DENVER -- Ten more loan-modification firms have agreed to comply with Colorado laws or be barred from doing business in the state.

Colorado Attorney General John Suthers said Tuesday that the companies, nine of which are based outside Colorado, were accused of engaging in deceptive advertising or of collecting fees from Coloradans facing foreclosure without effectively modifying their loans.

Suthers' announcement coincided with the Federal Trade Commission's announcement Tuesday of a multistate sweep targeting mortgage relief scams. Suthers' office has taken action against a total of 17 firms this year in the crackdown.

In Colorado, only mortgage brokers or attorneys licensed in Colorado can perform loan modifications.

The companies are:

Abbotsford, LLC, d/b/a StopMyForeclosure.net and United Financial Solutions Group LLC located in Queen Creek, Ariz., and Phoenix, Ariz.;
Airan2, Airan-Pace, Crose & Fernandez, P.A. a law firm located in Coral Gables, Fla.;
American Summit Financial Services, Inc. and its owner Peter Johnson located in Boulder;
Best Interest Rate Mortgage Company (BIRMCO) and its owner Michael DiPlacido, located in Westmont, N.J.;
Financial Solutions Law Group, d/b/a Financial Solutions, and Echo Loans and its owner Kelly
David Christensen located in Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.;
Hope 4 Homeowners America, LLC and its owner Cheryl Barnett located in Birmingham, Mich.;
Key Mortgage, Inc. located in Baltimore, Md.;
Gabee, LLC, d/b/a Modification HUB located in Granite Bay, Calif.;
Modify Loans, Inc. located in Irvine, Calif.; and,
Pier West Captial, Inc., d/b/a Loan Modification Solutions located in San Clemente, Calif.

Learn more at ColoradoAttorneyGeneral.gov.