attorney andre berat of central district of california, in case you don't know, los angeles, director david vladic of bureau of consumer protect tgs, and kent varcas, head of the bureau, director of enforcement. today as the the working group gathers for the second time since its inaugural meeting in february. i want to express my gratitude for your leadership of this effort and for your dedication in protecting, health, safety and economic security of consume ears cross the country. these are goals and these are responsibilities that we all share. and each one of us has a role in fulfilling them. for me, and for today's department of justice protecting american consumers, is a top pry or tee. and as we have rededicated ourselves to this work in recent years, we have also learned some, essential lessons. primarily, that fully understanding the threats that consumers face, and protecting their interests in a comprehensive way its not something the justice department can achieve on its own. we cannot simply prosecute our way out of this problem. so we need your help. we need your perspe

let me introduce my colleague -- andre berat, u.s. attorney in l.a. and is a very good partner of the ftcs, we are very grateful for andre's work. >> good afternoon. i bring greetings from sunny and extremely warmer los angeles. it is a prif vilege to spend ti with you this afternoon. i look forward to engaging and learning a lot from you h i'm t states attorney in central district of los angeles. it is the most populous district in the country. representing almost 1 million people. with a district with so many consumers it is unfortunately home to the variety of targets and crimes and scams that you have heard about today. some examples including, foreclosure, loanscams that pre who have fallen on hard times. advanced loan schemes, target small businesses in our district.nterit goods, skirt safety regulations to sell to low income neighborhoods, abusive tax preparers who target low income taxpayers and skim inflated refunds, and your fraudulent immigration practitioners who, charge based on false promises. and i could go on and on and on about differe