Fraud seen as Driver in Wave of Foreclosures

Wall St Journal 12/21/07 article states:
"Skyrocketing foreclosures are a testament to how easy it was to borrow from mortgage lenders in recent years...
In 2006, losses from fraud could total a record $4.5 billion, a 100% increase from the previous year, says Arthur Prieston, chairman of the Prieston Group, which provides lenders with mortgage-fraud insurance and training. The surge ranges from one-off cases of fudging and fibbing to organized criminal rings. The FBI says its active mortgage-fraud cases have increased to 1,210 this year from 436 in 2003. In some regions, fraud may account for half of all foreclosures.