Pedestrian Hit in Lynn Haven
By: Amy Hoyt
Residents Say Nature Park Unfit for Children
By: Jessi Chapin
City Passes Planning Board Amendments
By: Jessi Chapin
Student in Bus Crash Dies
Source: Jackson County Floridan
Packed Commission Agenda
Source:
Beach Police Deal With Call Spike
By: Allyson Walker
Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office Lieutenant Charged with Sexual Battery
Source: Florida Department of Law Enforcement
TDC Suggests Permanent Festival Grounds
By: Elizabeth Cate
Still Time to Get H1N1 Flu Vaccine
Source: Bay County Health Department
Medical Center Needs Help
By: Jerry Brown
For Additional Headlines - go to our News Section »
- Spring Break Traffic Stop Leads to Drug Arrest
made by Brian7 - Zoning Decision Could Stop Condos
made by Brian7 - Fatal Stabbing at a Party in Gulf County
made by LOVECONNERANDLEE - Zoning Decision Could Stop Condos
made by retired one - Spring Break Traffic Stop Leads to Drug Arrest
made by CaraDee
- Fatal Stabbing at a Party in Gulf County
- Plane Crashes into Gulf Near Walton County
- Cars Catch Fire in Alcohol Related Crash
- Gulf County Stabbings Lead to a Death
- Students Pack Meals for Haiti on Spring Break
- Pedestrian Hit Crossing Tyndall Parkway in front of Callaway Wal Mart
- Bay County Man Arrested on Multiple Drug Charges
- Teen Hit on Tyndall Parkway
- Department of Health urges Floridians to be Aware of Gastrointestinal Illnesses
- Panama City Police Investigating Daytime Thefts of Electronics
Tallahassee, Fla:
The Florida Attorney General’s Office is suing 10 companies and 15 individuals for their alleged roles in a major mortgage fraud scheme.
Attorney General Bill McCollum says it is probably the most dramatic mortgage fraud case that his office has dealt with.
According to the lawsuit filed Wednesday in Orlando, the defendants obtained more than $37 million in mortgages for at least 60 home purchases and siphoned off more than $6 million of the proceeds for their own use. Approximately 50 of the houses later went into foreclosure.
Starting in July 2005 and continuing through at least January 2007, three of the ring’s leaders allegedly defrauded lenders by recruiting “straw buyers” with good credit. They then used those buyers to create false applications to buy homes throughout central Florida.
Attorney General Bill McCollum says the group conspired with realtors to artificially inflate home prices. They then applied for bigger loans and pocketed the difference.
In one case, McCollum says a home in central Florida was on the market for $450,000 dollar. But the group was able to inflate the price and secure a loan for $750,000. The group then allegedly diverted $6 million from those homes to overseas banks accounts.
While the Attorney General’s Office is pursuing civil action to recoup some of the defrauded money, McCollum says criminal charges could follow. He says he could not comment on any possible criminal action at this time.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
First, we are not being sneaky and gathering your email or other information to sell to telemarketers or e-mail spam companies.
Registration on this site is required simply to allow us to keep people who would post discriminatory, threatening and harassing messages and comments from doing it again.
By having user registration, we hope to provide you with a better user experience. Please view WMBB.com's full Terms & Conditions















