State busts mortgage ring

Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum announced that the state has completed its round-up of a mortgage fraud ring that allegedly arranged bogus deals for 13 homes in Palm Beach County and stole more than $1 million from lenders. Alleged ringleader Johnson Cuffy, 30, is already serving two years probation after pleading guilty last year to a mortgage fraud in Broward County. His sister, Lillia Cuffy, and seven other South Florida residents were also arrested. The group took out 15 loans on the 13 homes in amounts ranging from $61,600 to $420,000, according to McCollum. He says that the victims were SunTrust and Wachovia banks, Bank of America and GMAC Mortgage.

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