Feds charge 41 in Fla. mortgage fraud schemes involving $40 million in 6 different cases

Feds charge 41 in Fla. mortgage fraud schemes

MIAMI — Federal prosecutors say 41 people have been charged in the latest round of South Florida mortgage fraud schemes.

The charges stem from six separate cases involving about $41 million in fraudulent mortgages. Some cases involve fraud at nearly every level of the transaction, from purchasers to lenders to title companies.

Acting Miami U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Sloman says an anti-fraud initiative in South Florida has resulted in charges against 218 people since 2007. The total fraud was pegged at more than $268 million.

Sloman says Florida is one of the nation’s top five states for mortgage fraud and that fraud hurts homeowners by causing more foreclosures and falsely inflating or deflating home prices.