"Operation Malicious Mortgage" - Law Enforcement at Work, or Some Kinda Plot?

Silly me. I thought that "Operation Malicious Mortgage" was a law enforcement action against people who committed crimes that took about a billion dollars out of Americans' pocketbooks. There are a couple of takes on this, at least:

• It's a crackdown on people in big companies
  "FBI says it is aggressively probing mortgage fraud"
  Reuters (June 19, 2008)
  • "WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Bureau of Investigation said on Thursday it is aggressively investigating corporate fraud related to mortgage lending, generally involving large corporations.
  • " 'I'm content to say (they're) generally rather large corporations,' FBI Director Robert Mueller told reporters at a news briefing. The agency previously had said its probe of potential fraud in the home mortgage industry encompassed 19 companies. It has not identified them...."
• Is not!
  "More on 'Operation Malicious Mortgage' "
  Los Angeles Times (June 19, 2008)
  • "A few updates on 'Operation Malicious Mortgage,' the Department of Justice name for today's announcement of various recent mortgage fraud prosecutions.
  • "The DoJ's press release, which you can read here, says the initiative involves 144 cases and 406 defendants across the country. Many of the indictments have been previously announced, including four in Southern California. More on the California cases at the bottom of this post.... "
    
  • "...Analysis: These appear to be a collection of smallish and unrelated prosecutions, but if you bundle them together and give them a name, you can portray them as part of a "crackdown," or, as the Department of Justice likes to say, a 'takedown.'
  • "Relatedly: What is with the need to make every effort into an "Operation"? Operation Malicious Mortgage? A recent California fraud prosecution was called "Operation Homewrecker." I'm quite certain the readers of this blog can do much better in the 'Operation Name that Operation' game. Please send your nominations via the comment button....."

I get the impression that the L.A. Times is suspicious of the FBI's motives and methods in this caper. It may come from being a leading member of the Fourth Estate.

I'm unsophisticated enough to be glad that 'alleged' perpetrators of fraud have been caught, and may, eventually, face some consequences for their crimes.