The Federal Trade Commission and prosecutors in 19 states filed 189 legal actions on Wednesday against loan modification consultants, accusing them of cheating desperate home owners.All but one of the lawsuits were filed in the U.S. district Court for the Central District of California. At a press conference in Los Angeles, California Attorney General Jerry Brown and the FTC alleged that U.S. Foreclosure Relief, Lucas Law Center, Loss Mitigation Services, and Apply2Save did practically nothing to help home owners and charged them one month's mortgage payment or more in advance.Brown said, "they ripped off thousands of home owners desperately seeking mortgage relief."Source: The Associated Press, Jacob Adelman, and Inman News (07/15/2009) 07/16/2009