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Police tell us homes were left abandoned and millions of dollars were swindled.

Tonight we’re getting word of arrests in a real estate mortgage scam and we’ve learned unsuspecting buyers are paying the price.

 When Doris Chen Wang stepped off a plane from Thailand this week  she didn’t have to take a cab to get to her southwest Houston home.

Harris County was there to give her a ride, but it was a ride to jail.

KHOU-TV

Doris Chen Wang

Wang, and seven others have been charged with engaging in organized crime and once in custody, each will be held on a $6 million bond.

Harris County investigator John Kleindienst says the eight suspects were involved in what’s called mortgage fraud.

“Mortgage fraud is an up and coming epidemic throughout the country. It’s a way to make a lot of money. You don’t have to have a gun to commit this type of theft,” he said.

What is mortgage fraud?

Criminals find a house for sale for, example for $200,000.

They then get a phony appraisal from someone in on the scheme, for up to double the worth, such as $400,000.

Then, they start looking for an investor, someone to actually put the house in their name, using their good credit for the closing & title.

The alleged criminals gave the “investor” $40,000 up front, promising to make all the payments.

But those payments were never made, and the “investor” wound up with $360,000 in debt, their credit destroyed.

“People should be aware that this fraud exists. Lenders should be aware that this type of fraud exists. They should be careful in their lending. They should independently check out different applications even though it’s tempting to push the paperwork through and get their commission,” said prosecutor Lester Blizzard.

In this case involving the eight suspects,Wang allegedly notarized documents that were forged.

The alleged ring leader in this crime, Frederick Jordan Banks, lives in an extravagant home in Sugar Land.

Right now he is one of three who are behind bars. The other five are still out there, with police looking for them.