In November 2009, the President created the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force by Executive Order. (See Appendix A). Composed of more than 25 federal agencies, regulators and inspectors general, as well as state and local partners, it is the largest coalition ever brought to bear in confronting fraud. And as the Executive Order directs, the Task Force is charged with addressing an exceptionally wide array of fraudulent activities: "bank, mortgage, and lending fraud; securities and commodities fraud; retirement plan fraud; mail and wire fraud; tax crimes; money laundering; False Claims Act violations; unfair competition; discrimination; and other financial crimes and violations."The Executive Order directs the Task Force to use the full criminal and civil enforcement resources of the member departments and agencies: (1) to investigate and prosecute financial crimes and other violations relating to the current financial crisis and economic recovery efforts; (2) to recover the proceeds for such crimes and violations; (3) to address discrimination in the lending and financial markets; (4) to enhance coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities responsible for the investigation and prosecution of financial crimes and violations; and (5) to conduct outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions, nonprofit organizations, state and local governments and agencies, and other interested partners to enhance detection and prevention of financial fraud schemes.