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
SOURCE OF TITLE
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