Occupancy Fraud Tops List of Most Common Type of Mortgage Fraud -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Home Real Estate News -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author: Beth Bresnahan Publishing date: 09/07/05 RISMEDIA, Sept. 8, 1005 — Occupancy fraud was the most common type of mortgage fraud reported during the first half of 2005, according to statistics released by The Prieston Group, which provides fraud insurance, training and loss mitigation. More than half—about 53%—of claims filed with The Prieston Group contained some type of occupancy misrepresentation. Occupancy fraud occurs when borrowers—or someone acting on behalf of borrowers—misrepresents whether they plan to live at the property. Following behind occupancy fraud were schemes involving hidden debt (found in 31.6% of all claims), employment fraud (found in 30.3% of all claims) and straw borrowers (found in 12.9% of al...