Brothers Held in HUD Mortgage Fraud Scam

Federal agents arrested two brothers from Yorba Linda, accusing them of fraudulently obtaining $30 million in government-backed housing loans. Danilo Torres Guinto, 40, and Edgardo Torres Guinto, 39, will face mail fraud charges, FBI officials in Los Angeles said. The Guintos’ arrests constitute the latest phase in the FBI’s two-year “Mortgage Mill” operation, aimed at dismantling the largest fraud scheme ever perpetrated against the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Seven other Southland residents have already pleaded guilty in a related scheme, which involved more than $60 million in loans. The Guintos operated businesses under the names Premier Mortgage, Western Services Group and Dynamic Group, investigators said.