Saturday, June 21, 2008

400 charged in mortgage fraud


More than 400 people have been charged in the mortgage fraud probe, of whom nearly 300 have been arrested, including 60 in a coordinated sweep Wednesday, the Justice Department said.
The losses in the mortgage fraud cases cost consumers more than $1 billion, Mueller said.
"We will, as appropriate, seek prison terms," Filip said. "It is a very, very serious matter."
"Operation Malicious Mortgage," the investigation by the FBI and Justice Department, began March 1, government officials said. It resulted in 144 fraud cases in which 406 defendants were charged.
The FBI is investigating about 1,400 more cases of potential fraud, Mueller said, calling it "a substantial number of investigations, unfortunately."
The agency has 42 mortgage fraud task forces in operation, employing 180 agents, Mueller said.
Many agencies were credited as contributing to the investigation, including the Internal Revenue Service, the Secret Service, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, immigration and customs agencies, postal inspectors and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

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