Vermont’s senior U.S. Senator, Patrick Leahy, is urging the FBI and the Justice Department to jail people who have committed mortgage fraud.
The FBI is conducting more than 500 investigations of corporate fraud amid the financial meltdown.
FBI Deputy Director John Pistole says there are 530 active corporate fraud investigations, and 38 of them involve corporate fraud and financial institution matters directly related to the economic crisis.
Pistole appeared Wednesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is chaired by Leahy.
Leahy says most people are honest, but those who aren’t are creating what he calls "economic havoc."
Senate Democrats are urging more spending to expand the ranks of the FBI’s financial fraud investigators.