407 arrested in mortgage fraud schemes

WASHINGTON, June 19 (UPI) -- A months-long nationwide crackdown on mortgage fraud schemes resulted in more than 400 people being charged, the U.S. Department of Justice said Thursday.

From March 1 through Wednesday, Operation Malicious Mortgage resulted in 407 people arrested and "173 convictions in crimes that accounted for more than $1 billion in estimated losses, FBI Director Robert Mueller said during a news conference Thursday. "These results represent take-downs in 46 of our 56 field offices."

"Yesterday (Wednesday) alone 60 people were arrested and face charges, " Deputy Attorney General Mark Filip said, "and the arrests continue."

Operation Malicious Mortgage addressed three types of mortgage fraud schemes: lending fraud, foreclosure rescue scams and mortgage-related bankruptcy schemes, Mueller said.

The operation was an enforcement response by the Justice Department and law enforcement agencies to combat the threat mortgage fraud poses to the U.S. housing industry and worldwide credit market, the department said.

"The integrity and credibility of these markets depend upon fair dealings," Filip said. "And while the law, of course,cannot dictate economic outcomes or protect individuals from bad investment decision or unlucky breaks, it does protect them from fraud."

Operation Malicious Mortgage is the third nationwide mortgage fraud sweep since 2004, he said.