Tomorrow, the Michigan House Judiciary Committee will consider legislation that cracks down on individuals and institutions engaged in residential mortgage fraud.
The committee meets Sept. 8 to consider a bipartisan, 16-bill package for referral to the Committee on Banking and Financial Services.
Sponsors of the legislation are not fooling around.
For example, under HB 4487, lenders face a 15-year felony for fraud during the lending process or when filing mortgage documents afterward, or for failing to disburse funds as promised in a loan commitment.
HB 4488 stiffens penalties for using false pretenses in connection with real estate transactions — the bigger the fraud (as measured by the transaction’s value), the longer the prison term.
Other bills in the package deal with fraud by notaries public and amending sentencing guidelines related to mortgage-fraud crimes.
Listed below are the bills, links to the text and other information, the primary sponsors, and thumbnail descriptions of the legislation.
- HB 4462 – Rep. Marty Knollenberg (R-Troy) – Crimes; forgery; forging or uttering and publishing a real estate document; prohibit, and provide for penalties and remedies.
- HB 4478 – Rep. Lisa Lyons (R-Alto) – Criminal procedure; sentencing guidelines; sentencing guidelines for forgery and uttering and publishing of real estate instruments; enact.
- HB 4487 – Rep. David Nathan (D-Detroit) Financial institutions; generally; residential mortgage fraud; prohibit.
- HB 4488 – Rep. Brandon Dillon (D-Grand Rapids) – Crimes; fraud; value thresholds for crime of false pretenses; revise.
- HB 4489 – Rep. George Darany (D-Dearborn) – Criminal procedure; sentencing guidelines; sentencing guidelines for crime of false pretenses; revise to reflect increased penalties.
- HB 4490 – Rep. Mark Meadows (D-East Lansing) – Criminal procedure; statute of limitations; certain crimes relating to real property; revise statute of limitations.
- HB 4491 – Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Detroit) – Occupations; notaries public; penalties for notary public violations; clarify, and increase.
- HB 4492 – Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Detroit) – Criminal procedure; sentencing guidelines; sentencing guidelines for notary public violations; enact.
- HB 4495 – Rep. John Walsh (R-Livonia) – Criminal procedure; sentencing guidelines; sentencing guidelines for crime of mortgage fraud; enact.
- SB 43 – Sen. Tupac Hunter (D-Detroit) – Financial institutions; generally; crime of residential mortgage fraud; establish.
- SB 44 – Sen. Tupac Hunter (D-Detroit) – Criminal procedure; sentencing guidelines; sentencing guidelines for crime of mortgage fraud; enact.
- SB 249 – Sen. Darwin Booher (R-Evart) – Crimes; fraud; value thresholds for crime of false pretenses; revise.
- SB 250 – Sen. Darwin Booher (R-Evart) – Criminal procedure; sentencing guidelines; sentencing guidelines for crime of false pretenses; revise to reflect increased penalties.
- SB 251 – Sen. Mike Nofs (R-Battle Creek) – Criminal procedure; statute of limitations; certain crimes relating to real property; revise statute of limitations.
- SB 252 – Sen. James Marleau (R-Lake Orion) – Occupations; notaries public; penalties for notary public violations; increase.
- SB 253 – Sen. John Gleason (D-Flushing) – Criminal procedure; sentencing guidelines; sentencing guidelines for notary public violations; enact.
The Michigan Lawyer 