"The Bonnie and Clyde of mortgage fraud", for crimes involving identity theft and mortgage fraud in several states, including Tennessee, Georgia and Florida are now behind bars. Matthew Cox who plead guilty in April to mortgage fraud charges in three states, has been sentenced to 26 years in prison and ordered to pay $5.9 million in restitution to more than 100 victims. His accomplice Marie Hauck got 5 years and a $1.2 million fine.

Wow! Where do we start with this? $7.1 million is "peanuts" compared to what these people stole. First, it was probably a lot more than that amount dollar-wise, but I guess the govenrment let them subtract their "living, business and travel expenses" from the amount they stole while living high on their life of crime. However, kudos to the crime fighters who finally stopped them, and I mean it! It's not easy to catch these people. Mortgage and Real Estate Fraud has many victims and they are the real tragedy in ans story like this.

A typical "pitch" the Fraudsters foist upon their victims is to offer them more money than their home is worth which is always appealing. Rule one: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is too good to be true, so watch out! If people have paid off their home, the prepetrators ask them to wait to record the loan related to the sale of the home until they can qualify for a home equity loan, then the victim will "get all their money". So, the criminals takes possession and title of the home in their fraudulent name, and apply for multiple loans on the same property. The fully encumber the victim's property with loans, take all that money and put it in a foreign account and move on to their next victim. The victims are out of their home, they have no money, no place to live and are left devastated in the wake of the crime. Times this story by 100 victims in this case and you begin to understand the gravity of what Cox and Hauck did to these people!

Another problem created is that when multiple fraud events are perpetrated in a small area, the values go down in that area for a while, until market absorption normalizes. Until that time, everyday sellers need to compete against foreclosure properties on the market that are often listed at a lower price, bringing values down. So, there are other victims as well!

What can you do to protect yourself? Look for property reporting services that allow you to understand property flipping and foreclosure conditions in your area along with home prices. Sales Comps alone do not tell the entire story. As a buyer of seller, you need to be alert to potential risks in an area. There are unscrupulous people out there like Cox and Hauck trying to prey upon unprepared victims. Don't be one of them!