 You Can Never Be Too CarefulWednesday, December 28, 2011 - Article by: David Vanlandingham -
Last week a loan officer was sentenced to 41 months in prison and ordered to pay $1.9 million dollars in fines as restitution for his part in a Florida reverse mortgage scheme. The accused man entered a guilty plea last August along with two other defendants. The fraudulent scheme bilked the lender, Genworth Financial Home Equity Access, the FHA and senior citizen borrowers of $2.5 million dollars. The defendants pled guilty to wire fraud, false documentation and altered home appraisals that inflated home values. This is a reminder that a few unscrupulous people are occasionally discovered in the reverse mortgage industry. Prospective borrowers need to perform due diligence to make certain that the individuals with whom they are dealing are honest and trustworthy. For instance, our company: iReverse Home Loans, besides being an operating subsidiary of Hopkins Federal Savings, maintains an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau, is Senior Checked and holds memberships in the National Care Planning Council, the National Ethics Bureau, the National Aging in Place Council and the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association (NRMLA); all of which serve to engender confidence in our prospective borrowers. The vast majority of lenders and personnel in the reverse mortgage industry are honest, trustworthy and focused upon doing the right thing for all involved in the loan process. However, it's a good idea to practice the old axiom that people don't necessarily do what you expect, but what you inspect. |
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