Fighting Fraud Within the Financial Industry

The New York State Department of Financial Services regulates and supervises the financial activities of all financial institutions in the state including state-chartered banks and insurance companies. New York's DFS is also responsible for ensuring that the New York State Education Department complies with its Title IV Financial Aid Regulations. Its mission is to assist students and parents who need financial assistance for higher education. The DFS is funded by the New York State Gaming Commission and its fees are regulated by the State Athletic Association.

The New York State Department of Financial Services is an excellent source of information about New York City real estate and mortgage programs and information on how to qualify for home loans. The DFS is administered by New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli and consists of two main departments: the Division of Consumer and Business Services and the Office of the Secretary of the State. Both of these divisions are part of the New York State Department of Financial Services. The Consumer and Business Services division administer the consumer protection laws that are a component of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA).

The Division of Consumer and Business Services is the division in the State of New York that supervises and monitors the compliance of New York financial institutions with RESPA. RESPA is designed to protect the interest of the consumer and ensure fair and timely dealing by financial institutions with New York State customers. Among its many other responsibilities, the Consumer and Business Services Division enforce the law against financial fraud and unfair business practices in the New York City area. According to the RESPA laws, all New York financial institutions must inform customers of any and all adverse actions that may result from their loans and credit card accounts. Financial institutions are also required to investigate complaints and provide refunds to consumers in writing.

Another division of the State of New York is the Office of Insurance Companies. The office works to protect the interests of insurance companies and their clients, and to ensure that the interests of insurance companies are safeguarded. Many of the complaints that come out of the Department of Financial Services and the Office of the Secretary of the State involve insurance companies. One of the most common subjects that being investigated involves the New York State Loan and Mortgage Insolvency Practices Act (LTMIA). This Act was developed by the New York State Legislature to address various concerns and issues that were raised by New York insurance companies.

The main provisions of the Act are designed to protect and promote the interest of New York State consumers. One section of the LTMIA requires financial products companies to provide you with a comprehensive booklet that explains the various options that are available to you as a consumer. It also requires companies to post this booklet at your place of business or at the offices of your insurance agents. This booklet can be highly beneficial to you as a consumer, because it will give you a complete view of the different financial products that are available to you. By taking a look at this booklet, you should have a much better understanding of the various types of insurance companies, the underwriting standards that each one meets, and the different fees and costs that are associated with these products.

Another part of the State of New York's financial services division deals with consumer protection. The Consumer Complaints Act was created in response to the widespread fraudulent activities related to the selling of substandard and defective financial products in the state of New York. Among the products that have been subject to investigation by the New York State Department of Financial Services include, but are not limited to, adjustable rate mortgages, cash advance loans, payday loans, home equity loans, and auto title loans. Each of these products has had a large amount of fraudulent activity put into them over the past few years, and the state's Consumer Complaints Act seeks to protect the interest of these consumers.

The Department of Financial Services enforces the laws passed by the New York State Legislature concerning the regulation and enforcement of New York State financial products services. According to  digital  of the department, the primary goals of the office include "establishing a reasonable balance between regulatory and supervisory function and providing an adequate level of protection for the public." As  digital  of this balance, the department of financial services aggressively pursues cases of public responsibility fraud and serves as a watchdog for these institutions. For  digital , in one case that the office brought against a New York State Comptroller, the Comptroller was accused of improperly removing tens of thousands of public debt records that were supposed to be private records. The fact that the Comptroller had a conflict of interest concerning this action is what ultimately led to the lawsuit and ultimately to his resignation.

In order to fight for more aggressive action against financial products services fraud, the Department of Financial Services requires that all agencies that fall within its purview submit yearly reports that contain a comprehensive overview of their activities for that year. Included in these reports are investigations that the agency has brought against financial crime offenders. In light of the serious problems that the New York State Comptroller is facing due to money laundering by members of his office, the government should seriously consider the possibility of prosecuting financial crime cases on behalf of the United States government. This should not be viewed as an endorsement of the New York State Comptroller's questionable conduct in pursuing an investigation into the activities of certain members of his financial industry, but rather as an indication that other agencies might follow the same course if they believe that New York City is not aggressively prosecuting financial crimes.