Through the housing bubble, lenders and banks were getting more suspicious about possible mortgage-loan fraud.
Between the summers of 2007 and 2008, the government received 62,084 “suspicious activity reports” related to mortgage fraud.
That was a 44 percent surge from the prior year. Now, though, the pace is slowing. Through the first six months of 2009, such filings grew less than 1 percent from the prior year’s period, according to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.
The Miami area had the second-most reports, even though it is only the seventh-largest by population.
Among those with 200 reports or more
Metro area — Reports per 5,000 people
Miami — 5.8
Fort Myers, Fla. — 4.2
Orlando, Fla. — 4.0
Naples, Fla. — 3.5
Las Vegas — 3.4
Riverside, Calif. — 2.7
Modesto, Calif. — 2.6
Port St. Lucie, Fla. — 2.6
San Jose, Calif. — 2.5
Los Angeles — 2.5
Sources: FinCEN; Census Bureau
