Local mortgage fraud charges were announced by federal officials

Federal prosecutors have accused 37 people and 4 business of mortgage fraud. Those charged people include mortgage brokers, loan officers, appraisers and the executive of a title company. There is no relation among the cases.

According to authorities lenders in those schemes lost millions of dollars after loans went to default and properties were foreclosed upon.

As Barry McLaughlin, U.S. Housing & Urban Development said, Illinois was seemed to be high in mortgage fraud. It was ranked third in mortgage hot spots.

In one of the cases, LaSalle Title company executive is charged with presenting false closing documents from the loans that would make it appear that the money for the purchase came from the people who were listed as the buyers when they were not, according to the statement made by US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald.

Mr. Fitzgerald, which took part in announcing of charges together with other federal officials, said: "If there are people out there who are working hard and who would like to buy a home and would like to borrow money and fill out truthful applications indicating what their income is, if they are losing loans to people who have fraudulently inflated what they're doing then the common person who'd like to invest in the housing market is hurt."