In each of the transactions, the defendants were told that a prospective buyer intended to purchase a property and then default on the mortgage when the deal closed. In reality, undercover agents from the FBI and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development posed as the buyers and as paralegals who helped move the transactions along.... So basically the FBI and HUD created crimes where none would have existed before by tempting people who wanted to unload their houses to not ask too many questions?