Mortgage fraud has increased so dramatically in the San Joaquin Valley that a task force of federal, state and local agencies has been formed to fight back.
The FBI, IRS, Secret Service, Department of Housing and district attorneys in Fresno, Tulare and other counties are among those involved. Their assignment: investigate mortgage fraud and foreclosure-rescue scams connected to the real estate boom and the bust that followed.
The FBI has helped set up 65 similar groups to combat a nationwide epidemic of mortgage fraud blamed for $4 billion to $6 billion in losses, according to estimates.
While the FBI helps organize such task forces fairly regularly, usually they're set up in response to violent crimes. The fresh focus on mortgage fraud reflects how prevalent it has become, said Steve Dupre, an FBI spokesman in Sacramento.
Last year, the number of suspected mortgage-fraud cases in the United States topped 63,000. In only the first two months of 2009, the FBI received 28,873 reports of suspected mortgage fraud and had more than 2,000 cases under investigation.
Last year, 734 cases were opened nationwide. That compares with 295 in 2003.
The Valley task force efforts are in addition to cases that other agencies, such as Fresno police and Fresno County District Attorney's Office, are investigating.
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