Manhattan U.S. attorney steps up mortgage fraud crack down

The office of the Manhattan U.S. Attorney is boosting its efforts to crack down on financial fraud with the launch of a new civil frauds unit, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara announced today. The new unit, headed by Sean Cenawood, the office’s former affirmative civil enforcement coordinator, will target mortgage fraud, bank fraud, and fraud related to federal stimulus spending, among other white collar crimes. More than two dozen attorneys will be devoted to working with the new civil frauds unit and another recently-established unit targeting complex frauds, “using every weapon…to combat financial fraud and to vindicate its victims,” Bharara said. The new unit will be located at the U.S. District Attorney’s Office at 86 Chambers Street. TRD