Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner held a meeting on Thursday to tout government actions to combat mortgage fraud.
The meeting included Attorney General Eric Holder, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan, Federal Trade Commission Chairman Jon Leibowitz, and Financial Crimes Enforcement Network Director Jim Freis. It followed up on an administration announcement in April launching a multi-agency effort on mortgage fraud and loan modification fraud.
"While we will prosecute anyone who violated the law, going forward we will not wait for problems to peak before we respond," Geithner said. "The Obama administration is acting preemptively, across federal agencies and alongside state governments, to stop consumer fraud."
The agencies' efforts include alerting financial institutions of emerging schemes, increasing enforcement actions, and educating consumers on mortgage fraud.
