U.S. crackdown on mortgage fraud nabs Marylanders

A year-long initiative to crack down on mortgage fraud has resulted in 530 criminal defendants charged in cases affecting 73,000 homeowner victims, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Tuesday.

The sweep, which concluded Sept. 30, included one Maryland mortgage scheme.

The Baltimore division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation said Mary Anne Dean of Severna Park and Charles Donaldson of Bowie ran a scheme that made $4.7 million in mortgage loans based on fraudulent applications, causing…