At the start of this new millennium, the most effective means to rob a bank no longer includes the use of a gun. The real estate closing table has replaced the gun and mask as the most favored and effective tool of theft from financial institutions.
As the New York Times reported on Oct. 19, 2008, the Federal Bureau of Investigation declared its inability to properly investigate the number of property and mortgage fraud claims, due to inadequate staffing, 1 noting that there is “no central way to track the total extent of the problem.” The number of mortgage fraud reports filed with the FBI totaled 46,717 in 2007 compared with 6,936 reports filed in 2003 – a 674 percent increase.
