Operation Malicious Mortgage Results in 400 Charged

Operation Malicious Mortgage wrapped up yesterday with 400 charged and 60 people arrested nationwide. The operation by the FBI is a strike against mortgage fraud across the country.

Now the FBI should be applauded for doing something as mortgage fraud is one of the leading white collar crimes being committed across the country. But, and there is a big but, why are they finally making a push now?

I am just a guy with a computer who reads a little about real estate, but there has been very obvious cases of mortgage fraud happening across the country regularly. To find 155 provable cases of mortgage fraud should be a no brainer to find in every major city in the country. A database search and and an analyst should provide a ton of leads.

So my question is, is this a trend or a one time political move to coincide with the  Congressional debate on the mortgage bailout. The cynic in me thinks it is the latter.

“Operation Malicious Mortgage and our other mortgage-related enforcement actions demonstrate the Justice Department’s commitment and determination to combat these criminal schemes, hold their perpetrators accountable and help restore stability and confidence in our housing and credit markets,” Deputy U.S. Attorney General Mark Filip said.
The multiagency operation primarily went after lending fraud, foreclosure-rescue scams and mortgage-related bankruptcy schemes.  via MarketWatch.