House flipping fraud in Florida alone cost us $10 Billion
'Flip that house' fraud cost billions | HeraldTribune.com | Sarasota Florida | Southwest Florida's Information Leader
And there is no money to investigate or prosecute. So all these scumballs are free to do it again.
Key Documents:
* FDLE report on mortgage fraud (PDF - 3275kb)
* Flipping trends (PDF - 3843kb)
The deals -- many of them inflated sales among friends, family and business associates -- drove up property values and tax bills during the boom, fed bank bailouts and failures after the boom, and fueled the foreclosure wave that has gutted property values.
Unscrupulous property flippers would buy houses or condos, then drive up the price in a few days or weeks by selling it to someone they knew. Buyers used the inflated price to get bank loans for more than the property was worth, leaving money for flippers to split as profit.
Despite their role in one of Florida's largest white-collar crime sprees, the vast majority of unscrupulous real estate flippers will never be prosecuted. Most Florida law enforcement agencies have done little to investigate property flip fraud. The FBI has been left to chase far more cases than it can handle.
Tony's