Article - The Problem With Titles

The Problem With Titles

By Jerome Mayne © Copyright, Jerome Mayne 2005

Do we think that fraud is only the multi-million dollar scams? Do we think that fraud is only those elaborate
plans that involve a ring of fraudsters?

If you commit fraud and get caught, you might expect to loose your license and/or get fired. We believe that in
the most unlikely of circumstances there could be “trouble with the law”. We all know this, but it’s not a
deterrent for everyone in this business.

Why don’t we all put the kibosh on every tenuous situation? Is it because we don't think we will ever get
caught? Do we think that what we are doing is actually, “fraud lite”?

Here are more things to think about.

By December of 1998 I had amassed many titles in my 32 years. To name the major ones; son, brother, father
and husband. On of the top of my professional list of titles was - President of my own mortgage broker
company. However, during that cold, wintry month of 1998, my professional title changed.

On December 18, 1998, I was indicted for conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering -
a crime that took place four years earlier while I was a lowly little loan officer in 1994. I lost my title as the
President of Mayne Mortgage and I gained the title of Felon. And over the next nine months – pre-trial, guilty
plea, sentencing and reporting to federal prison – my title changed again to – 08657-041.

Here are some things I learned about committing fraud.

If you cross the line and get caught, you'll still have a mother and a father. But if, God forbid, something
happens to them while you're in prison, you won't be able to go to their aid. If you cross the line you'll still be
someone's husband, but you won't be able to do anything about it when she tells you she's met someone else.
If you cross the line you'll still be a father, but you'll miss the first day of kindergarten, the first loose tooth, and
the first bike ride.

Who knew?

The stigma and the extra hell associated with an indictment and conviction are never delivered by the judge.
They don’t appear in the federal sentencing guidelines. Sure, it lists; 1) 21 – 24 month sentence, 2) restitution,
3) revocation of voting rights. But the judge will never tell you that your entire family will have to pay the price
too.

You wouldn’t know this by reading the newspaper, but the harshest part of the sentence has very little to do
with prison, and much more to do with life.

As a society we have become numb to the reports of crime and punishment. We hear in the news that
someone received three or ten years for their involvement in a fraud scheme. Unless you know one of the
parties involved in the scheme (or if it’s you), the response is typically, “Oh” and it’s off to the next meeting.
Aside from the fact that most of us can't fathom losing our freedom for more than a day or two, we also don't
think about that unwritten sentence.

Everyone in this business, every day, has the opportunity to commit fraud, to omit facts, or to turn the other
way. Some of us might be unaware of what we are doing. Maybe we were trained that way - as if certain acts
or omissions are just, “business as usual.” But fraud is fraud. And let me assure you, the consequences are
much greater than a “title” change from letters to numbers.

So, the next time you have that funny feeling in your stomach or the next time you say to yourself, “everybody
does it”, think twice. It isn’t worth losing the “titles” in life that we take for granted every day. Do the right thing,
and don’t risk having to hear your little boy refer to someone else as Daddy.

Jerome Mayne is a published writer and a national keynote speaker. He has presented at the conferences and
conventions of the TMBA, CMLA, MAMBI, MBAA, IMBA, SEMBC, NMAMB, NHEMA as well as other private and
public mortgage companies. His video has been viewed by hundreds of mortgage professionals and has found
its way into mortgage training libraries around the country. He has conducted several online seminars and has
worked in connection with Campus MBAA to develop fraud deterrent training materials. As a mortgage fraud
expert, he works as a consultant in federal, criminal, mortgage fraud cases.

Jerome can be contacted at jmayne@fraudcon.com, by phone at 612-919-3007 or his web site www.fraudcon.
com.