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Phoenix, AZ - March 26, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder today pledged a broad and intensified fight to prevent, prosecute and punish mortgage fraud in Arizona, aided by an additional $1.7 million in federal funding

WASHINGTON, DC - March 26, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Representatives of the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force, including Attorney General Eric Holder, met in Phoenix today for the second of a series of Mortgage Fraud Summits. The task force, established by President Barack Obama in November 2009 to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes, is comprised of representatives from a broad range of federal agencies, regulatory authorities, inspectors general, and state and local law enforcement

Phoenix, AZ - March 24, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Attorney General Terry Goddard said today he will join U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and other members of the recently formed Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force at a Mortgage Fraud Summit meeting Thursday in Phoenix

Phoenix, AZ - March 17, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Attorney General Terry Goddard today announced a $120,000 settlement with several defendants for their roles in a real estate scheme in Pima County that deceived novice investors, financial lenders and unqualified home buyers

PHOENIX, AZ - March 16, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Mario G. Bernadel, 51, a citizen of Haiti, was sentenced today to nearly 17 years in prison for his conviction on multiple counts for leading a mortgage fraud scheme in Phoenix that cost banks over $9 million.

Phoenix, AZ - December 23, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- Long-term mortgage rates fell to a new low in December, according to the Phoenix Business Journal, with a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaging 4.71 percent, the lowest rate since at least 1971, when Freddie Mac started keeping track. While this is excellent news, it is important for investors to remember that much like credit cards, an interest rate is heavily dependent on the borrower's credit history. According to Ron Kuhn, Senior Mortgage Planner at AmeriFirst Financial, investors often mistakenly believe that all interest rates are equal from borrower to borrower; however, it is much more involved that just a current rate quote. Most are locking in rates that fall between 4.875% and 5.125% due to factors such as loan size, property type, Loan to Value (LTV) and credit scores

PHOENIX, AZ - November 24, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- Brandon Azadegan, 29, of Phoenix, was sentenced yesterday to 18 months in prison for an April 2009 conviction for his role as an investor selling four homes to a straw buyer. Azadegan pleaded guilty to one count of Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud and one count of Transactional Money Laundering. Six other co-conspirators have pleaded guilty for their involvement in the conspiracy. Gheorge Babeti was sentenced to 14 months in federal prison in August 2009. The remaining defendants will be sentenced in the next few months

Amid Foreclosure Crisis, Local Prosecutors Lack the Resources, Manpower to Fight New Wave of Mortgage Scams New National Legislation Would Empower DOJ To Award Competitive Grants To States and Localities Seeking to Establish ‘Real Estate Fraud Units’

Washington, D.C. - September 17, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard met this morning with Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, other senior Obama Administration officials and 11 other state Attorneys General to coordinate proactive strategies and strengthen efforts to fight consumer fraud in the housing markets

PHOENIX, AZ - September 9, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- Mario Bernadel, 51, of Phoenix, was convicted yesterday on 19 counts of Conspiracy to Commit Mail, Wire, and Bank Fraud; Mail Fraud; Wire Fraud; Bank Fraud, and Transactional Money Laundering as a result of his involvement in a cash back mortgage fraud scheme. Sentencing is set before U.S. District Judge Stephen M. McNamee on November 30, 2009.

PHOENIX, AZ - August 19, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- Jake David Abegg Whitman, 33, of Mesa, Ariz., pleaded guilty on August 18, 2009, to one count of Conspiracy to Commit Bank Fraud and seven counts of Bank Fraud.

PHOENIX, AZ - August 13, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- Christopher S. Bartlemus, 31, of Phoenix, pleaded guilty to conspiracy counts in two separate indictments on August 10 and August 12, 2009. In one case, Bartlemus pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Wire, Bank and Mail Fraud and in a separate case, to Conspiracy to Commit Bank Fraud. Sentencing is set before Judge McNamee on November 2, 2009 and Judge Campbell on November 16, 2009.

Washington, D.C. - July 28, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged four promoters and a Phoenix-based company with securities fraud for orchestrating a mortgage lending scheme that attracted hundreds of investors by making false and misleading statements about the safety and performance of the investments.

PHOENIX - Governor Janet Napolitano announced today the latest effort in a series of state initiatives to better serve Arizona families facing foreclosure. Homeowners who are either delinquent on their mortgage or face foreclosure now have a new, dedicated 24/7 toll-free help line to reach a local Arizona foreclosure counselor: 1-877-448-1211.

The community resource for anyone considering buying or selling a home Tucson, Ariz. –  Come discover the possibilities of owning a home! The Tucson Association...

If you are a real estate investor who owns property in Arizona, I think that you will find this interesting..

Estimate of Number of Homeowners Who Could Save Home Based on Publicly Available Data from Center for Responsible Lending; Rep. Giffords Urged to Support Pending Bills to Eliminate Unfairness in Mortgage Foreclosure Process

Mortgage market troubles give local tenants leverage. Among the relics left behind by failed mortgage lender First Magnus Financial Corp. is plenty of prime office space.

On the national level, slow real estate sales and sinking prices are prompting some comparisons to the Great Depression.

Little wonder, then, that a home-buying program from the New Deal is beginning to make a comeback.

Fallout from the implosion of the residential-housing market will dampen what has been a white-hot commercial real-estate market, Valley economist Elliott Pollack told a group of commercial brokers and developers Thursday.