Fraud, eh?  Well... who exactly is the victim of the fraud?  The consumer paid for a title search, and presumably they got a title search.  I don't think there is a fraud there.  The abstractor, maybe?  I suppose if the client in question ordered the title search with no intention of paying for it, then that might be fraud. 

Either way, I don't think this would fall under RESPA.  RESPA is a consumer protection statute - the consumer is not harmed if the title company does not pay the abstractor.  Section 8 of RESPA mainly deals with kickbacks and mark-ups.  I don't see how this fits into the language of section 8.

Furthermore, I think that any prosecutor would say that a business-to-business transaction resulting in one party not being paid for their services is a civil matter.  It certainly seems criminal... especially if you are on the short end of the transaction, but I would be surprised if something like that were ever pursued.  Who knows I could be wrong. 

Best,
Robert A. Franco
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