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The quaternary intermetallic Heusler compounds CoFeMnZ (Z = Al, Ga, Si, or Ge) with 1 : 1 : 1 : 1 stoichiometry were predicted to exhibit half-metallic ferromagnetism by ab initio electronic structure calculations. The compounds were synthesized using an arc-melting technique and the crystal structures were analyzed using x-ray powder diffraction. The electronic properties were investigated using hard x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The low-temperature magnetic moments, as determined from magnetization measurements, follow the Slater-Pauling rule, confirming the proposed high spin polarizations. All compounds have high Curie temperatures, allowing for applications at room temperature and above. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]