TALLAHASSEE, FL - Attorney General Bill McCollum today announced his office has launched three new investigations into allegations of unfair and deceptive actions by Florida law firms handling foreclosure cases. The Attorney General's Economic Crimes Division is investigating whether improper documentation may have been created and filed with Florida courts to speed up foreclosure processes, potentially without the knowledge or consent of the homeowners involved.
The new investigations name;
The Law Offices of Marshall C. Watson, P.A.;
Shapiro & Fishman, LLP;
Law Offices of David J. Stern, P.A.
The law firms were hired by loan servicers to begin foreclosure proceedings when consumers were in arrears on their mortgages.
Because many mortgages have been bought and sold by different institutions multiple times, key paperwork involved in the process to obtain foreclosure judgments is often missing. On numerous occasions, allegedly fabricated documents have been presented to the courts in foreclosure actions to obtain final judgments against homeowners.
Thousands of final judgments of foreclosure against Florida homeowners may have been the result of the allegedly improper actions of the law firms under investigation.
The Attorney General's Office is also investigating whether the law firms have created affiliated companies outside the United States where the allegedly false documents are being prepared and then submitted to the law firms for use.
Subpoenas have been served on each of the law firms listed above, and the investigations are ongoing.
See earlier blogs;
A MUST read for ANYONE facing foreclosure or dealing with a Mortgage Servicer
Judge delays foreclosure; citing inappropriate paperwork...Note separated from loan
The latest update: Chase/WaMu case dismissed; FL Judge finds fraud.
The new investigations name;
The Law Offices of Marshall C. Watson, P.A.;
Shapiro & Fishman, LLP;
Law Offices of David J. Stern, P.A.
The law firms were hired by loan servicers to begin foreclosure proceedings when consumers were in arrears on their mortgages.
Because many mortgages have been bought and sold by different institutions multiple times, key paperwork involved in the process to obtain foreclosure judgments is often missing. On numerous occasions, allegedly fabricated documents have been presented to the courts in foreclosure actions to obtain final judgments against homeowners.
Thousands of final judgments of foreclosure against Florida homeowners may have been the result of the allegedly improper actions of the law firms under investigation.
The Attorney General's Office is also investigating whether the law firms have created affiliated companies outside the United States where the allegedly false documents are being prepared and then submitted to the law firms for use.
Subpoenas have been served on each of the law firms listed above, and the investigations are ongoing.
See earlier blogs;
A MUST read for ANYONE facing foreclosure or dealing with a Mortgage Servicer
Judge delays foreclosure; citing inappropriate paperwork...Note separated from loan
The latest update: Chase/WaMu case dismissed; FL Judge finds fraud.
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Why are the courts allowing these foreclosure cases to continue when there is an open investigation of these foreclosure mills?
I am going to a Summary Judgment Hearing on August 20 with Florida Default Law Group, and we all know the 'scandal' with that right now. Oh yeah, I have a couple of documents in my papers from FDLG 'signed/notarized' by Erin C. Cullaro - on a day that she was not authorized to be 'working' at FDLG. Yet, the AG's office will not intervene with the hearing, even though I have proof of the 'signature'. ????
All anyone can do now is load up with the massive amounts of reports about these fraudulent activities and inform the judges during the hearings.
There has to be some kind of justice to come from the hard work of the American Consumers and activists. Until that time comes, everyone still needs to complain, complain, and complain again.
Like I have said before, they will either listen to keep us from contacting them, or they will actually do something about it. And, they are finally listening.
THANK YOU TO THE ELECTED OFFICIALS THAT ARE NOT AFRAID TO START THE BALL ROLLING ON THESE FRAUDULENT AND DECEPTIVE FORECLOSURE MILLS THAT WANT TO PUT US IN THE STREETS AND LINE THEIR POCKETS WITH MONEY. LET'S HOPE THAT THE AG HAS STARTED A 'TREND' AND HE PASSES THE WORD ALONG TO OTHER ELECTED OFFICIALS!!!!!
I also have Ms. Cullaro signing on a date she was not authorized to be signing docs. PLUS MUCH MUCH MORE!
Find more truth here;
livinglies dot wordpress dot com
foreclosurehamlet dot org
4closurefraud dot org
John,
I have been to the sites many many times - plus other sites.
I too have much much more in my docs. I am just praying that God will not allow such injustice to be handed to us during our hearing. After all, we didn't create this mess - we technically were not in default. And it was not until AFTER the foreclosure was filed that EMC 'finally' figured out what caused the mess, but by then, it was too late. They even sent me the proof that they had the correct information on file.
I just do not understand how/why the AG's office will not intervene even though their is an open investigation on these foreclosure mills and the fraudulent documents that are being submitted.
We filed a request to dismiss the summer of 2009. Went to the hearing and it was left with the Judge instructing FDLG to produce the original note/mortgage in his chambers within 15 days. This was AFTER FDLG lawyer stated the original note was endorsed to the plaintiff, but not assigned. AND after she quickly stated they have the original Allonge but that it was not filed. Funny how this Allonge suddenly appears out of no where in place of an assignment. And just for the record - NO ASSIGNMENT OR ALLONGE HAS EVER BEEN RECORDED IN THE CLERK'S OFFICE.
To date, we have not been informed if our request to dismiss was granted or denied. All of a sudden - a summary judgment hearing notice appears.
To me, that is an injustice. We were not given proper due process in my mind. We request a dismissal with no answer and FDLG is granted a summary judgment hearing.?????????
You can contact me via Denise if need be. I am open for any help I can receive. I am looking for signatures or any information on other names (notaries & EMC officers) that are in our pleadings that these people have so graciously left their 'marks'.
This investigation is a start and all of us consumers that are standing behind one another can only pray that it is a great start that will be thoroughly investigated and then some.
Thanks a ton for your useful information and hope to read more from you. Very well said, thanks for sharing. You have done an great job.
THE REAL SOLUTION TO THE U.S. MORTGAGE AND FORECLOSURE CRISIS
The current "mass-foreclosure" approach by the American banking community will not resolve anything in the long run. Foreclosure-derived profits have encouraged the development of foreclosure mills to generate very substantial revenues from toxic assets (defaulted mortgages on properties with mortgage debt in excess of property value). These mass-foreclosures are discriminatory and "un-American" in concept; designed to help the banks at the unfair cost and demise of homeowners. The real answer is to shut down the foreclosure mills and negotiate realistic settlements with homeowners.
These are the basic reasons:
1. The banking system wants everyone (especially the courts) to believe, and buy into, the disingenuous notion that the homeowner was the primary and proximate cause of the mortgage crisis and collapse of the housing market. The truth, however, is that the typical homeowner was lured into the "mortgage-free-for-all" by the bankers and their Wall Street counterparts who were making mind-boggling profits from derivative financing arrangements based on the highly speculative "securitization" of collateralized debt obligations.
2. Now that (a) these billions of dollars of fees that were enjoyed by the banking community and Wall street crowd at the ultimate cost to unsuspecting investors in mortgages and mortgage-backed securities are long gone, (b) over half of homeowners' equity in their properties has been wiped out in the past five years, (c) consumer costs are sky-rocketing out of control and credit is unmercifully tight or restricted, (d) there is double-digit unemployment, (e) the national debt is approaching an unsustainable $15 trillion, (f) pension funds all over the country are under-funded, (g) social security is operating in the red, and (h) the banks and Wall Street are making record profits; the banks still want to pin all the blame for mortgage defaults on the homeowner!
3. The homeowner certainly has to share some of the blame, but the real story here is the extraordinary fraud that is being covered up by the foreclosure mills conducting a vast majority of the foreclosures across the country. These foreclosure mills are hired by the banks to deal with the fact that the pooling, securitization, and sale of mortgage derivatives on Wall Street has, in many cases, actually compromised the legal ability to foreclose on the securitized mortgages. To facilitate the foreclosure on such compromised mortgages, a "cover-up" is typically orchestrated by forcing the homeowner to first apply for a modification or some other type of forbearance; thereby admitting to the legitimacy of a mortgage loan that has been "sliced and diced" on Wall Street. Then, while the homeowner thinks his or her mortgage is going to get modified, that homeowner finds out that a foreclosure is imminent - often by a party (perhaps some trust or government sponsored enterprise) that the homeowner hadn't ever done any business with. Inevitably, the homeowner cannot begin to afford to defend against the sophisticated and complex frauds that often set the stage for the foreclosure on a toxic asset. These hidden frauds often include foreclosures taking place without proper legal standing or based on illegal or missing mortgage assignments (especially in connection with mortgage transactions where Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. (MERS) is acting as the mortgagee by being named a nominee for the lender and/or the lender's successors and assigns); the knowing lack of debt validation through improper, missing, or deficient note endorsements; the concurrent conflicts of interest by foreclosing attorneys who are running the particular foreclosure mill (who sometimes represent the mortgage servicer, foreclosing bank, and buyer at auction - all at the same time!). One of the primary reasons that foreclosure mills are able to "get away with the fraud" is that the financial community has been successful, for the most part, in convincing many judges that, if a given mortgage is in default, it "really doesn't matter" whether the foreclosure is legal or illegal. However, many of the courts around the country are starting to take a closer look - but there is still a long way to go in getting many courts to even acknowledge the legal short-comings and greed-driven motives of the almighty and all-powerful banks.
4. The bottom line here is that ALL homeowners (especially homeowners who have sacrificed their home equity and other assets without going into default) should be afforded the same type of consideration that was given to the banks by the federal government - especially since it was NOT the homeowner that caused the housing crisis in the first place. Rather than giving any more money to the banks, Uncle Sam should consider reimbursing homeowners for a percentage of their equity lost at the hands of failed fiscal policies and market manipulations by the Fed. At this point in time, Congress should (a) require mortgage holders to negotiate equitable settlements with defaulted borrowers who can sustain a reduced payment with a clean slate - so that they can return to the ranks of being productive workers and family members, and (b) make sure any homeowner who has lost home equity in the housing crisis is compensated in some reasonable fashion (tax break, cash, or other appropriate benefit). Banks will fight this like the plague, but either America is going to have a government "of the people, by the people, and for the people" or America is going to have a government "of the banks, by the banks, and for the banks." We all know which one of these options is right.