Fines increasing for mortgage fraud

The level of fines levied against individuals for mortgage fraud so far this year has overtaken the number for the whole of 2008. The Financial Services Authority (FSA) said in the last 18 months it had stepped up pressure against fraudulent brokers who operated during the boom, with fines totalling £302,445 in the first quarter of the 2009, and nine order banning individuals and brokers from the mortgage industry being handed out. The most common form of mortgage fraud is inflating the income of the applicant.