While we are still living with the fall out from the property crisis in Ireland in respect of both private and commercial lending the Gardai are now only getting around to investigating at one level, the bankers who are accused of perhaps, acting in concert to over charge lenders or take their tracker mortgages off customers unilaterally to on the otherhand , the Home owner who may have overstated their earning power or ability to repay their mortgages by creating false evidence such as a fraudulent tax return, bank statement or proof of income statement. Regulatory checks in the boom days/years were not extensive so people were getting away with it or so they thought!
Banks are re-looking at documents provided many years ago and there is no statute of limitations on fraud.
When mortgage fraud occurs it often requires the assistance and planning of professional people such as financial advisors , accountants and solicitors. From our own insight and current caseload we are aware of on-going investigations whereby the professionals either were overcharging unsuspecting clients professional fees and then submitting false paperwork (possibly unknown or in cahoots with their clients) in order to secure finance or more finance than was needed. All of these investigations are coming down the tracks in 2019 and will result in prosecutions.
This post is published for information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For legal advice contact us directly