FBI in Mortgage Fraud Probe

The FBI is currently investigating cases of potential fraud in the U.S home mortgage industry, with FBI Director Robert Mueller saying, there's a been a "tremendous surge" in mortgage fraud cases, with the trend likely to continue.

Speaking at a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing on Wednesday, Mueller estimated that the FBI currently has 1,300 investigations underway, with 19 of them involving subprime lending practices by U.S. financial institutions. This is an increase from 14, when the investigations began in January.

"We also have 19 cases involving institutions themselves where mortgage fraud may have contributed to misstatements and the like," Mueller further highlighted in his testimony.

No companies were singled out by Mueller, although the justice department is reportedly looking into whether the nation's largest mortgage lender, Countrywide Financial Corp., misrepresented its financial position and the quality of its mortgage loans.

Out of an estimated 12,500 agents in the FBI, there are currently 204 investigating mortgage fraud cases.