Mortgage, Insurance Scam Broken - 2004-01-16
Five women and two women from Atlanta are being arraigned for their alleged roles in a mortgage and insurance fraud operation. Agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, working with Marietta, Cobb and Smyrna authorities, apprehended all seven early Thursday.

Authorities charged Ofer and Karen Barlev, Wingo and Demetz with wire fraud. A federal grand jury indictment claims all four knowingly defrauded a number of mortgage companies in deals involving phony buyers and fraudulent appraisals.
Read the full story at 11 Alive

Remortgaging posts record debt - 2004-01-16
Last year saw Britons put on record levels of mortgage debt, according to market analyst Datamonitor. Total borrowing for the first 10 months of 2003 came to £222bn, higher than for the whole of 2002.

Homeowners remortgaging to release cash from their property or to get a better rate of interest lay behind the surge in new borrowing, the report said.
Read the full story at BBC