Federal regulators, including the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, are going all out to put a halt to firms that collect hefty fees while their clients still lose their homes.

States -- including California, Florida and Illinois -- have also been busy eradicating companies that collect up-front fees in return for promises that foreclosures will be halted.

Many foreclosure-rescue schemes purport to provide an investor who will buy a distressed homeowner's property. But straw buyers are instead brought in and mortgage fraud is used to strip the equity.

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