andr birotte, of the central district of california. director david vladeck of the bureau of consumer protection and kent markus, the head of the enforcement. today is the work -- today as the working group gathers for the second time since its inaugural meeting, i want to express my gratitude for your leadership and for your dedication and protecting the safety and economic security of consumers across the country. these are goals and these are responsibilities that we all share. 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 priority. as we have rededicate ourselves to this work in recent years, we have also learned some lessons. primarily, fully understanding the threats that consumers face and protecting their interests in a comprehensive way is not

the panelists are lois greisman, associate director at ftc, andre birotte, the united states attorney for the central district of california, richard goldberg the assistant director of the consumer branch in the civil division of the department of justice, ed mierzwinski, program director with the united states public interest research group, known as pirg, and peggy shanks is a senior examiner of the maryland attorney general. with that i turn it over to chuck. >> thanks, mike. as my panelists take their seats here, i'll begin with an observation. who among us hasn't at one time or another thought, gee, wouldn't it be great if i could go out and start my own job? maybe it was a fleeting thought but i suspect if if we tack a poll of consumers many of them think they have within them some place the ability to make it on their own, to start their own business. to at the very least go out and do something that will make them extra money. in many instances it stops right there. consumers think it would be nice if i had my own business, but they pretty much stop at that point. and in times

analysts are lois greisman, and division marketing practices, andre birotte who you heard from earlier, united states attorney from central district of california, richard goldberg of the consumer branch civil division of the department of justice, ed mierzwinski, consumer program director with united states public research interest group also known as pirg and peggy shanks who is senior examiner of the maryland attorney general. i turned it over to chuckle. check. >> who among us hasn't that some time or another thought wouldn't it be great if i -- it was a fleeting thought but if we took a poll we would find many think they have within them some place the ability to make it on their own, start their own business, maybe not the next bank but they will do something that will make some extra money. in many instances it stops right there. consumers think -- it pretty much stops at that point. in times of financial anxiety when people are feeling anxious and uncertain i suspect when people are thinking that their job is at stake and they need extra income because they're not getting the h

to my left is andre birotte, and we just heard from reaching peggy about this opportunity schemes away instances reconsider last $18,000. i'm wondering if you could talk about some of the fraud cases dressed to prosecute, how serious and what kind of relief for convictions he been able to obtain. >> sure, you mentioned some of my earlier remarks and one of the advantages if you will as we try to devote our resources where we can get the biggest impact. and when i'm being blocked, and talking really about the sentence. we will typically take cases that have a high dollar amount. anywhere -- i hate to say given our dwindling resources, bullishly top rod cleans anywhere from 2 million to 5 million mark in a minimum and there's a number of reasons. we've only got about 200 federal criminal prosecutors in our district to represent 18 million people. as you can imagine we have to pick and choose as it relates to cases. but also because when we get the cases, we sentencing guidelines that take tape or at least are a guideline to the court. oftentimes the fraud schemes are tied to the last amo

[applause] >> i'll introduce my colleague, andre birotte who's the u.s. attorney in l.a. and is a very good partner of the ftc. we're very grateful for andre's work. [applause] >> well, good afternoon, everyone. i bring greetings from sunny and extremely warmer los angeles. [laughter] >> so it is a privilege to be able to spend some time with you this afternoon. i look forward to engaging and learning a lot from you here this afternoon. as mentioned i'm the united states attorney in the central district of los angeles. it is the most populace district in the country. representing almost 18 million people. and with a district with so many consumers, it is unfortunately home to a variety of targets and crimes and scams that you have heard about today. some examples include your foreclosure or loan modification, scams that prey on homeowners who have fallen on hard times. your advanced loan schemes that target small businesses in our district. importers of counterfeit goods who skirt safety regulations to sell to low income neighborhoods, your abusive tax preparers who target

to my last is andre birotte, attorney in los angeles. we just heard from the rich and picky about business opportunity schemes they are wary of. they talked about consumer last $18,000. i'm wondering if you could talk about the business fraud case your office has prosecuted, how serious lessons have been and what kind of relief for conviction you're able to contain. >> i mention some of them earlier in my early remarks. one of the advantages as we try to devote resources where we can get the biggest impact. and i'm talking really about the fact that he will typically take cases that have a high dollar amount. i hate to say given our dwindling resources, the loosely talking a fraud schemes anywhere from 2 million to 5 million mark in a minimum and there's a number of reasons for it. we've only got about 200 federal criminal prosecutors in district to represent 18 million people place you can imagine we have deserted pick and choose as it relates to the cases, but also because we do the cases we ascended the guidelines that dictate or at l