LAS VEGAS -- Real estate agents said they are thrilled with Thursday’s mortgage fraud bust that arrested 123 people in southern Nevada.

“Operation Stolen Dreams,” as it was dubbed by law enforcement, was described as the largest in ever when it came to confronting mortgage fraud.

A total of 485 arrests were made nationwide and losses totaled more than $2.3 billion, U.S. Attorney Daniel Bogden said.

Robyn Yates of Windermere Prestige Properties said the best way to avoid getting scammed is for consumers to research anyone they do business with and to request a report on licensee for a history of complaints.

“Do the research,” Yates said. “And there's nothing better than personal referrals. And even when you get a referral from someone, you want to check it out in detail with the person referring it and anyone else they've done business with.”

Of the more than $2.3 billion officials said the defendants stole from the victims, only about $147 million has been recovered.

Most of the people who lost money will never be repaid, officials said.

In Nevada the list of those arrested included loan officers, real estate agents, loan processors, settlement agents, mortgage brokers, appraisers and a builder, Bogden said.

The large number of arrests in southern Nevada mirrors the region's crushing foreclosure crisis. A report released by RealtyTrac this month noted that Nevada continues to lead the nation in foreclosures, with one in every 79 homes receiving a foreclosure filing in May.

“I think we can sincerely say the fraud epidemic here in Vegas created the problem we're having with this crash of the real estate market,” said Paul Camacho, a special agent for the Internal Revenue Service.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation said they started to notice a spike in the number of mortgage fraud complaints in the summer of 2007, just before the recession took hand and Nevada homeowners started losing their homes at an alarming rate

"By the beginning of 2008 the problem was staggering," said F.B.I. Special Agent Kevin Favreau. "They operated in small, sophisticated, organized groups. They had inside knowledge of how to abuse the system."

Federal investigators said unlike previous enforcement efforts, “Stolen Dreams” put a greater emphasis on recovering money for victims through “increasing cooperation with state and local partners.” Since the operation began March 1, authorities have seized $10.7 million in criminal cases and recovered $196.7 million from civil cases.

Types of fraud listed by the F.B.I. included loan modification schemes, “ghost loans” and reverse mortgage schemes that targeted the elderly.