Mortgage Fraud

Mortgage fraud can devastate your professional reputation and you will need expert advice from a serious fraud lawyer to deal with this allegation. This often involves property investors, surveyors, mortgage brokers, financial advisors, accountants and solicitors. We understand that your reputation is at stake and our aim is to ensure that your rights are preserved from the outset and that you are in fact innocent until proven guilty. Many of you will have lost sight of that due to the way you have already been treated by the authorities.

Mortgage fraud investigations have increased significantly in the last few years ranging from wide scale conspiracies to an individual overinflating income on an application for a mortgage. Following the collapse of the economy many lenders have cracked down on mortgage fraud and have been trawling through historic loans to assess their veracity. In particular the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and the City of London police have increased dramatically the volume of investigations into mortgage fraud.

There are varying types of mortgage fraud defined according to their motivation but all involve misleading a lender about a material aspect of the property transaction in order to obtain the loan. The common factor is intent to materially misrepresent or omit information on a loan application in order to obtain the loan or obtain a larger loan. Proceedings regarding mortgage fraud tend to not be limited to the borrower; they can involve all the people and professionals involved in obtaining the mortgage. This can include surveyors, mortgage brokers, financial advisors, accountants, estate agents, property developers, property investors and solicitors. These professionals often face questions regarding what due diligence they could have reasonably been expected to have conducted. There is often a very complex trail of evidence to go through and many vitally important documents are missed by the investigating officers that can materially affect the outcome of a case. This is often of pivotal importance when representing those charged with mortgage fraud and needs an understanding of the documentation involved. Often there can be extensive email correspondence and telephone records to consider. This can be key evidence for the Prosecution but equally key to your defence if the context hasn’t been considered. We are experts at defending professionals and early intervention is critical.

We have a specialist team fully conversant with the complex financial transactions that are often involved in mortgage fraud. The need to trace the money through various accounts is a skill essential for this type of defence. The paper trail can often lead to considering complex transactions involving money going into international jurisdictions and into offshore accounts. Knowledge of these areas is vital. Often there are charges of money laundering coupled with the fraud itself and it essential that individuals are properly advised by experts in that area. We have access to many expert witnesses to assist us in the preparation of your defence including forensic accountants.

Individual home purchasers are more commonly accused of small scale of single domestic fraud or domestic fraud involving a limited number of properties. This is normally as a result of providing false information to obtain a mortgage. In recent years self certification mortgages were extremely popular and unregulated often leading people to provide inaccurate information regarding their employment status, income, debts they owed etc. This results in mortgage fraud. Professionals who knew or should have known in their professional experience that the transaction was fraudulent can also be under suspicion of participating in the mortgage fraud. It is not limited to self certified mortgages and has occurred with other types of mortgage lending. We have the expertise to deal with all cases of mortgage fraud no matter how large or small.

About Freeman & Co.

Nick Freeman is quite possibly the most famous criminal solicitor practising in the Country today. Dubbed by the media as “Mr Loophole” his reputation rose as an expert road traffic lawyer through his client list of famous sports personalities and celebrities.

But this is only the tip of the iceberg for Nick and his team of highly experienced criminal solicitors. Freeman & Co. have successfully represented people charged with a wide range of criminal offences ranging from assault to fraud, from rape to theft.

Nick has a singular mind to all his cases and challenging the details of every case is an ethos that pervades Freeman & Co. as a whole.

From the first police station interview to fighting your case through the courts, Freeman & Co. provide seamless representation and dedicated client care that is second to none.

Being charged with a criminal offence of any kind will be a daunting experience. Freeman & Co. are a specialist from of criminal solicitors who understand their clients’ needs and the overwhelming need to get the best possible result in all the circumstances.

If you are, a family member to friend have been charged with a criminal offence you can call Freeman & Co. today on 0161 236 7007. You can also send us a confidential email by clicking here.

We look forward to hearing from you.