Three of the nine buildings involved in the alleged mortgage fraud, from left: 467-469 Vanderbilt Avenue, 1234 St. Marks Avenue, 2525 Snyder Avenue. Source: DA’s office (click image to see all nine buildings)

Aiming to deter a type of crime he says is becoming “epidemic,” Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes today announced the indictment of 12 people in  alleged mortgage and real estate scams. The cases are the result of investigations by the DA’s new Mortgage Fraud and Real Estate Crimes unit, created in February 2009 by an $875,000 grant by Sen. Charles Schumer. The unit is part of the DA’s Rackets Division. At a press conference announcing the indictments this morning, Hynes said the arrests “should send a strong warning to all those who think they can come up with some new scam. It ain’t gonna happen anymore. We are fully staffed and ready to go.”
Hynes described real estate crime as “an epidemic” that “demanded an innovative response,” which prompted the funding of the new unit.
The arrests show that “we will not tolerate this type of crime,” said New York State Senator Carl Kruger, who also attended the press conference. [more]