Mortgage fraud is a term used to describe a broad variety of criminal actions where the intent is to materially misrepresent or omit information on a mortgage loan application to obtain a loan or to obtain a larger loan than would have been obtained had the lender or borrower known the truth. In federal courts, mortgage fraud is prosecuted as wire fraud, bank fraud, mail fraud and money laundering, with penalties of up to thirty years imprisonment. As the incidence of mortgage fraud has risen over the past few years, states have also begun to enact their own penalties for mortgage fraud.

Mortgage fraud is not to be confused with predatory mortgage lending, which occurs when a consumer is misled or deceived by agents of the lender. However, predatory lending practices often co-exist with mortgage fraud. Examples of mortgage fraud: Occupancy fraud, Income fraud, Appraisal fraud, Cash-Back Schemes, Shotgunning
Working the Gap, Identity Theft.

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mortgage_fraud