FBI: 200 agents working on mortgage fraud probe

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The FBI has more than 200 agents and 33 task forces addressing mortgage fraud, has more than 1,300 cases under investigation and has targeted 19 large companies, FBI Director Robert Mueller said on Friday.

"Clearly, in the last couple of years, we have seen a substantial increase in mortgage fraud cases, and my anticipation is that we will continue to see that increase," he told a question-and-answer session after addressing the National Press Club.

Mueller said there are 19 cases the FBI is investigating of large corporations that may have contributed to the mortgage fraud crisis. He did not identify any of the companies, and the number is the same as the one he gave last month.

FBI officials have said the investigation of the large companies has focused on possible crimes such as accounting fraud, insider trading and deceptive sales practices.

Mueller said the FBI has dealt with similar situations in the past, including the savings-and-loan crisis in the 1990s and the corporate fraud scandals early in the decade that included Enron Corp and WorldCom Inc.

"My expectation is that we will continue to address mortgage fraud cases in the same way we've addressed other ... financial crimes in the past," he said.

Asked if one company would emerge as the criminal emblem symbolizing the mortgage fraud crisis, Mueller said it was too early to say.

"We would have to look at those cases, if and when charges are brought down the road, to get a better handle on an answer to that question," he said.

(Reporting by James Vicini; editing by Mohammad Zargham)