Feds and States Discuss Ongoing Anti-Fraud Efforts

A group of state and federal officials met in Washington to discuss trends and improve coordination in the efforts to combat mortgage fraud. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner hosted Attorney General Eric Holder, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan, Federal Trade Commission Chairman Jon Leibowitz, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network Director Jim Freis and attorneys general from 12 states. They also spoke about proactive strategies to combat fraud against consumers in the housing markets as well as best practices to bolster coordination across state and federal agencies. This meeting follows up on an announcement by the Obama Administration in April of a multi-agency crackdown on foreclosure rescue scams and loan modification fraud designed to protect homeowners from predatory financial practices. "A clear lesson of this financial crisis is that American consumers need better protection against fraud," said Mr. Geithner, adding that government agencies "will not wait for problems to peak before we respond." Treasury, FinCEN and DOJ, HUD and FTC are working on taking proactive measures to curb abuse by coordinating information and resources across agencies to maximize targeting and efficiency in fraud investigations. Secretary Donovan announced that HUD has requested $37 million in its 2010 budget to combat fraud. FTC Chairman Leibowitz announced two new law enforcement actions in a continuing crackdown on mortgage foreclosure rescue and loan modification scams, bringing to 22 the number of these cases the Commission has filed since the housing crisis began. The FTC also announced developments in similar pending mortgage-related actions, several of which have involved coordinated casework from FinCEN.