Arizona Laws 13-2320. Residential mortgage fraud; classification; definitions
A. A person commits residential mortgage fraud if, with the intent to defraud, the person does any of the following:
Attorney's Note
Under the Arizona Laws, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:| Class | Prison | Fine |
|---|---|---|
| Class 2 felony | up to 10 years | up to $150,000 |
Terms Used In Arizona Laws 13-2320
- Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
- Felony: means an offense for which a sentence to a term of imprisonment in the custody of the state department of corrections is authorized by any law of this state. See Arizona Laws 13-105
- Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
- including: means not limited to and is not a term of exclusion. See Arizona Laws 1-215
- Knowingly: means , with respect to conduct or to a circumstance described by a statute defining an offense, that a person is aware or believes that the person's conduct is of that nature or that the circumstance exists. See Arizona Laws 13-105
- Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
- Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
- Mortgage loan: A loan made by a lender to a borrower for the financing of real property. Source: OCC
- Omission: means the failure to perform an act as to which a duty of performance is imposed by law. See Arizona Laws 13-105
- Person: means a human being and, as the context requires, an enterprise, a public or private corporation, an unincorporated association, a partnership, a firm, a society, a government, a governmental authority or an individual or entity capable of holding a legal or beneficial interest in property. See Arizona Laws 13-105
- Process: means a citation, writ or summons issued in the course of judicial proceedings. See Arizona Laws 1-215
- Property: means anything of value, tangible or intangible. See Arizona Laws 13-105
1. Knowingly makes any deliberate misstatement, misrepresentation or material omission during the mortgage lending process that is relied on by a mortgage lender, borrower or other party to the mortgage lending process.
2. Knowingly uses or facilitates the use of any deliberate misstatement, misrepresentation or material omission during the mortgage lending process that is relied on by a mortgage lender, borrower or other party to the mortgage lending process.
3. Receives any proceeds or other monies in connection with a residential mortgage loan that the person knows resulted from a violation of paragraph 1 or 2 of this subsection.
4. Files or causes to be filed with the office of the county recorder of any county of this state any residential mortgage loan document that the person knows to contain a deliberate misstatement, misrepresentation or material omission.
B. An offense involving residential mortgage fraud shall not be based solely on information that is lawfully disclosed under federal disclosure laws, regulations and interpretations related to the mortgage lending process.
C. This section does not apply to a person who is not aware that the information that is relied on by the mortgage lender, borrower or other party to the mortgage lending process is a deliberate misstatement, misrepresentation or material omission.
D. A person who violates this section is guilty of a class 4 felony, except that a person who engages or participates in a pattern of residential mortgage fraud or who conspires to engage or participate in a pattern of residential mortgage fraud is guilty of a class 2 felony.
E. For the purposes of this section:
1. "Mortgage lending process" means the process through which a person seeks or obtains a residential mortgage loan including solicitation, application, origination, negotiation of terms, third-party provider services, underwriting, signing, closing and funding of the loan.
2. "Pattern of residential mortgage fraud" means one or more violations of subsection A that involve two or more residential properties and that have the same or similar intents, results, accomplices, victims or methods of commission or are otherwise interrelated by distinguishing characteristics.
3. "Residential mortgage loan" means a loan or agreement to extend credit to a person that is secured by a deed to secure debt, security deed, mortgage, security interest, deed of trust or other document representing a security interest or lien on any interest in one to four family residential property and includes the renewal or refinancing of any loan.