FROM NESARANEWS
Submitted by LH - Thanks
More Than 1,200 Charged in Mortgage Fraud Sweep Updated: 8 hours 26 minutes ago Print Text Size Allan Lengel Contributor AOL News WASHINGTON (June 17) -- The Justice Department today announced the "broadest mortgage fraud sweep" in U.S. history, with criminal charges filed against 1,215 people. Almost 500 have already been arrested in a 3 1/2-month crackdown dubbed "Operation Stolen Dreams."Authorities said the operation uncovered $2.3 billion in mortgage fraud losses and recovered $147 million through 191 civil enforcement actions . Despite the multistate crackdown, FBI Director Robert Mueller said there is still room for concern. He noted that his agency is pursuing more than 3,000 mortgage fraud cases, almost double the number from the last fiscal year."Those who prey on the housing market should know that hundreds of FBI agents on task forces and their law enforcement partners are tracking down your schemes, and you will be brought to justice," Mueller said in a statement . Attorney General Eric Holder added: "The staggering totals from this sweep highlight the mortgage fraud trends we are seeing around the country. We have seen mortgage fraud take on all shapes and sizes -- from schemes that ensnared the elderly to fraudsters who targeted immigrant communities."News of the crackdown came on the same day the FBI released its 2009 Mortgage Fraud Report, which showed the cancerous problem growing, and thieves getting more creative. The FBI report said a staggering $14 billion in fraudulent loans had originated in 2009.And the report indicated the problem has the potential to get worse."Mortgage fraud continued through 2009 despite increased government-mandated scrutiny of mortgage loan applications and institutions and recent government stimulus interventions," the report said."Several mortgage fraud schemes, especially foreclosure rescue schemes, have the potential to spread if the current distressed economic trends and associated implications continue through and beyond 2010, as expected." The report noted that criminals were "perpetuating and modifying old schemes, including property flipping" and looking to new schemes, including property thefts and loans modifications. The fraud crackdown announced today was spread throughout the country. In Miami, the FBI said two people were arrested for targeting the Haitian-American community, claiming they could help them with immigration and housing issues. Instead, they used victims' personal information to produce false documents to obtain mortgage loans. And in Detroit, the FBI on Wednesday said it arrested several people in a $130 million scheme concocted by the local chapter of a motorcycle gang. Charges were also filed against suspects in the Los Angeles area, Cleveland, Atlanta, Philadelphia and New Jersey. The FBI said the alleged scammers posed as mortgage brokers, appraisers, real estate agents and title agents, and used straw buyers to obtain about 500 bogus mortgages that only involved 180 properties. The federal agencies that participated in the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force, which executed the operation, included the FBI, the Justice Department, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Treasury Department, the Federal Trade Commission, the Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the U.S. Secret Service. State and local agencies also participated, authorities said
http://www.aolnews.com/crime/
More Than 1,200 Charged in Mortgage Fraud Sweep Updated: 8 hours 26 minutes ago Print Text Size Allan Lengel Contributor AOL News WASHINGTON (June 17) -- The Justice Department today announced the "broadest mortgage fraud sweep" in U.S. history, with criminal charges filed against 1,215 people. Almost 500 have already been arrested in a 3 1/2-month crackdown dubbed "Operation Stolen Dreams."Authorities said the operation uncovered $2.3 billion in mortgage fraud losses and recovered $147 million through 191 civil enforcement actions . Despite the multistate crackdown, FBI Director Robert Mueller said there is still room for concern. He noted that his agency is pursuing more than 3,000 mortgage fraud cases, almost double the number from the last fiscal year."Those who prey on the housing market should know that hundreds of FBI agents on task forces and their law enforcement partners are tracking down your schemes, and you will be brought to justice," Mueller said in a statement . Attorney General Eric Holder added: "The staggering totals from this sweep highlight the mortgage fraud trends we are seeing around the country. We have seen mortgage fraud take on all shapes and sizes -- from schemes that ensnared the elderly to fraudsters who targeted immigrant communities."News of the crackdown came on the same day the FBI released its 2009 Mortgage Fraud Report, which showed the cancerous problem growing, and thieves getting more creative. The FBI report said a staggering $14 billion in fraudulent loans had originated in 2009.And the report indicated the problem has the potential to get worse."Mortgage fraud continued through 2009 despite increased government-mandated scrutiny of mortgage loan applications and institutions and recent government stimulus interventions," the report said."Several mortgage fraud schemes, especially foreclosure rescue schemes, have the potential to spread if the current distressed economic trends and associated implications continue through and beyond 2010, as expected." The report noted that criminals were "perpetuating and modifying old schemes, including property flipping" and looking to new schemes, including property thefts and loans modifications. The fraud crackdown announced today was spread throughout the country. In Miami, the FBI said two people were arrested for targeting the Haitian-American community, claiming they could help them with immigration and housing issues. Instead, they used victims' personal information to produce false documents to obtain mortgage loans. And in Detroit, the FBI on Wednesday said it arrested several people in a $130 million scheme concocted by the local chapter of a motorcycle gang. Charges were also filed against suspects in the Los Angeles area, Cleveland, Atlanta, Philadelphia and New Jersey. The FBI said the alleged scammers posed as mortgage brokers, appraisers, real estate agents and title agents, and used straw buyers to obtain about 500 bogus mortgages that only involved 180 properties. The federal agencies that participated in the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force, which executed the operation, included the FBI, the Justice Department, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Treasury Department, the Federal Trade Commission, the Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the U.S. Secret Service. State and local agencies also participated, authorities said
http://www.aolnews.com/crime/
No comments:
Post a Comment