WASHINGTON — Federal investigators say it was a massive fraud ring centered on the foreclosure auctions that take place every month in metro Atlanta counties.
Channel 2's Justin Gray learned families already losing their homes to foreclosure ended up being cheated out of big money by a scheme that took place for years throughout the foreclosure crisis.
The first Tuesday of every month foreclosure auctions took place on courthouse steps during the height of the housing crisis in Georgia. That is where thousands lost their homes and also became victims of a major fraud ring.
Assistant Attorney General Bill Baer says a group of investors teamed up to rig foreclosure auctions across metro Atlanta in Fulton, DeKalb and Gwinnett counties.
"They got together on the courthouse steps and agreed not to bid against each other," Baer told Gray.
This week, Morris Podber pleaded guilty to conspiracy and fraud charges for rigging auctions in metro Atlanta for more than six years. And he wasn't alone.
The U.S. Department of Justice says it was a massive scheme that cost homeowners and banks.
"This was cheating the system, cheating those that played by the rules," Baer said.
Podber's is the ninth person so far in the Atlanta area to plead guilty in the scheme but likely not the last.
The investigation by the Justice Department and the FBI continues
The victims of these crimes were not just big banks and lenders, but also the already financially strained homeowners.
"Homeowners with equity did not get their equity back," Baer said.
Most of those convicted in this fraud ring are having to serve jail time. All are having to pay financial restitution to their victims.
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