FBI creates team to combat mortgage fraud

The Federal Bureau of Investigation in May of 2009 created a team to defend against mortgage fraud. The team since its inception has been using covert operations, wire tapping, and advanced computer technology to obtain evidence involving economic crimes.

The team is known as the National Mortgage Fraud Team and is located at the Federal Bureau of Investigation headquarters. The team is designed to assist field agents and offices with pending investigations across the United States.

The National Mortgage Fraud Team is currently assisting field agents in identifying the mortgage fraud perpetrators that have caused the most damage to the current economy.  The team will also determine if more employees will be required to handling the growing mortgage fraud crisis. Robert Mueller, the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation has stated that the Federal Bureau of Investigations case load over the last three years has tripled to over two thousand four hundred cases.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation as of May had five hundred sixty open corporate fraud investigations that directly related to the countries current financial crisis. The companies under investigation have not been identified in order to maintain the covert operations that are currently underway.

The National Mortgage Fraud Team has found new ways to detect and defend against mortgage fraud. They are using advanced computer technology to research companies and individuals to identify patterns of property flipping. Wire taps have been used as a source of data collection and obtaining priceless evidence. Covert operations are being used to identify individuals and companies committing mortgage fraud. All methods currently in use are assisting agents to prevent future crimes and reducing loss to individuals and financial institutions. 

Director Robert Mueller of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and United States Securities of Exchange Commissioner, Mary Shapiro met in May to form a collaboration between the two agencies in order to organize the two agencies investigations; thus providing earlier apprehension of the individuals and companies involved.  The two agencies have been investigating charges of accounting fraud, wire fraud, bank fraud, application misrepresentations and insider trading for some time that have contributed to the current economic situation. The agencies believe with this collaboration of effort that white collar crime will be detected faster and fewer individuals and financial institutions will be victimized.