White Collar Crime News

Mortgage insurance companies use private investigators to kick-off prosecutions June 13, 2009

Most people realize that they are in hot water when the police call.  However, the same cannot be said when an investigator for a company calls to ask some questions.  What these people fail to realize is that every move they make going forward could very well determine whether they will spend some time behind bars even though the police know nothing about them at that moment.

As I have discussed before, most insurance fraud prosecutions start off with investigations from insurance companies and not law enforcement.  In fact, some insurance companies employ dozens of full-time investigators.  If you read some of the press releases from New Jersey’s Insurance Fraud Prosecutor, you will see that the insurance company that initiated the investigation is usually mentioned. 

Some mortgage companies are knee-deep in foreclosures and other problems due to the meltdown of the real estate market to bother you these days.  However, other companies are doing what it takes to stay alive, especially companies that provide private mortgage insurance or PMI. If fraud is suspected, the company will have an investigator attempt to put all of the pieces together.  That means that he is going to call you and ask you some questions.

Since this investigator is not a cop, anything you say to him will be used against you and there is virtually no way to keep these statements out of court.  But ignoring him won’t really help you since they could pull your PMI due to your failure to cooperate. 

The way to handle any investigation into your actions whether it be from an FBI agent, an investigator for a mortgage company or even an issue with your employer is to call an attorney before doing anything.  You need an attorney that knows how to develop a plan to move the situation forward without putting yourself at risk for prosecution. 

When clients first call me, they often ask what I will do with their case.  I tell them that there is no one way to handle every case.  In fact, my response to these cases is often unique to each case.  However, the results that can be obtained when a client hires me early on are quite often much better than they are when clients wait until their world is about to come crashing down on them.  In fact, a large number of clients that call me early enough can often avoid charges all together.  As a result, the costs to them are much lower.  Look at it this way, it is much easier and cheaper to prevent toothpaste from coming out of the tube then trying to put everything back into an empty one.

Bottom line, if you think a mortgage company or any other company, employer or law enforcement agency suspects you for fraud or any other crime, call a good attorney right away.  If it is in New Jersey, call me anytime.