More FBI agents sought to probe financial crimes

By James Vicini

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department's proposed $26.7 billion budget for fiscal 2010 included more FBI agents to investigate mortgage fraud and white-collar crime, Attorney General Eric Holder said on Thursday.

In prepared testimony to a Senate appropriations subcommittee, Holder said the 3.8 percent increase in the total budget from the previous year included more money for combating financial fraud and for a number of other areas.

Increased funding would be used for "additional federal prosecutors, civil litigators and bankruptcy attorneys to protect investors, the market, the federal government's investment of resources in the financial crisis and the American public," he said.

The FBI has said it has 43 corporate fraud cases under investigation directly related to the financial crisis, and they include allegations of financial statement manipulation, accounting fraud and insider trading.

FBI Director Robert Mueller told Congress in late March the law enforcement agency is bracing for a wave of fraud and corruption cases stemming from the government's multitrillion-dollar effort to stimulate the economy and bail out financial institutions.

Holder said the FBI already has more than doubled the number of agents investigating mortgage scams.

"The FBI is investigating more than 2,100 mortgage fraud cases. This number is up almost 400 percent from five years ago," he said.