New Task Force to Fight Mortgage Fraud in Georgia

I'll bet you'll never guess what the above four pictures have in common! Here's a hint: all four pictures relate to the State of Georgia, (where we, at The Goolsby Law Firm, practice law)! The simple answer is that Georgia leads the nation, (or is near the top), in the production of all four: broilers, (i.e. young chickens), along with cotton, peaches, and ...mortgage fraud! Actually, Georgia ranks only fourth in the nation as to the growing problem of mortgage fraud. But fortunately, Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue is reportedly trying to do something about it.

The Governor's office has announced plans to form a new mortgage fraud unit in the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. I can tell you from experience, as a former federal prosecutor, that such task force units are essential to combatting complex crimes involving fraud, such as mortgage fraud.

While task forces may be costly, mortgage fraud is costly, too. According to a recent estimate, the State of Georgia has lost a whopping $144 million to mortgage fraud (and bank fraud) in the past four years. Here's hoping that the State of Georgia will follow through by creating the mortgage fraud task force soon. And here's also hoping that, in the near future, Georgia will rank high only in the production of young chickens, cotton, and peaches!