From the FINANCIAL TIMES:
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is preparing a nationwide crackdown on mortgage fraud, the latest in a series of efforts to curb lending practices that contributed to the housing meltdown, according to people familiar with the matter.
The FBI is preparing to arrest hundreds of people across the US as early as next week for offenses including encouraging borrowers to falsify income on mortgage applications, misleading home owners about foreclosure rescue programs, and inflating home appraisals, said two people with knowledge of the operation. An FBI spokesman declined to comment.
Since October 2008, the FBI has opened 23 local mortgage fraud task forces around the country with the purpose of curtailing the illegal misstatement, misrepresentation or omission of material facts on mortgage applications…
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