Cleveland-Area Mortgage Fraud Task Force Rings Up 170+ Arrests; Hundreds More Suspected In "Tedious, Mind-Numbing" Investigation

In Cuyahoga County, Ohio, The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports:

• Today, law enforcement agencies on the federal, state and local levels are trying to crack one of the biggest white-collar capers in U.S. history: the heist of billions of dollars in the value of America's homes. In Cuyahoga County alone, investigators estimate that as many as 5,000 mortgages were obtained fraudulently over the last decade. The FBI office in Cleveland has three agents working full time on mortgage fraud. They are part of a task force that includes state, county and local investigators. So far, they have made more than 170 arrests. Hundreds of other suspects are under investigation. One case has generated 100 boxes of files. "It's extremely paper-intensive," said FBI agent Scott Gilbert. "It's tedious, mind-numbing work."

For more, see Loose lending rules gave criminals chance to flourish.