Governor Mike Easley signed several bills into law that more closely regulates the Mortgage industry. One of these bills defines a new crime called Mortgage Fraud. This new type of crime becomes a felony on December 1, 2007. The bill defines the practice and makes it a felony to knowingly misrepresent or omit information about the mortgage lending process. The offender could still be charged even if the person victimized by the fraud isn’t harmed financially by the transaction. First offenses are punishable by as much as 16 months in prison. Repeat or multiple offenders could get as many as 31 months in prison.

The other bill would require loan originators to file public records, this law takes effect on April 1, 2008.

These two bills were signed on Wednesday and Thursday July 4, 5.

The US House of Representatives and US Senate are looking at enacting similar legislation on a federal level.