**GAO-10-787**                      Published: Jul 15, 2010. Publicly Released: Aug 16, 2010.                  

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## Highlights

One of the most devastating aspects of the current financial crisis for homeowners is the prospect of losing their homes to foreclosure, and many homeowners have fallen victim to foreclosure rescue and loan modification schemes. In 2009, the administration created the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force (FFETF), which is led by the Department of Justice (DOJ), to combat these and other financial crimes. This report examines (1) the nature and prevalence of these schemes, (2) federal efforts coordinated to combat these schemes and other major efforts, and (3) factors that may affect federal efforts' success in combating these schemes. To address these objectives, GAO obtained information from federal agencies participating in the FFETF and interviewed representatives of five states with high exposure to potential foreclosures and nonprofit organizations undertaking related activities.

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Sarah Kaczmarek
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## Topics

Justice and Law Enforcement

ForeclosuresFraudHomeowners loansHousing programsInvestigations by federal agenciesLending institutionsLoan defaultsMortgage loansMortgage programsStrategic planningPerformance measures