Feds: More Than 100 Arrested On Mortgage Fraud

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — A federal prosecutor says a crackdown on organized mortgage fraud this year has yielded 105 arrests from Jacksonville to Fort Myers.

A. Brian Albritton, the U.S. attorney for Florida’s middle district, announced the results of the nine-month investigation at news conferences Tuesday in Fort Myers and Tampa.

Albritton said the fraudulent loans totaled more than $400 million and involved more than 700 properties.

Defendants include mortgage brokers, Realtors, lenders, sellers and buyers. Albritton called the problem an “epidemic.”

Florida’s middle district includes a swath that extends from Jacksonville to Fort Myers and includes the Orlando and Tampa areas.