Friday, June 20, 2008

Feds Slam 400+ In "Operation Malicious Mortgage" National Takedown Of Alleged Mortgage Fraud Scams; Losses Estimated At $1B+

CBS News and The Associated Press reports:

  • More than 400 real estate industry players have been indicted since March - including dozens over the last two days - in a Justice Department crackdown on incidents of mortgage fraud nationwide that stem from the country's housing crisis. The FBI put the losses to homeowners and other borrowers who were victims in the schemes at over $1 billion.

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  • Sixty people were arrested Wednesday as part of the three-month sting, dubbed "Operation Malicious Mortgage," [...]. People arrested include buyers, sellers and others across the wide-ranging mortgage industry. The take down focused primarily on lending fraud, foreclosure rescue scams and mortgage-related bankruptcy schemes. [...] Officials have identified 10 "mortgage fraud hotspots" nationwide in California, Colorado, Texas, Minnesota, Michigan, Illinois, Ohio, New York, Georgia and Florida.

For more, see FBI Cracks Down On Mortgage Fraud (400 Real Estate Industry Players Indicted; Victims Lost More Than $1 Billion In Various Schemes).

See also, FBI Press Release: More Than 400 Defendants Charged for Roles in Mortgage FraudSchemes as Part of Operation "Malicious Mortgage" (Two Senior Managers of Failed Bear Stearns Hedge Funds IndictedToday in Separate Mortgage-Related Securities Fraud Case).

For a sampling of local stories throughout the country involving Operation "Malicious Mortgage", see:

Go here for links to other local stories around the country on Operation Malicious Mortgage.