Congresswoman Doris Matsui Applauds Multi-agency Crack-down on Loan Modification Scams

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Monday, April 6,2009

CONTACT: Alexis Marks or Mara Lee

(202) 225-7163

Rep. Doris Matsui (CA-05) issued thefollowing statement today in response to a joint announcement of theU.S. Department of the Treasury, the U.S. Department of Justice, theDepartment of Housing and Urban Development, and the Federal TradeCommission's new effort to align responses from federal law enforcementagencies, state investigators and prosecutors, civil enforcementauthorities and the private sector to protect America's homeowners:

"I applaud Secretary Geithner and the agencies that are turningtheir attention to this important issue. As a Member of the HouseEnergy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and ConsumerProtection, I participated in a hearing on this issue two weeks ago,and called on Secretary Geithner and the Federal Trade Commission totake pro-active, preventative steps toward educating and protectingconsumers against rampant fraud and abuse.

"At a time when consumer confidence is low, the government needs toprovide oversight and enforcement of malicious individuals who aretaking advantage of struggling homeowners. I have heard countlessstories of people losing their homes, their jobs, and their way oflife. As we all know, the housing crisis has had an unprecedentedeffect on our economy. The rising unemployment will cause even moreAmericans to face foreclosure, and there are countless victims ofpredatory lending that were unknowingly steered into high-cost, badloans.

"Now, many of these homeowners are seeking assistance in modifyingtheir loans to more affordable loan terms. In some cases, theiroriginal loan company is not in business or in other instances, theirlenders or servicers are not being responsive, leaving strugglinghomeowners feeling desperate to save their homes. As a result, manyhave been tricked into contacting scam artists posing as so-calledandlsquo;foreclosure consultants' or andlsquo;government agencies' to save their homes.

"These scams are costing thousands of dollars and offering falsepromises to struggling homeowners. It is clear that consumers are notbeing properly protected from these shameful, unacceptable practices,and I look forward to working with the Obama Administration to providegreater accountability and oversight to protect American consumers inthis time of need."

For more information about the Commerce, Trade, and ConsumerProtection hearing where Congresswoman Matsui spoke on this issue,please visit: http://tiny.cc/S10ag or visit http://tiny.cc/cTvNz to seethe full text of her remarks.