Oakland County, Michigan, March 24, 2006 -- Nine FBI agents met with Oakland County Clerk/Register Ruth Johnson at the FBI's request recently to share information and ideas about the growing problem of deed and mortgage fraud.

"We want to do everything we can to help," Johnson said after the meeting at the Clerk's Office. "These criminals are literally stealing the homes out from underneath unsuspecting citizens."

Michigan has been named one of the top 10 "hotspots" for mortgage and deed fraud by the FBI. Other states are California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, South Carolina, Illinois, Maryland, Georgia and Florida.

The FBI is seeing an increasing amount of real estate fraud locally, said Toni Chrabot, supervisor of the Oakland County office of the FBI, which is located in Troy. The amount of potential fraud being investigated totals in the tens of millions of dollars.

The FBI called the meeting a first step in working together.

Real estate fraud, including mortgage fraud and deed fraud, is so lucrative, it's been called "the new street hustle".

Drug dealers are literally changing careers, because white-collar crime like real estate fraud, pays.

"I've got one guy who was a car thief, then a drug dealer and now he represents himself as a mortgage broker," one agent said.

Johnson has waged a public fight against real estate fraud, installing security cameras in the Oakland County Clerk/Register Office to identify and deter criminals and forming a Fraud Task Force with the Oakland County Sheriff's Office and the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office.

Johnson said under Michigan law, the Register of Deeds Office is mandated to record all deed and mortgage documents if they are completed properly - even if the information later proves false.

Scam artists target the most vulnerable in society, from the poor to seniors who have paid off their homes.

"I had one woman in Bloomfield who has health problems. They forged her signature and said she sold her $278,000 home for $5,000," Johnson said. "They got a mortgage on the property and disappeared, now she's left with a mess. She may never get her home back."

Another woman told Johnson she went to check on a home she owns and found strangers living there who told her they had purchased the home from someone else.

Homeowners often face lengthy legal battles and have to spend thousands of dollars in legal fees over several years to prove they own their home.

While confirming fraud numbers is difficult, a Federal Trade Commission report indicates the white-collar crime has exploded across the country, costing businesses $48 billion and consumers $5 billion over the last five years in the United States. (Kansas City Star/Jan. 2006)

Oakland County property owners can check whether there has been any activity on their property at www.oakgov.com. Click on Access Oakland (property data). There is a fee for this service.

Homeowners may also come to the Register of Deeds Office, 1200 N. Telegraph in Pontiac. This service is free, though there is a charge for copies.

For more information, call the Register of Deeds Office at (248) 858-0646.