Gangs Moving To Mortgage Fraud; Law Enforcement Concerned

National Public Radio reports:

• "The housing boom of recent years has turned mortgage fraud into a big business — so big that some of the nation's largest gangs are getting into the act. [...] And while street gangs only account for a portion of [it], the fact that they have moved to mortgage fraud as a money-spinning enterprise worries law enforcement officials. They say it is part of a larger trend: gangs searching for ways to launder drug-dealing and gun-selling dollars."

Reportedly, the price tag for a mortgage fraud case that involved some members of Chicago-area's Black Disciples gang a couple of years ago was $70 million. FBI information about real estate deals involving the Vice Lords [another Chicago-area gang] indicated that perhaps there was $80 million in fraudulent mortgage activity.

For more, see Gangs Find New Source of Revenue: Mortgage Fraud.