FBI Cracks Down On Mortgage Fraud

400 Real Estate Industry Players Indicted; Victims Lost More Than $1 Billion In Various Schemes

(CBS/ AP)  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.

"Mortgage fraud poses a significant threat to our economy, to the stability of our nation's housing markets and to the peace of mind of millions of American homeowners," Deputy Attorney General Mark Filip said at an afternoon news conference.

Sixty people were arrested Wednesday as part of the three-month sting, dubbed "Operation Malicious Mortgage," reports CBS News producer Robert Hendin. 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.

Since March 1, 406 people have been arrested in the sting resulting from 144 cases across the country, including those in Chicago, Miami, Houston and a dozen other regions policed by the FBI.

Law enforcement officials said their stepped-up focus on mortgage cases aims to combat problems that have grown out of the risky lending practices prevalent until the mortgage market collapse started last year. Officials have identified 10 "mortgage fraud hotspots" nationwide in California, Colorado, Texas, Minnesota, Michigan, Illinois, Ohio, New York, Georgia and Florida.

Seven people in Atlanta are charged with taking out $150,000 loans on $30,000 condos, reports CBS News correspondent Bob Orr; a Miami couple is accused of using phony loans to pocket nearly $8 million; and in Baltimore, four people are charged with bilking millions from struggling homeowners who tried to buy "protection" from foreclosure.


To people who have committed fraud or are contemplating doing so, FBI Director Robert Mueller said: "We will find you, you will be investigated and you will be prosecuted."

Those named in the cases include housing developers, mortgage lenders and brokers, lawyers, real estate agents and appraisers, said Sharon Ormsby, section chief in charge of financial crimes for the FBI.

In some cases, gang, drug and organized crime investigations have resulted in mortgage fraud cases because such schemes enable criminals to launder money, Ormsby said.

Mortgage foreclosure rescue scams, which promise to help struggling homeowners stave off foreclosure and keep their homes, also have become a major problem, officials said. Typically, unsuspecting owners sign over their homes and then find they are victims of fraud.

In separate arrests, two former Bear Stearns managers in New York were indicted Thursday, becoming the first executives to face criminal charges related to the collapse of the subprime mortgage market.

Across the country, reports of mortgage fraud have soared over the past year as the subprime mortgage market collapsed, and defaults and foreclosures soared.

Banks reported nearly 53,000 cases of suspected mortgage fraud last year, up from more than 37,000 a year earlier and about 10 times the level of reports in 2001 and 2002, according to the Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.

In recent months, the FBI has been investigating more than 1,400 mortgage fraud cases and 19 companies - including Bear Stearns - tied to the subprime mortgage crisis. The number of agents assigned to mortgage-related crimes has jumped 50 percent in the last year to 180, reports CBS' Orr.

Officials declined to say who might be the next corporate target, but Mueller said the investigations focus on accounting fraud, insider trading, and failure to disclose the value of mortgage-related securities and other investments.

Under review for potential fraud are: investment banks, hedge funds, credit rating agencies, brokerage houses and due diligence firms - which evaluate loans packaged into investments.

Similar to the federal investigations of Enron Corp. and WorldCom Inc., the cases are complex and rely on intense scrutiny of documents, Mueller said.

[CraigBerkeley]

Reno, Nevada?s Countrywide Home Loans manager Sue Barry should also be charged with Mortgage Fraud, along with Prudential Nevada Realty former Regional Manager Valerie Mapes, former Prudential Nevada Realty Realtor Keith W. Gledhill, Mortgage Fraudster Reno landlords John and Kay Sickler, Mortgage Fraudster Reno escrow officer Jenna Kay Clark and her company Reno?s First American Title, Reno Realtor Allan Zane and his Broker Magi Bird, and Reno?s First American Title.
http://reno.broowaha.com/article.php?id=3415
http://reno.broowaha.com/article.php?id=3300
http://reno.broowaha.com/article.php?id=3320
http://reno.broowaha.com/article.php?id=3351
http://reno.broowaha.com/article.php?id=3372
http://reno.broowaha.com/article.php?id=3377
http://reno.broowaha.com/article.php?id=3397
http://reno.broowaha.com/article.php?id=3404
http://reno.broowaha.com/article.php?id=3421
http://reno.broowaha.com/article.php?id=3430
http://reno.broowaha.com/article.php?id=3448

For copies of the supporting documents that have been uploaded, see http://renomortgagefraudexposes.ning.com/

[thgdriver]

Come on everybody, the folks that fall victim to all of these scams are also to blame.

Whatever happened to common sense?

Whatever happened to --let the buyer beware?

Whatever happened to--If it''s too good to be true, it probably ain''t.

[brianbwb-2009]

"Course, truly though, the victims should have gone with well-known firms, not fly-by-nights they''''ve never heard of, and for any purchase or transaction as large as a home, one should always, ALWAYS hire their own attorney to review the paperwork before signing." Posted by OneWorldUSA

"In separate arrests, two former Bear Stearns managers in New York were indicted Thursday, becoming the first executives to face criminal charges related to the collapse of the subprime mortgage market."

Even the well known firms are corrupt.

[tootall10142]

fraud, conspiracy,wire fraud,jigging credit apps,using a false tx nunber to commit fraud ,postal fraud,r.i.c.o. act.the children of these peoplewill never suffer like the people that were defrauded.ill say it again : onlt in america!

[rushlimpdrug]

Boy, no one saw this coming.

Who woke up the fbi?

[rudy654-2009]

Listen for Hannity, Limbutt, FuxNews, the Weakling Standard and others to plea for Bush to grant universal pardons. The Law & Order RepubliCons and Neo-Clowns will insist that there is too much "governmental" interference and demand that they stop enforcing (regulating) the law that''''s already on the books (NRA). Where''''s Bill Novak when you need him.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by ApprxAm at 02:16 AM

I hope that one day it can be proven that the hate radio people are also on the take, and finally get their rear ends prosecuted for spreading so many lies while taking money under the table. After the corruption we have seen with the mortgage fraud and the Big Oil fraud, nothing would surprise me.

[dobbershome]

Too little-too late.

[dobbershome]

Too little-too late.

[dobbershome]

Too little-too late.

[dobbershome]

Too little-too late.

[dobbershome]

Too little-too late.

[dobbershome]

Too little-too late.

[oneworldusa]

So, out of this crackdown by the feds, how many victims will get their homes back, their credit repaired, etc.?

Course, truly though, the victims should have gone with well-known firms, not fly-by-nights they''ve never heard of, and for any purchase or transaction as large as a home, one should always, ALWAYS hire their own attorney to review the paperwork before signing.

[apprxam]

400? There''s that many in Crawford, TX alone.

[apprxam]

Only 400? There''s been very little in the way of news concerning this FBI crakdown that''s been happening since March.

Listen for Hannity, Limbutt, FuxNews, the Weakling Standard and others to plea for Bush to grant universal pardons. The Law & Order RepubliCons and Neo-Clowns will insist that there is too much "governmental" interference and demand that they stop enforcing (regulating) the law that''s already on the books (NRA). Where''s Bill Novak when you need him.

[sistatee-2009]

It''s time for a new scam. Bring back the S&L''s.

[ov442]

Posted by hoseobama Fox isnt news, they have no credibility, they have no brains. They make stuff up on the fly, and they have no qualms about lying on the air, being bigots, and generally being fools live.

its apparent you have no IQ past a small weed. So take your lack of perspective, lack of credibility and go back to Fox and post your lame, obnoxious rants over there. You''re not wanted in reality, all you do is waste oxygen. - Stop it.

Oh and to NeoBrian, the republicans arent just "aiding the criminals" they ARE the criminals.
But you''re right about the rest of it.

[rushlimpdrug]

worth posting again:

This crackdown should have been in place when all the trouble started with foreclosures. This government doesn''''t know the meaning of preventive measure. They think it has something to do with the metric system. The only reason something is being done now is because the outcry is so great and they''''re on the spot.
Posted by RandyNason at 07:28 PM


Thank you Randy.

[hoseobama]

FeelFree4U - do you get voices with these Hallucinations ?

So, I understand Hugo''s disease has spread to the monkey from Iran now. That''s what happens when you shake hands with a pig.

[hoseobama]

neobrian - got FDS ?

FDS - Fox Derangement Syndrome.

The name for those far left posters that can''t stand the fact that Fox News has both a Republican point of view, as well as the usual Democratic point of view, (as every other news media has only the latter.)

But, be kind folks - those people with FDS can''t help themselves... It''s hard to take on reality when it doesn''t fit your agenda.

First there is denial, then claims of ''unfair'', then a great deal of gnashing of teeth, followed by finger pointing, and at some point the slow realization that it IS fair and more balanced dawns on them.

At this point the FDS victim has moved from far left to just liberal. Not all make it. Some are too firmly entrenched in their denial of the facts.

Have pity. They expect it. It is an entitlement. It''s a Democrat ''thing''.