12 U.S.C. § 1709
Section 1709 · Equity skimming; penalty; persons liable; one dwelling exemption
Amended 3 times on record
Applied in 42 court decisions — leading case United States v. Gaudin (1994)
Most recently applied in 697 F. App'x 126 - In Re: Gennaro Rauso v. (September 2017)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
Whoever, with intent to defraud, willfully engages in a pattern or practice of—
(1) purchasing one- to four-family dwellings (including condominiums and cooperatives) which are subject to a loan in default at time of purchase or in default within one year subsequent to the purchase and the loan is secured by a mortgage or deed of trust insured or held by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development or guaranteed by the Department of Veterans Affairs, or the loan is made by the Department of Veterans Affairs,
(2) failing to make payments under the mortgage or deed of trust as the payments become due, regardless of whether the purchaser is obligated on the loan, and
(3) applying or authorizing the application of rents from such dwellings for his own use,
shall be fined not more than $250,000 or imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both. This section shall apply to a purchaser of such a dwelling, or a beneficial owner under any business organization or trust purchasing such dwelling, or to an officer, director, or agent of any such purchaser. Nothing in this section shall apply to the purchaser of only one such dwelling.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Codification
Section was enacted as part of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1970, and not as part of the National Housing Act which comprises this chapter.
Amendments
1991—Par. (1). Pub. L. 102–54 substituted “Department of Veterans Affairs” for “Veterans’ Administration” in two places.
1988—Pub. L. 100–242 inserted parenthetical reference to condominiums and cooperatives in par. (1), substituted “due, regardless of whether the purchaser is obligated on the loan” for “due” in par. (2), and substituted “$250,000” for “$5,000” and “5” for “three” in closing provisions.