VOA标准英语2008年-Over 400 People Charged in US Mortgage Fraud Sc

By Brian Wagner
Miami
20 June 2008

U.S. prosecutors¹ have announced a massive crackdown on mortgage fraud that has resulted in losses of about $1 bilion around the country. In Miami, VOA's Brian Wagner reports the schemes have worsened the problems facing the real estate and banking² industries.
　

FBI Director Robert Mueller, 19 Jun 2008

Federal officials say more than 400 people are facing charges in the mortgage fraud probe, including 60 people arrested Wednesday during sweeps in several major cities. Many of the accused were employed in the real estate industry, as mortgage brokers³, property appraisers or title agents, and some worked at banks issuing loans. Officials say those individuals abused their positions to inflate⁴ a property's value or pass along false information about a buyer or a home to claim the mortgage.

In Miami alone, officials say 102 people have been charged since last September. U.S. Attorney for south Florida, Alex Acosta, says some schemes involved people using stolen identities, for example, to get a mortgage on a home worth $100,000.

"They will then flip⁵ [sell the house] that to a second stolen identity for 200,000[dollars], and flip it to a third stolen identity and sell it for 300,000. In essence, they are inflating⁶ the price year after year, so they walk away with 300,000 for a house they paid 100,000 for," said Alex Acosta.

Officials some of those charged in the probe belong to criminal organizations that were using the schemes to launder⁷ money raised through illegal activities.

FBI Assistant Special Agent Tim Delaney said the majority of cases involved the cooperation of several people tied to the real estate and mortgage industries, with the simple goal of making money.

"These are the frauds that the FBI is most interested in putting our resources to, because they inflate the housing market prices when it is not warranted," said Tim Delaney. "In many of the cases we have seen, no one ever even lived in the house."

Officials say the fraud operations have a damaging effect on Miami and other communities, because they create artificially high homes values and often lead to foreclosures. They say additional arrests are expected as officials continue to uncover bogus mortgages.

In a separate action, authorities in New York arrested two former managers of Bear Stearns investment bank for concealing⁸ problems in some of the firm's sub-prime mortgage holdings. The men are accused of fraud in managing hedge funds that collapsed⁹ last year, months before the firm said it had lost billions of dollars in investor's money. The bank's problems helped spark the sub-prime mortgage market crisis.

1 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

2 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

3 brokers   

n.（股票、外币等）经纪人( broker的名词复数 )；中间人；代理商；（订合同的）中人v.做掮客（或中人等）( broker的第三人称单数 )；作为权力经纪人进行谈判；以中间人等身份安排…

参考例句：

• The firm in question was Alsbery & Co., whiskey brokers. 那家公司叫阿尔斯伯里公司，经销威士忌。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• From time to time a telephone would ring in the brokers' offices. 那两排经纪人房间里不时响着叮令的电话。 来自子夜部分

4 inflate   

vt.使膨胀，使骄傲，抬高（物价）

参考例句：

• The buyers bid against each other and often inflate the prices they pay.买主们竞相投标，往往人为地提高价钱。
• Stuart jumped into the sea and inflated the liferaft.斯图尔特跳到海里给救生艇充气。

5 flip   

vt.快速翻动；轻抛；轻拍；n.轻抛；adj.轻浮的

参考例句：

• I had a quick flip through the book and it looked very interesting.我很快翻阅了一下那本书，看来似乎很有趣。
• Let's flip a coin to see who pays the bill.咱们来抛硬币决定谁付钱。

6 inflating   

v.使充气（于轮胎、气球等）( inflate的现在分词 )；（使）膨胀；（使）通货膨胀；物价上涨

参考例句：

• I felt myself inflating slowly with rage, like a tyre. 我感到自己体内的怒气正慢慢膨胀，像一只轮胎那样。 来自互联网
• Many are already overheating, with prices rising and asset bubbles inflating. 随着物价日益上涨、资产泡沫膨胀，很多新兴国家经济已经过热。 来自互联网

7 launder   

v.洗涤；洗黑钱（把来路可疑的钱弄得似乎合法）

参考例句：

• She wore a freshly laundered and starched white shirt.她穿一件刚刚浆洗熨烫过的白色衬衣。
• The gang launders the steal money through their chain of restaurants.这帮匪徒通过他们的连锁饭店洗赃款。

8 concealing   

v.隐藏，隐瞒，遮住( conceal的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Despite his outward display of friendliness, I sensed he was concealing something. 尽管他表现得友善，我还是感觉到他有所隐瞒。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• SHE WAS BREAKING THE COMPACT, AND CONCEALING IT FROM HIM. 她违反了他们之间的约定，还把他蒙在鼓里。 来自英汉文学 - 三万元遗产

9 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。