Government of Alberta Land Titles - Appraisal Institute of Canada

Government of Alberta
Land Titles
Jeremy Nicholls
Special Investigations Unit

Mortgage Fraud
• Estimated losses in Canada alone believed to be hundreds of
millions of dollars per-annum.
• Occurs where individuals defraud a financial institution or private
lender through the mortgage process.
“The material misstatement, misrepresentation or omission relied
upon by an underwriter or lender to fund, purchase or insure a
mortgage loan”
- Canadian Institute of Mortgage Brokers & Lenders

Opportunistic Mortgage Fraud
Sometimes referred to as Fraud for Shelter. Individual purchasers
can commit mortgage fraud by obtaining a higher mortgage than
they are entitled to by providing untrue or misleading information
or failing to disclose required information. This may include
providing incorrect information about:
• identity
• income
• employment
• other debt obligations
• the sources of funds other than the mortgage for the purchase
• the value of the property
• the price to be paid and whether any payments have been, or will
be made, directly between the seller and the purchaser

Large Scale Mortgage Fraud
Referred to as fraud for profit / fraud to further other criminal
activities.
Large scale mortgage fraud is usually more sophisticated and can
involve several properties. It may be committed by criminal groups
or individuals. Normally requires the assistance of dirty industry
professionals such as brokers, lawyers, appraisers, real estate
agents etc.

Types of Mortgage Fraud
There are many mortgage fraud schemes worldwide, and fraudsters
continually tweak tried and trusted methods to find new ways of
avoiding detection.
Common examples of Mortgage Fraud are:
• Flip Fraud - sometimes called the Oklahoma flip.
• Appraisal Fraud.
• Foreclosure Fraud / Mortgage Rescue.
• Title Theft.
• Fraudulent Mortgage Discharge.
• Silent Second Mortgage.
• Condo Conversion.

How Can Land
Titles Help?

Spatial Information System (SPIN 2)
www.spin.gov.ab.ca
• Internet based system giving access to approx 1.96 million current
land titles, 3.7million historical land titles, 23 million registered
documents (e.g. mortgages, rights-of-way, liens, easements) and
332,000 registered plans of survey, township plans.
• SPIN 2 is the second generation of the original SPIN System
developed in the late 90’s, which provided online search and
delivery of various land related data products.
• The innovative text and map based search interface, developed
under a “build once – use many” approach for the GoA, is one of the
key reasons SPIN became the most awarded computer GoA system
on a national and International basis.

Name Search
Regulations
Name searches are governed under the Land Titles Act and Alberta
Regulation 207/99.
A person requesting a name search must fulfill at least one of the
following criteria before the Registrar may conduct the name
search:

Criteria preceding a name search:
a. the requestor is the person whose name is to be searched.
b. written consent of the person to be searched.
c. has a registrable or registered instrument and is searching the name of the
person (i) specified in the instrument, (ii) whose interests in the land is
intended to be registered against or whose interests in land are entitled to
be dealt with.
d. is a police officer carrying out duties as a police officer.
e. authorized or otherwise entitled pursuant to an order of Court.
f. on behalf of the Crown or with respect to duties or functions on behalf of
the Crown.
g. agent or representative of a person who meets the criteria under (b –
written consent) & (c – registered instrument).

Requesting a Name Search
http://www.servicealberta.ca/LandTitles.cfm

Land Title Certificates

Questions

Jeremy Nicholls
Special Investigations Unit
3 rd Floor, John Brownlee Building,
10365 – 97 Street,
Edmonton, AB
T5J 3W7
(780) 641-1492
(780) 919-9342 – cell
jeremy.nicholls@gov.ab.ca
https://thisvc/jeremynicholls