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Hundreds Arrested in US Crackdown on Mortgage Fraud

   VOA News 17 June 2010
   U.S.  Attorney  General  Eric Holder, center, speaks during a Mortgage
   Fraud Summit, at the Sandra Day O'Connor Federal Courthouse in Phoenix
   (File Photo)

Photo: AP

   U.S.  Attorney  General  Eric Holder, center, speaks during a Mortgage
   Fraud Summit, at the Sandra Day O'Connor Federal Courthouse in Phoenix
   (File Photo)

   The  U.S. Justice Department says authorities have arrested 485 people
   in a major crackdown on mortgage fraud.

   Attorney  General Eric Holder said Thursday the suspects in "Operation
   Stolen Dreams" were responsible for $2.3 billion in losses.

   He  noted  one scheme that targeted the Haitian-American community. He
   said  the  defendants  would  claim  to  offer immigration and housing
   assistance,  and  then use the victims' personal information to obtain
   mortgage loans.

   Holder said these schemes ruin people's lives and are dangerous to the
   economy.

   The  operation  was organized after huge losses from home loans in the
   United States triggered a broader economic crisis.

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   Some information for this report was provided by AP.

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