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Airdate: September 23rd, 2008
The ripple effects of the mortgage industry meltdown has taken down Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac - who knows who is next?
It took many years and lots of deals to get to this point. That fact is being played out today in a little room in Little Rock.
Here's Seven-On-Your-Side's Jason Pederson with tonight's "Your Money" report.
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There is little doubt that Boardwalk Mortgage Group…formerly Benton Mortgage Group…went too far in helping customers qualify for home loans.
The major players gather inside this small room. It is the job of the Arkansas Securities Department to figure out who is to blame.
Two years ago Kristy Ratliff was 21 years-old and an assistant manager at Sonic when she was approved for a home loan through Boardwalk…without a co-signer.
She admits she was surprised. She didn't know it, but somebody at Boardwalk inflated her financial information on the loan application.
(Kristy Ratliff/Gravel Ridge) "I was pretty shocked because it was way more than what I really had in my account at the time. Way more."
(Jason) "How much more?"
(Ratliff) "It was exactly $3,000.00 more than what I actually had in my account at the time."
The securities department alleges that other applicants had their financials inflated by five thousand, ten thousand…even as much as forty thousand dollars.
Things have worked out for the Ratliffs.
They still have their home and have a fixed interest rate and a mortgage they can afford. But mortgage fraud put many other Americans in over their heads…helping to create the current crisis.
(Ratliff) “I'm glad I have my home but at the same time you can't cheat the system.”
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