A property owner filed suit against its lender, demanding a statutory penalty of $1.025 million for allegedly failing to timely file a mortgage satisfaction piece. After a trial court granted the lender’s motion for summary judgment, the property owner appealed. Read on for more details.

The Illinois General Assembly has passed a bill to amend the Title Insurance Act to provide that the definition of good funds includes a check drawn on the fiduciary trust account of an independent escrowee. The bill awaits the governor’s signature.

A South Carolina accountant was sentenced to time in prison after pleading guilty to conspiring to commit bank fraud for producing false documentation in support of loan applications. Read on for more details.

Real estate transactions in Baltimore, which had come to a halt after the city’s systems were hit by ransomware on May 7, were set to begin again on May 20, thanks to a manual workaround developed by the city. Mayor Bernard C. “Jack” Young announced the workaround, as well as a general update on Baltimore’s technology outage. Read on for more details.

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) announced the renewal of its Geographic Targeting Orders (GTOs) that require U.S. title insurance companies to identify the natural persons behind shell companies used in all-cash purchases of residential real estate.

The House Financial Services Committee passed HR 2514, the Coordinating Oversight, Upgrading and Innovating Technology, and Examiner Reform Act (COUNTER Act), bipartisan legislation that closes loopholes in the Bank Secrecy Act, increases penalties for those who break the law, and helps provide financial institutions with new tools to fulfill their obligations under the law. The bill includes a provision to expand the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network’s real estate geographic targeting orders to include commercial real estate. Read on for more information and to see how that provision was amended.

A bill to amend the Illinois Mortgage Act to add “a person authorized by the mortgagor, grantor, heir, legal representative or assign” to the list of those who may request that the mortgagee of real property make, execute and deliver an instrument in writing releasing a mortgage or deed of trust, as well as other amendments passed both houses of the Illinois General Assembly. The bill now awaits the governor’s signature. Read on for more details.

Days after being indicted on charges of wire fraud, mail fraud and money laundering, Georgia Insurance Commissioner Jim Beck requested suspension from the department. Gov. Brian Kemp signed an executive order suspending Beck that day. Read on for more details.

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra announced the sentencing of the operator of a $2 million mortgage fraud scheme throughout Southern California. Read on for more details.