Mortgage Fraud
The Criminal Intelligence Service Canada defines a straw buyer as "an individual who pretends to be a legitimate buyer for a property but in reality is in collusion with another criminally inclined individual to further a mortgage scam. The straw buyer often uses fake or stolen identification to prevent being traced." In May 2010 the Bank of Montreal sued hundreds of persons, including Federal Conservative MP Devinder Shory, for allegedly being involved in a mortgage fraud in which the bank lost $30 million. The Bank claims that "straw buyers" were recruited by fraudsters. In exchange for a cash payment the "straw buyers" would allow their names to be used on mortgage applications to obtain real estate properties in the Calgary area. A detailed case study of the complex United States v. Quintero-Lopez case spans activity over 3 1/2 years (Bell, 2010).
Read more about this topic: Straw Purchase
Famous quotes containing the words mortgage and/or fraud:
“Loosened from the minor’s tether;
Free to mortgage or to sell,
Wild as wind, and light as feather
Bid the slaves of thrift farewell.”
—Samuel Johnson (1709–1784)
“The disfranchisement of a single legal elector by fraud or intimidation is a crime too grave to be regarded lightly.”
—Benjamin Harrison (1833–1901)