FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Investigators in Florida have arrested seven people who they say fraudulently took ownership of 44 homes, including some from people who had died.
Broward Sheriff’s officials said in a news release that six people were arrested Tuesday following an investigation dubbed Operation Tomb Raider. A seventh was previously arrested.
Officials said those arrested face more than 600 felony charges, including identity theft and grand theft. The homes were valued at more than $12 million.
The news release says the group operated under various company names during a seven-year period. They used those companies to steal the distressed homes from the estates of 18 dead people.
In some cases, they sold the same home to more than one person and collected payments.
The investigation started in June 2016.
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