Police report mortgage fraud 'epidemic'

CORAL GABLES, Fla., July 1 (UPI) -- Police in Florida say the state is experiencing an epidemic of mortgage fraud stemming from South Florida's real estate boom.

A string of South Florida homes have been bought for more than $7 million in suspicious mortgage deals in recent years, The Miami Herald reported.

The deals were reportedly orchestrated by a South Beach couple who have denied accusations scam and fraud. The deals ruined the credit of numerous people and sent eight homes into foreclosure, the Herald reported.

One man said he went into a severe depression and lost 20 pounds after having his credit wrecked in one such deal.

The fraud cases typically involve recruiting people with good credit in schemes that lead to inflated home prices to get bigger loans -- often with the help of an appraiser. The buyers allegedly pay the sellers off, pocket the difference and then walk away - abandoning the homes to disclosure.

Analysis of the mortgage fraud epidemic is based on evidence obtained by the Herald, including interviews and hundreds of pages of documents.