The FBI said that “it has arrested more than 400 real estate brokers since March in a crackdown on incidents of mortgage fraud that have contributed to the country’s housing crises.” Apprehensions were made all over the country including Chicago, Atlanta, Miami and suburban Maryland.

“Operation Malicious Mortgage resulted in 144 mortgage fraud cases in which 406 defendants were charged.” A law enforcement officer stated that the losses to the victims in these schemes totals more than $1 billion.

The Justice Department and FBI announced the arrests at a news conference in Washington. On Wednesday alone, “60 arrests were made in mortgage fraud-related cases in 15 districts.”

A news station also reported that the indictment of two former Bear Sterns managers in New York was also a part of Operation Malicious Mortgage. “They are the first executives to face criminal charges related to the collapse of the subprime mortgage market.”

Houston Arrests

In Houston, six people are suspected of defrauding banks and stealing $24 million dollars in fraudulent mortgage scams.

The indictment alleges, “phony buyers were recruited to apply for loans to buy pricey condominiums in Houston and surrounding suburbs.” “The loan applications allegedly used fraudulent information to obtain millions of dollars that the defendants then pocketed,” the indictment said.

The defendants were charged with conspiracy, fraud and money laundering.

Here is a link to the article:
http://www.kctv5.com/money/16652452/detail.html

Yameena