The Commercial Real Estate Alpha Site

A fortnight ago, Lindsey Bass, who for 6+ years was the anti-fraud czar at Freddie Mac, dropped some personal news: she would be taking her talents to Fannie Mae, where she would occupy a similar perch and help the agency crack down on one of its most pervasive problems: mortgage fraud.  Rarely has a LinkedIn post sent CRE players into hives like Bass’s did – and it’s because in multifamily finance circles, Freddie is thought to be well ahead of Fannie in having processes in place to prevent dodgy deals. Now, the thinking went, Fannie would rapidly get up to speed.

Things did indeed move fast. This week, Fannie-approved DUS lenders were provided an updated do-not-fly list, The Promote has learned, people whose involvement in Fannie transactions would no longer be allowed. Among the names: Abe Hirsch, a veteran Meridian Capital Group dealmaker, and Jeffrey Zwick, a go-to attorney for convicted fraudster Moshe Silber.