WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Representative Tom Tancredo (R-Littleton) today sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development asking what safeguards are in place to verify the legal residency and identity of potential homebuyers to ensure that illegal aliens are not obtaining federally backed home loans. He also pressed the agency to disclose the extent to which this type of fraud is contributing to volatility in the mortgage markets.
In the letter, Tancredo cited a Colorado-based mortgage fraud ring in which realtors, loan officers, and sales agents were indicted and arrested for obtaining federally-backed loans for some 250 unqualified buyers by manufacturing false financial information, fraudulent identities, and bogus citizenship documentation.
“I believe this kind of fraud has significantly contributed to jitters we are seeing in the mortgage market,” said Tancredo. “Banks in Colorado alone lose upwards of $75 million per year to fraud – so I can only imagine what the numbers are like nationally.”
“We need to ensure that the ‘American Dream’ remains within reach of American families” concluded Tancredo, “And that means doing everything we can to prevent unscrupulous businesspeople and illegal aliens from undermining its integrity.”
Posted by tyne at September 13, 2007