U.S. Charges 530 With Mortgage Fraud WASHINGTON (AP) - Federal investigators have charged 530 people accused of defrauding more than 73,000 homeowners around the country who fell behind on mortgage payments, leaving them vulnerable to con artists offering to help them avoid foreclosure. At a news conference discussing the results of a yearlong investigation, the United States attorney general, Eric H. Holder, and the secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Shaun Donovan, estimated that the homeowners had lost more than $1 billion in the fraud schemes. According to court records in the 285 criminal cases in the investigation, the struggling homeowners would pay substantial fees with promises that so-called investors would purchase the victims" mortgages. Other homeowners paid hefty fees in exchange for what turned out to be false promises that more favorable mortgage terms would be negotiated on their behalf.