I read a great post on the Bankruptcy Law Network. Of course, their example is exactly like a situation someone recently brought to my attention. Jonathan Ginsberg writes the following:
Here’s how one version of a classic mortgage fraud scheme works: my client is approached by a friend or acquaintance with an opportunity to participate in a profitable real estate investment. The “friend” has a friend who is in the real estate business and he knows of a neighborhood where there are good deals on rental properties. In many cases these rental properties already have tenants. The “friend” can also arrange financing in which my client does not have to put any money down and the debt service (i.e., the mortgage) will be covered by the rental income.