MISREPRESENTATION ON MORTGAGE APPLICATION IS NOW A STATE CRIME
Another law signed by Governor Schwarzenegger on October 11, 2009, which does not become effective until January 1, 2010, makes Mortgage Fraud a State Crime (Senate Bill 239). As of January 1, 2010, anyone who deliberately makes any misrepresentation or omission during the mortgage lending process with the intent of influencing that process will be guilty of mortgage fraud under California law. A violation of this law is a crime punishable by one-year imprisonment. Under existing federal law, loan fraud against a federally-insured lender is a crime punishable by a $1 million fine, plus one-year imprisonment (18 U.S.C. section 1014).
