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The jailed former mortgage broker Wesley A. Snyder was able to keep his $29 million scam hush-hush, for a time, by withholding crucial information — namely account statements — from his clients.
Such a practice will soon be illegal.
Gov. Ed Rendell today signed into law a measure that bans mortgage brokers from being the sole recipients of important notifications sent out by lenders and intended for borrowers.
The bill, authored by Republican state Sen. Mike Brubaker of Warwick Township, is among the final pieces of mortgage fraud legislation stemming from the notorious Snyder case to be signed into law.
"Wesley Snyder's scam was able to perpetuate itself because he found a way to prevent homeowners from being fully informed," said Brubaker. "This legislation will block that activity from happening in the future."
Rendell also signed a bill designed to prevent fraud by protecting mortgage company employees who report illegal activities by their employer.
"These bills will provide increased protection for Pennsylvania consumers shopping for a mortgage or refinancing their homes," the governor said in announcing the new laws. "They represent a critical step forward in our strategy to combat mortgage lending fraud and abuse in Pennsylvania."
Snyder pleaded guilty in November 2007 to running a mortgage scheme that lasted more than a decade and bilked $29 million from more than 800 people, including about 300 borrowers in Lancaster County.
He is serving a federal prison sentence of more than 12 years.
The laws take effect in 60 days.
