“Operation Bad Deeds” revealed: Dozens are charged with mortgage fraud in New York

Dozens of real estate professionals have been charged with obtaining upwards of $64 million in loans on over 100 residential New York State properties through wire fraud, bank fraud and conspiracy. In an investigation titled Operation Bad Deeds, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Secret Service and the New York State Banking Department exposed eight elaborate schemes involving falsified mortgage applications, foreclosure rescue scams and loan flipping. The defendants allegedly made hundreds of thousands of dollars in commissions based on fraudulent loans, and many of their victims were homeowners facing foreclosure, duped into thinking the scams could offer them a way out. In total, 41 mortgage brokers, lawyers and loan officers have been charged, though five of them are still at large, prosecutors said.