With the recent collapse of the real estate market and record numbers of foreclosures filed in the nation's courts, the Securities & Exchange Commission ("SEC") is taking a closer look at whether mortgage securities fraud resulted in people being granted mortgage loans that they could not afford, and which were a poor credit risk. The SEC cites instances of insider trading, accounting fraud, and misrepresentations made in security documents as contributing to cases of fraud within the mortgage industry. Moreover, investment advisors may have committed fraud by investing most or all of their clients' assets in risky, untested mortgage securities, which then resulted in massive losses as the housing market fell dramatically, and failing to minimize the losses of these assets as the market continued to fall. On the whole, real estate professionals, mortgage brokers, and other financial industry professionals were increasingly involved in mortgage loan fraud, which helped contribute to the glut of risky mortgage loans.