News By Edition

An escrow agent filed a claim of loss due to a fraudulent routing number supplied to it. Its crime protection insurer denied the claim, determining the fraud was not covered by the funds transfer fraud endorsement in the agent’s crime protection insurance policy. After a federal district court granted partial summary judgment to the title agent, the insurer appealed the decision to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

The New York State Department of State recently published rules establishing the standards relating to performing notarial acts, including electronic notarial acts.

As we continue forward in this year, with numerous pieces of legislation and regulation at the federal and state level, what is it we should pay the most attention to? And how should we approach getting involved to impact the changes ahead?

The Federal Communication Commission (FCC) took action to shut down an apparent homeowner-focused robocall scam campaign. The FCC’s enforcement bureau ordered telecommunication companies to mitigate suspected illegal traffic from dialing platform PhoneBurner facilitating apparently illegal robocall traffic from real estate brokerage firm MVRealty to targeted consumers.

CertifID Inc. collaborated with federal law enforcement to issue an advisory on the latest wire fraud threat to real estate businesses and consumers.

The Tennessee General Assembly is considering legislation that would require deeds for the conveyance of real property be prepared and filed by a licensed attorney, title insurance agent or the owner of the property.

The Montana Legislature introduced a bill that would require sellers to provide a written disclosure statement, as well as a buyer’s right to rescind a sales agreement.

The Arizona Legislature introduced legislation addressing the process for redeeming property subject to a tax lien and the processes for foreclosing on the right to redeem a tax lien.

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network is issuing an alert to financial institutions on potential investments in the U.S. commercial real estate sector by sanctioned Russian elites, oligarchs, their family members, and the entities through which they act. The alert lists potential red flags and typologies involving attempted sanctions evasion in the commercial real estate sector and reminds financial institutions of their Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) reporting obligations.

Connecticut Insurance Department Commissioner Andrew Mais named a new general counsel for the department.

The Massachusetts General Court is considering legislation to reform title insurance by prohibiting lender’s title insurance from being assessed to buyers who refinance the mortgage on their home.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will host a public forum on Feb. 16 examining the FTC’s proposed rule to prohibit employers from imposing noncompetes on their workers, and providing an opportunity for people to directly share their experiences with noncompetes.

The Arkansas Legislature is considering a bill concerning the transfer of real property to a revocable living trust by warranty deed.

Minnesota Commerce Commissioner Grace Arnold announced new leadership for the Department of Commerce Enforcement, appointing an assistant commissioner of enforcement.

A now-insolvent company owned by two sisters purchased property in Pasadena, Calif. After receiving their loan, the seller rescinded the sale. The sisters failed to inform the lender, continuing to pay the required interest-only payments on the loan for six years. The lender began foreclosure proceedings and discovered the sale had been rescinded. After settling with the title insurer, the title insurer sued the sisters for breach of contract and fraud.

The Colorado Division of Insurance provided the state’s General Assembly with its annual report on the title insurance industry. The report contains data on the number of enforcement actions taken, as well as market trends associated with the industry for the year 2022.

The Colorado General Assembly is considering modifications to the closing and settlement process for real estate transactions to ensure that the funds are confirmed to be received and deposited properly.

A Wakefield, Mass., man was sentenced in federal court in Boston for a mortgage fraud scheme involving at least two dozen fraudulent loan transactions and $4.3 million in losses to lenders.

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners named its 2023 committee chairs and vice chairs. It also assigned members to its standing committees and named its 2023 task force chairs and vice chairs.

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey appointed Mark Fowler to serve as commissioner of the Alabama Department of Insurance.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced an investigation of Home Title Lock for potentially violating the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act by misleading consumers with deceptive statements concerning the prevalence of home title theft and the need for Home Title Lock’s services.

The Virginia General Assembly is considering a bill that creates a procedure by which a settlement agent may release a judgment lien when the lien creditor has failed to respond to a request in writing to pay the amount owed.

The Maryland Insurance Administration issued Bulletin 23-1 Re: Contact Information in the Event of a Disaster or Catastrophic Event.

A Long Island man was sentenced to up to 10 years in prison for stealing the house of an 89-year-old woman. He was convicted in December of grand larceny, forgery and other charges following a jury trial.