A nine-bill package under consideration in the Michigan Legislature would give prosecutors the tools they need to help stop mortgage fraud in the state, according to state Sen. Jim Marleau.
“The importance of this issue cannot be stressed enough,” said Marleau, a Lake Orion Republican. “Mortgage fraud affects every taxpayer and resident in
Michigan and across the country. This legislation addresses one of the costliest and most troubling problems facing homeowners.”
The package creates a new crime of residential mortgage fraud and authorizes new sentencing guidelines and increased penalties for crimes such as forging deeds, he said.
Marleau’s measure, Senate Bill 252, increases the maximum penalty for violating the notary public law to four years in prison. Under current law, the maximum penalty is one year.
“Notaries can play an important role in the mortgage fraud process,” he said. “While most notaries act in good faith and compliance with the law, those who do not need to be punished to the fullest extent.”
Marleau outlined the reforms at a press conference last Friday in the Oakland County Courthouse. State Attorney General Bill Schuette, Secretary of State Ruth Johnson and Oakland County Clerk/Register of Deeds Bill Bullard also spoke at the event.
Schuette said homeowners in the state “deserve every possible legal protection against mortgage fraud.”
“These reforms will give prosecutors and law enforcement the tools they need to crack down on criminals and protect homeowners,” he said.
Johnson said the legislation would “help protect families and homeowners against mortgage and deed fraud and toughen the penalties for notary publics involved in fraudulent real estate acts.
“We must protect homeownership and the American dream for people who work so hard to purchase their own homes.”
Bullard said an investigation uncovered fraudulent signatures “that were solicited by big banks and financial institutions on mortgage foreclosure documents.”
“We must do everything we can to ensure the integrity of property records to protect homeowners and bring some sanity back to the mortgage system,” he said.
The Senate Banking and Finance Committee recently approved some of the bills and sent them to the full chamber for further consideration. Others bills are awaiting action by the House Committee on Judiciary.
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