Mortgage fraud rocks Fifth Third Bank

The Detriot News reports:

A multimillion-dollar mortgage fraud scheme involving pricey homes in Bloomfield Hills and Birmingham has resulted in a half-dozen firings and resignations at Fifth Third Bank, according to court documents.

The alleged scheme involved a conspiracy among bank employees, appraisers, title companies, and others.

Fifth Third first went to court last year over one of the suspect mortgages but later said at least 11 fraudulent deals were part of the scheme. It filed an amended lawsuit in August seeking more than $10.8 million in damages from 44 defendants it alleges were involved in seven of the real estate deals.

The bank has asked for a criminal investigation, said Jack Riley, vice president of marketing for Fifth Third Bank in eastern Michigan.

"We've definitely gone to the authorities," Riley said. "We're going after justice."

At the top of many markets fraud comes into the picture.