Reports of mortgage fraud in Hawai'i during the second quarter were high in a national ranking, though the amount of money involved was relatively low, according to a mortgage industry publication.

www.MortgageDaily.com said there were 83 criminal and civil mortgage fraud cases pending in the state between April and June involving $15.4 million.

Hawai'i's case count was tied for fifth highest with Ohio, and was behind Michigan at 123, Florida at 120, Texas at 97 and Illinois at 90.

But the amount of money involved in the Hawai'i cases was lower than 21 other states, led by Florida at $206.9 million. In contrast with Hawai'i, Ohio had the same number of cases but the amount of money involved was $67.1 million. New York had 20 cases involving $16 million.

MortgageDaily estimated some mortgage fraud case values, so the dollar amounts for cases is imprecise.

According to the FBI in Honolulu, the rise in mortgage fraud cases in Hawai'i has outpaced most Mainland markets in the past few years.

In March, the FBI's Honolulu division opened more than a dozen investigations and identified more than 80 individuals and three schemes developed to defraud Hawai'i homeowners, as part of a push to arrest and prosecute mortgage fraud purveyors.

Five indictments for mail fraud, wire fraud and making false statements on loan applications were unsealed in May, and the five people charged in connection with the case face trial Sept. 23.

According to the U.S. attorney's office, the FBI in Hawai'i continues to look at real estate agents, mortgage bankers, home builders, attorneys, appraisers and buyers who knowingly allow fraud to occur in connection with a property purchase.

The count of mortgage fraud cases by MortgageDaily includes government law enforcement announcements and articles from news publications. MortgageDaily only had data for 42 states. Of the 42 states, 11 states had no mortgage fraud cases reported by MortgageDaily.

The publication said the second-quarter mortgage fraud for the 42 states totaled $1.7 billion, up from $1 billion in the first quarter and up from $800 million in the 2007 second quarter.

MortgageDaily publisher Sam Garcia said the rise in mortgage fraud activity was largely driven by stepped-up law enforcement efforts producing indictments and arrests.

Also, Garcia said the weakening real estate market is causing more bad loans to surface.