Inspectors say one woman's good intentions and desire to profit, led dozens of families into foreclosure.
"She saw there were so many people who wanted to live the American dream: buy a house who couldn't afford it," said U.S. Postal Inspector Lisa Zerhusen.
Zerhusen is talking about Sylvia Thomas Bland, who operate a home renovation business.
"She would buy properties, rehab them and sell them," explained Zerhusen.
But at some point, things changed.
"She saw people who wanted houses and couldn't qualify them from a traditional bank, so she decided she would help these people get loans," Zerhusen added.
Investigators say she became a mortgage broker.
"She would take all of their information, she would find a lender, she would submit whatever the lender wanted to make this go through, Sylvia would make it happen," explained Zerhusen.
In most cases, Zerhusen says this meant falsifying documents.
"So, whatever the lender wanted, she would make the documents to match, if they didn't have any retirement or savings, she would make statements and they look legitimate," she added. "In one case somebody didn't even have a job. But by the time Sylvia mailed the package or loan application to the lender, suddenly they had a job making $100,000 a year."
Initially, the scheme was working, but then people started catching on.
"After about a year these people realized they can't afford this house and their payments and a lot of them went into foreclosure," Zerhusen said.
There were more than 50 victims in this case and the lending institutions involved lost $1 million. Bland was arrested and sentenced to 2.5 years in prison.
"Every single person in this case lost their house, so all of them went into foreclosure. Their credit was worse then when they started. If they wanted to buy a house, now they are going to be delayed even further and they need to re-build their credit," explained Zerhusen.
Postal inspectors advise all consumers to read the fine print on any official documents. Also, be aware that there are ways to rebuild your credit.
"If your credit is bad, work with a professional or work with a local organization that can help you build your credit," advised Zerhusen.
One option for local families to get professional financial counseling and education is Family Foundations. For more information, go to www.familyfoundations.org.