Feds Announce Largest Crackdown on Financial Fraud in U.S. History

The largest federal crackdown against financial fraud in U.S. history was unveiled today, a massive sweep involving more than 100,000 victims who were swindled out of more than $10 billion by some 500 fraudsters, Attorney General Eric Holder announced.

Operation Broken Trust, the first nationwide effort to target investment fraud schemes that prey upon investors, was orchestrated by the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force, which was established by President Obama to investigate and prosecute financial crimes.

From mid-August until December 1, Operation Broken Trust brought 231 criminal cases and 60 civil enforcement actions against fraudulent schemes that harmed more than 120,000 victims nationwide. Of the 343 criminal defendants targeted by the operation, 87 have been sentenced to prison, including several sentences of more than 20 years in prison. Civil case defendants caught up in the sweep totaled 189.