Distressed homeowners who are facing the danger of seeing their properties on bank owned foreclosure listings may become desperate in their desire to save their homes. This desperation drove them to accept any offer of help that could save their properties from foreclosures. And before they even know what hit them, they have lost their money and sometimes their properties to fraudsters.

Fraud investigator Glenn Gulley, whose job requires him to go after con artists who defrauded distressed homes, said that there is nothing more satisfying than going after fraudsters and making them pay for their crimes.

Troubled homeowners in San Joaquin Valley, California are lucky to have people like Gulley who are committed on preventing unscrupulous people from taking advantage of homeowners facing bank foreclosure listings.

Now, the arm of the law gets longer in the valley as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Internal Revenue Service and the Secret Service joined the local law enforcement in going after mortgage loan fraudsters.

Gulley and his team will benefit from the federal partnership by having access to sophisticated technology and extensive law enforcement contacts. Gulley and his fellow investigator Mark Smith were named U.S. marshals and given authority to process subpoenas and make arrest.

According to District Attorney Birgit Fladager of Stanislaus County, fraudulent companies offering to help homeowners avoid bank foreclosure listings are becoming rampant throughout the Central Valley. Fladager explained that unscrupulous people do not limit their illegal activities in just one place so it is better to deal with the problem on a global level.

As foreclosure filings continue to rise unabated, more fraudulent activities in the real estate market are expected. Nationwide, an estimated $6 billion annually is lost to foreclosure prevention fraud. According to the FBI, it registered 63,173 fraudulent activities in 2008. And last month, the FBI logged about 40,901 fraudulent activities.

The boom in the real estate market and its subsequent collapse attracted con artists who specialized in flipping properties and victimizing lenders and homeowners. Both Gulley and Smith are handling cases of bank foreclosure listings prevention fraud, in addition to bankruptcy fraud and Ponzi schemes.

On its part, the FBI is investigating bank foreclosure listings prevention fraud because mortgage lending and the real estate market have significant influence on the country’s economy.