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IRS Shifting Resources to Tackle More Mortgage Fraud, Say Agents
By Brian Monroe
printThe investigative arm of the Internal Revenue Service, charged with tackling intricate tax and money laundering cases, is shifting resources to handle a mushrooming mortgage fraud caseload, according to current and former special agents. The move comes as the U.S. Department of Justice, including the Federal Bureau of Investigations and federal prosecutors' offices, adjusts investigational priorities from money laundering and terrorist financing to tackle a technically complex crime that many say is a root cause of the nation's current economic crisis. Mortgage fraud related indictments have increased 39 percent from fiscal year 2006 to fiscal year 2008, and an overall...
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