Friday, May 27 2011 3:27PM
Minorities made up nearly half of all loan modification program scams in 2010, a study finds.
Minority residents living in rural communities appear to be among the most prevalent targets for mortgage fraud schemes, a new report states.
Statistics released by the Homeownership Preservation Foundation (HPF) show nearly half of all mortgage loan modification scam victims since early 2010 have been Asian, African-American and Hispanic residents.
According to the report, nearly one-quarter of these scams occurred in California, with Los Angeles ranking second in terms of highest amount of fraud for a city. Las Vegas also ranked highly for loan scams.
"Repeated studies have shown that minorities were disproportionately targeted for predatory lending during the housing boom, and we have compelling evidence indicating that minorities are bearing the brunt of an unusually high percentage of mortgage scams," said HPF chief executive officer Colleen Hernandez.
She added that fraud schemes are a major blow for all residents, particularly those with lower incomes.
Mortgage fraud has become an epidemic in California, as a report by the LexisNexis Mortgage Asset Research Institute shows the state had the third-highest rate of mortgage fraud last year.