[Sir Francis Dashwood]

They should correlate the data with the lenders/brokers, and see if there are any patterns to suggest not just fraud, but conspiracy. The brokers with a high rate of fraud should be “stung” with phony borrowers, to see what they do to encourage defrauding the lender.

You hit that one on the mark.

It is not so much the borrowers as it is the brokers who either encourage or facilitate the transaction and obscure the facts from the borrower.

[budwiesest]

It is not so much the borrowers as it is the brokers

Let's say you went to a car dealership looking for an affordable sedan and the 'finance' guy got you into a Cadillac Escalade for the same payment. Would you drive it off the lot? He's working on commission, btw.

What's missing is a reverse-commission, where if the loan goes sour, you pay the lender back the fee you were paid to create it. That would put an end a lot of this.

What other business can you screw-up and pass it on to someone else without any accountability? (government doesn't count- it's a given)