Utah is ranked No. 2 in mortgage fraud, a rating that a local legislator hopes his bill will change.

House Bill 25 passed the House unanimously Friday and is now on its way to the Senate for consideration.

Under provisions of the bill sponsored by Rep. Paul Ray, R-Clinton, mortgage fraud would become a second-degree felony with a possible sentence of 1 to 15 years in the Utah State Prison.

Currently, the state does not have any specific law outlawing mortgage fraud, Ray said. Instead prosecutors file other charges relating to mortgage fraud, he said.

Ray believes the bill will not face much opposition in the Senate.

The only thing that may prove a glitch is the provision for ongoing funding for one prosecutor and two investigators to the tune of $379,000 a year, he said.

But that cost will be offset by the savings Utah consumers will see once they are no longer No. 2, Ray said.

Because of Utah's rating, mortgage loan rates are about a quarter percent higher in the state than anywhere else nationally.

Chief Criminal Deputy Attorney General Kirk Torgensen said having one prosecutor and two investigators dedicated to these cases will be "a tremendous help."

Torgensen said that most cases have at least two people involved. Some include identification theft, but others are more complex.

One scheme involves a person getting an appraiser to appraise a piece of property far above its value and then getting a loan on that value, Torgensen said.

Other mortgage fraud scams involve lack of licensing, he said.

Bill: House Bill 25, Mortgage Fraud

Sponsor: Paul Ray, R-Clinton

The bill would make mortgage fraud a second-degree felony with a possible sentence of one to 15 years in the Utah State Prison.