Sure lying on the form is irresponsible. But throwing someone in jail for doing it is something that only someone like Stalin would think of doing. The bank is still responsible to verify the data since as anyone knows PEOPLE HAVE BEEN LYING TO GET LOANS FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS. Only a totally incompetent organization like HUD, FHA or Wells Fargo would rely on an applicant’s veracity.
Yes, and people have been burglarizing homes for thousands of years......and we've throwing their butts in jail for thousands of years.
Lying on the loan form is just like stealing. A bank loans you money based upon your lies. If you fail to make payments, the bank is out money in lost payments, foreclosure costs, and often, failure to receive enough in the sale to recoup the amount of the loan.
I guess writing hot checks is okay too?
Lying to obtain a loan is bank fraud. It is against the law:
18 USC 1041
Whoever knowingly makes any false statement or report, or willfully overvalues any land, property or security, for the purpose of influencing in any way the action of the Farm Credit Administration, Federal Crop Insurance Corporation or a company the Corporation reinsures, the Secretary of Agriculture acting through the Farmers Home Administration or successor agency, the Rural Development Administration or successor agency, any Farm Credit Bank, production credit association, agricultural credit association, bank for cooperatives, or any division, officer, or employee thereof, or of any regional agricultural credit corporation established pursuant to law, or a Federal land bank, a Federal land bank association, a Federal Reserve bank, a small business investment company, as defined in section 103 of the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 (15 U.S.C. 662), or the Small Business Administration in connection with any provision of that Act, a Federal credit union, an insured State-chartered credit union, any institution the accounts of which are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Office of Thrift Supervision, any Federal home loan bank, the Federal Housing Finance Board, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Resolution Trust Corporation, the Farm Credit System Insurance Corporation, or the National Credit Union Administration Board, a branch or agency of a foreign bank (as such terms are defined in paragraphs (1) and (3) of section 1(b) of the International Banking Act of 1978), or an organization operating under section 25 or section 25(a) [1] of the Federal Reserve Act, upon any application, advance, discount, purchase, purchase agreement, repurchase agreement, commitment, or loan, or any change or extension of any of the same, by renewal, deferment of action or otherwise, or the acceptance, release, or substitution of security therefor, shall be fined not more than $1,000,000 or imprisoned not more than 30 years, or both. The term “State-chartered credit union” includes a credit union chartered under the laws of a State of the United States, the District of Columbia, or any commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United States.