South Florida gave the country the setting for the fictional crime-fighting television series “CSI-Miami,” and now it’s giving the United States a real force for combating mortgage fraud.

For more than a year, Stephen Dibert and his company, MFI-Miami, have investigated mortgage fraud on behalf of homeowners facing the loss of their homes in Florida. Mortgage corruption and foreclosure rates count among the highest in the nation. Statewide success has inspired Dibert to expand, but there’s plenty of work still left here.

Dibert said:

“The hyper-appreciation Florida experienced during the boom attracted a lot of people who flocked to Florida and are now starving.”

The Mortgage Fraud Research Institute states Florida was the capital of mortgage fraud in 2006 and 2007. However, Rhode Island surprisingly surpassed its rate.

On the criminal side, the U.S. Attorney’s office in Miami created a mortgage fraud task force in September 2007. Since then, the Southern District of Florida has charged 236 individuals in cases involving approximately $271.5 million in fraudulent loans.

Dibert’s MFI-Miami, which he said is a play on the name of the popular TV series “CSI:Miami,” specializes in mortgage fraud investigations and forensic audits on behalf of attorneys representing homeowners facing foreclosure.

The Boynton Beach-based firm and its sister companies MFI-Boston, MFI-DC and MFI-New York search for inaccuracies, inconsistencies, and outright fraud in mortgage documents — usually involving at least 70 documents per homeowner case.

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