Operation Malicious Mortgage Results in 400 Charged
Operation Malicious Mortgage wrapped up yesterday with 400 charged and 60 people arrested nationwide. The operation by the FBI is a strike against mortgage fraud across the country.
Now the FBI should be applauded for doing something as mortgage fraud is one of the leading white collar crimes being committed across the country. But, and there is a big but, why are they finally making a push now?
I am just a guy with a computer who reads a little about real estate, but there has been very obvious cases of mortgage fraud happening across the country regularly. To find 155 provable cases of mortgage fraud should be a no brainer to find in every major city in the country. A database search and and an analyst should provide a ton of leads.
So my question is, is this a trend or a one time political move to coincide with the Congressional debate on the mortgage bailout. The cynic in me thinks it is the latter.
“Operation Malicious Mortgage and our other mortgage-related enforcement actions demonstrate the Justice Department’s commitment and determination to combat these criminal schemes, hold their perpetrators accountable and help restore stability and confidence in our housing and credit markets,” Deputy U.S. Attorney General Mark Filip said.
The multiagency operation primarily went after lending fraud, foreclosure-rescue scams and mortgage-related bankruptcy schemes. via MarketWatch.
Great points Tom - the flavor of the day solution is only adding to the instability and volatility.
When Washington ...
I see it all too often where owners decide to be investors without understanding that tenants have rights. Its ...
cont from above post.....
please contact me via e-mail if interested in the home listed
above.
jonieckstrom@yahoo.com 
This is a topic currently being debated in our local Real Estate Board here in Toronto Canada. Online, we ...
A property management company should realize that most potential tenants now will have a foreclosure or bankruptcy on their credit....as ...
my boyfriend and i just fell for the scam ourselves, it's sad what they are able to do. I am ...
Now is an excellent time for business people to buy if they have decent credit (I did not say excellent ...
I just finished emailing some guy from "West Africa" who gave me the same exact bs. He even went so ...
Comment by Mark McGlothlin on 20 June 2008:
Sadly the small scale of the operation looks much more political than a trend. They’re trying to send a message, no doubt, but the timing of the debate in the Senate this week is very, very interesting. Not any reaction from the NAR as of yet….
Comment by Jeffrey - Ion Home Inspection on 22 June 2008:
Sad but true, and finally. We all knew this was coming. Give an inch and people take a mile. They all knew they were not on the up and up.
Jeffrey
IonHomeInspection.com
Houston, Katy, Sugar Land
Pingback by The Word on the Street Lately… | Real Estate Investing Tips on 22 June 2008:
[...] Operation Malicious Mortgage Results in 400 Charged [...]
Pingback by Hitting the Links | Redfin Boston Sweet Digs on 22 June 2008:
[...] The FBI busted 400 suspects in a mortgage fraud investigation. [The Real Estate Bloggers] [...]
Comment by Mike S. Texo Properties on 24 June 2008:
“Operation Malicious Mortgage” is a joke and the FBI should be ashamed at their pathetic attempt to solve the problem. I understand that they are trying to set an example here by holding brokers liable for their actions, but come. Four hundred arrests that’s it? I could walk into a dozen mortgage office here in Charlotte and find four hundred people who are guilty of “malicious lending”. Arresting four hundred people is not going to solve anything. I tell you what should happen. First time offenders receive a $5,000 fine. Second time offenders lose their right to operate as a mortgage broker. Third time offenders face jail time. It is a harsh penalty, but it needs to be done. Things are out of control right now and the real estate market and the economy for that matter are suffering from what has been going on in the real estate market for the past five years.
It’s a new day, new deal, new opportunity
Mike S. – Texo Properties (www.texonc.com)