigators

Posted To: Voice of Housing

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), an arm of the Treasury which generally tracks drug money and terrorist funding has now apparently added Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) fraud to their efforts. In a recent Miami Herald article titled, “ Crooks Misusing Foreign Trade ,” James H. Freis, director of (FinCEN), said, “FinCEN has seen a big problem recently with home equity conversion mortgages….regulators are also seeing seniors duped into buying financial products not in their best interest as an outright theft of proceeds from reverse mortgage proceeds.” Although I applaud FinCEN, the HUD Inspector General and all other law enforcement agencies who try and protect us from predatory practices, I am afraid statements such as these are not qualified…(read more)