Author Bio: Elizabeth Roque is an in-house writer for Franklin Debt Relief. She presents information about debt relief programs, credit card debt reduction and getting out of debt on a variety of financial sites online.

Getting a mortgage and keeping up with the payments can be a difficult thing. A mortgage is often one of the highest and least flexible bills you can take on, because often houses are one of the biggest purchases in our lives and deferring or not making payment is not usually an option if we wish to stay in our homes. But now you’ve got your home, and suddenly you’re charged with mortgage fraud. This kind of thing in a downturned economy is unfortunately paid more attention to because of the massive amount of foreclosures happening in the market right now, so if for some reason something doesn’t work out on your application, debtors have started to come after you for mortgage fraud.

When you take out a loan for a house from the bank, there are a plethora of questions the bankers ask which all have something to do with your financial situation. Even things like family size, average income, assets and liabilities are all recorded in the banking documents as this is all information a bank can use to deem you “credit worthy” or not. Banks, like all lenders, want to make sure you are eligible for actual bank loans. When you lie, on purpose or otherwise, that’s when the banks can refer to the information they collected to rally a case against you. Commonly, fraud is accused when the buyers are guilty of one of the following things:

- Overstatement of income
- Failure to disclose liability
- Lying about one’s employment status (this one happens when a buyer says he is self-employed with a company that doesn’t necessarily exist)
- Overstatement of the value of your current home
- Identity fraud (which would get you into more trouble than just mortgage fraud)

Banks are always watching to see if any of these things could possibly be going on in your situation, so it’s important that you’re always honest about everything you put on a bank loan document.

Once you’ve been charged with mortgage fraud, you still want to continue to do the right thing. When a bank accuses you of fraud and you haven’t done anything wrong intentionally, or you didn’t give adequate information on your mortgage application, generally the terms of your mortgage fraud are dropped and no further action is taken once you prove you had no intent of committing fraud. In the case where a person intentionally committed this crime, there would have to be proof that it was the person’s intent to do so.

If you’ve been charged with mortgage fraud, whether you’re innocent or not, consulting a professional immediately would be in your best interest.

Even if you think it’s hopeless to change the judge’s mind by the time you get to your sentencing hearing, that isn’t always the case if your character witnesses are well chosen and credible people. A few well chosen witnesses can make a judgment less harsh and more reasonable and in your favor, especially if they’re the right people who know you well.
Make sure when you choose witnesses that you choose the right people who are close to you – for example, choosing a long-term friend that doesn’t have a good reputation isn’t a good idea, and choosing someone who’s only known you for a short period of time is also a poor choice.

Start off with the people you are close to. A couple of the best and most honest character witnesses you can acquire are life-long friends and spouses. They often know the ins and outs of your life and have seen you take steps towards making amends or if you haven’t done anything special as of late. Even if you haven’t, they should talk about your goodness, and the good things you do with your life instead of the bad.

There are people in your community that might be able to help, too. Maybe you are part of a church and you have people there, such as your minister that has known you a long while and can help you. If you’ve ever volunteered somewhere or have made friends with the people at the DMV, you can use their testimonies of what and who you are, too. Often times these people are better than closer people because the closer you are to someone, the more inclined they are to talk you up and make you sound better in front of the judge; people who are a little further away may be more honest, and if you’re a good person, then this would be a good choice for you.

Finally, make sure you talk to your prosecutor and probation officer. Much of the time, prosecutors are very strict and wish to see justice prevail, so if you are guilty, they want to see you get maximum punishment and not just probation. However, speak to both him and the probation officer. Much of the time if you have something valid going on – say, you have an addiction problem because of things in the past – they can help get you the correct ruling and will also be able to attest to your character.

Getting involved in this offense is very easy. However, once caught in the web, you may not get out as easily. You may think that making a slight lie in the mortgage paper about the earning maybe nothing. But, this tiny issue may turn into something large and you may find yourself getting sued.

Once convicted, you may face severe penalties. You may have to pay huge amount of fine. You may even have to serve prison time.

If you connect to this situation, you may have been facing something like this. You should hire an experienced Fort Lauderdale criminal attorney to review your case file. He/she will help you understand the situation and the law regarding the mortgage fraud. Your attorney will also help you prepare a solid defense and will represent you in the court when the need arises.

Make sure hire someone with relevant knowledge and expertise as this type of lawsuits requires the assistance of a skilled attorney.

Author Bio:

Dave Watson, a consultant, is giving suggestion to visit Fort Lauderdale criminal attorney for more information about the relative subject.