The Mortgage Asset Research Institute (MARI) has released their latest figures on mortgage fraud nationwide at the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) National Fraud Issues Conference. Florida has replaced the once highest in the country as the hot-spot for mortgage fraud. Officials who attended the conference blame the decline in Georgia to the state's one year young law, which codifies mortgage fraud as a crime. New Jersey, Utah, Colorado, Oklahoma and California -- are considering similar legislation.  Colorado and Illinois are seeing more instances of fraud, while South Carolina has shown a marked improvement, according to the report.  Reported fraud in California is lower than it has been "in many years," the report also said.  "It shows the impact that state laws can have," California attorney Arthur Prieston, a specialist in fraud said. Utah's fraud problems have been consistently high, the report noted, even though the state has raised its standard for professional licensing and education and is pursuing more rigorous reporting requirements. 

Georgia's decline in fraud has been gradual, over two to three years. In 2003 they were rated at more than four times higher than the national average and far surpassed any state in the U.S. By 2004 they were only three times higher, and by 2005 they were just twice the national average. While Georgia remains the only state to specifically make loan fraud a criminal offense, their rate has only dropped to third highest in the country, and Utah moved up to second. The laws are getting people's attention according to Georgia attorney general, Thurbert Baker at the conference.