News By Edition

A group of U.S. House representatives, led by members of the bipartisan Congressional Real Estate Caucus, asked the Federal Housing Finance Agency to halt its Title Acceptance Pilot program until the agency seeks public input and the program is thoroughly vetted.

Richard Andreano, partner at Ballard Spahr LLP, broke down the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network’s residential real estate rule at the 2024 RESPRO fall conference, covering the Bank Secrecy Act, Geographic Targeting Orders program, and the anti-money laundering regulations for residential real estate transfers (final rule) and how it impacts title insurance and settlement servicers.

After a state insurance administration decided a title company had a duty to defend a property owner in a lawsuit concerning use of a right-of-way to access the property, the title company filed a petition for judicial review. The circuit court affirmed the decision, and the title company appealed.

Some small-business owners have until the end of the year to report beneficial ownership information (BOI) to the U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, per the Corporate Transparency Act.

Read on to find out details about the BOI requirements.

Members of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) elected officers for 2025 at the NAIC Fall National Meeting in Denver.

The U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network is warning small-business owners about fraudulent attempts to solicit beneficial ownership information from entities subject to reporting requirements under the Corporate Transparency Act.

A Westfield, N.J., man pleaded guilty in federal court to wire fraud and money laundering. According to the indictment, he fraudulently obtained a Payroll Protection Program loan and made several large transfers of the funds between bank accounts, including one to a title company.

Property owners are not the only victims of seller impersonation fraud. Bad actors often steal the identity of notaries and forge their signatures and seals to pull off the crime.

The National Notary Association recently wrote a position paper on the ways criminals commit notary impersonation fraud, state laws in place to address it, and proactive measures notaries can take to protect themselves.

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) Financial Regulation Standards and Accreditation Committee voted to accredit four state and territory insurance departments at the NAIC Fall National Meeting.

Tennessee has the most licensed insurance professionals it has ever had. The Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance attributed this in part to better access to insurance producer exams.

The owners of three mortgage brokerage firms and 11 affiliates were indicted in a mortgage fraud scheme in California that netted eight loans totaling $3.69 million. Those indicted included an escrow agent accused of helping facilitate the fraudulent loans.

The plaintiff sought specific performance related to the sale of a mobile home park and the surrounding land. The trial court denied relief, saying the papers introduced by the plaintiff as a purported real estate contract between the parties did not constitute a valid contract. In fact, the court could not discern the terms of the purported contract. The plaintiff appealed.

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network issued an alert to financial institutions to help them identify fraud schemes using deepfake media created by generative artificial intelligence tools.

The Oklahoma insurance commissioner issued a bulletin providing regulatory guidance on the use of artificial intelligence.

A Texas state representative and title company owner plans to introduce two bills aimed at prohibiting foreign entities identified as a risk to national security from purchasing or acquiring title to property in the state.

Arizona Attorney General Tim Griffin hired a new cybersecurity analyst and announced two promotions within his special investigations unit, saying the moves “greatly expand my office’s ability to protect Arkansans and educate them about cyber threats.”

County offices in Nevada and Maine warned residents that some LifeLock customers were receiving false fraud alerts related to properties. In some cases, alerts were received by people who did not own any property in the state.