The state is charging 40 companies with stealing thousands of dollars from hundreds of homeowners who thought the scammers could help save their homes from foreclosure.

After getting hundreds of complaints, the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions (DFI) is charging 40 companies with preying on vulnerable homeowners.

“I would be very wary of people who try to tell you they can save your home from foreclosure. No one can guarantee that,” says Deb Bortner, Director of Consumer Services.

The DFI is seeking $1.3 million in sanctions and restitution, but Bortner says they might not ever see much of that money. Most of the scam artists worked from outside the state. Many have already closed shop. The state has been able to track down just 21 of the 40 companies charged.

Bortner says the agencies would call or send letters to homeowners in Washington State promising to save their homes in exchange for fees that varied between $750 and $4,495. In several cases there were legitimate law firms involved in the fraud.

The crash of the housing market has opened the door to some shady characters.

“The scammers follow the headlines,” says Bortner, “People are so desperate that they believe things that they under normal circumstances may not have believed.”