FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Seven current and former police officers, an FBI agent and a network of attorneys and mortgage brokers are accused of orchestrating a multimillion dollar mortgage fraud in South Florida.
Thirteen were arrested Wednesday after a federal grand jury indictment was unsealed. It alleges the group falsified documents to secure $16.5 million in loans to buy and flip properties at the height of the real estate boom.
They allegedly posed as buyers promising to live in 38 condos, but instead rented and sold the properties.
The defendants include three active police officers in Plantation and one in Lauderhill.
Prosecutors say the scheme was orchestrated by former Plantation officer Joseph Guaracino, who was fired for allegedly lying in the course of an investigation.
