Welcome to SIGTARP | Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program

The mission of the Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP) is to prevent and detect fraud, waste, and abuse in the more than $442 billion appropriated by Congress through the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (EESA) and $2 billion appropriated through the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2016, and to promote economy, efficiency, effectiveness, and accountability in these economic stability programs. SIGTARP conducts investigations of suspected illegal activity, and also independently audits, these EESA long-term economic stability programs.

EESA has two parts:

(1) Short-term Treasury purchases of "troubled assets," which led to investments in banks, insurance companies and automotive companies. (This part has been largely completed, as has SIGTARP's work in this area); and

(2) Long-term programs intended to bring economic stability to the financial industry and communities by protecting home values and preserving homeownership - programs that spent $1.8 billion in fiscal year 2019, and will continue to operate until at least 2024.

Under these long-term economic stability programs, the Department of Treasury and Fannie Mae (with assistance from Freddie Mac) run a program that funds incentives to more than 150 financial institutions, including some of the largest in our nation, to lower mortgage payments to terms that are affordable and sustainable for homeowners at risk of foreclosure. Treasury also funds grant-like programs administered by housing finance agencies in 19 states, including providing foreclosure relief to homeowners unemployed or underemployed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Semiannual Report to Congress Issued

March 2021 Semiannual Cover

Features of the October 1 - March 31,2021 Semi-Annual Report include:

A letter from the Special Inspector General on the Emergency Economic Stability Act and impacts as a result of COVID-19.
An overview of SIGTARP's oversight of Making Home Affordable, including the Home Affordable Modification Program.
An overview of SIGTARP's oversight of banks and securities trading in TARP investment programs.
An overview of SIGTARP's oversight of the Hardest Hit Fund.

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SIGTARP Launches Financial Institution Crimes & Fines Database and Calls for Creation of a National Financial Fraud Registry

Report Cover

The Financial Institution Crimes & Fines Database lists the hundreds of defendants that have been convicted of a crime or received a fine for violations of civil laws as a result of investigations by SIGTARP. It also includes the dozens of corporate enforcement actions brought as a result of SIGTARP investigations.

To broaden the database's impact, Special Inspector General Goldsmith Romero proposes the creation of a national Financial Fraud Registry that records all crimes and fines related to financial fraud.

Access Database Press Release and Proposal

Press

California Man Sentenced to More than 4 Years in Prison in Nationwide $2.3 Million Fraud Scheme Under the Names Hope Services and HAMP Services That Victimized More Than 400 Homeowners Related to HAMP Program

Brian Joseph Pacios sentenced to 52 months in prison, the fifth defendant sentenced to prison for a massive nationwide scheme to defraud homeowners that was related to the Home Affordable Modification Program (“HAMP”). Pacios also ordered to pay $2,372,766.28 in restitution.

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SIGTARP Investigations By the Numbers

Financial Institution Enforcement Infographic

Countering the Ongoing and Evolving Threat of Financial Institution Fraud

The 2008 financial crisis laid bare one of nation's vulnerabilities: financial institution fraud. As recent scandals show, this type of fraud does not go away: it evolves and grows more harmful over time - weakening our financial institutions from the inside. To fix this problem, Special Inspector General Goldsmith Romero proposes the creation of a permanent law enforcement office with a narrow mandate to investigate financial institution fraud.

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Bringing Accountability to the Insulated CEO

Goldsmith Romero Interview

Executives from medium and small banks have been successfully prosecuted and sentenced to prison for committing crimes. But not big bank executives, who are purposely insulated from knowing about wrongdoing. Special Inspector General Goldsmith Romero proposes a crime and fraud certification to help fix that problem.

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Goldsmith Romero Interview

Special Inspector General Goldsmith Romero speaks with CNBC about the proposal

Banks Image

The New York Times profiles SIGTARP's success investigating medium and small banks