VIA Curtis Hertel–

It was just announced that we have our first conviction based on fraudulent assignments in Michigan. Lorraine Brown of LPS plead guilty to racketeering a 20 year felony. This is all based on documents handed over by my office and other registers from around the State of Michigan. I hope this is just the beginning of the prosecution of those responsible for illegally foreclosing on Michigan citizens.

More info as it comes down…

SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
COUNTY OF RICHMOND DCM PART

WELLS FARGO BANK, N.A., as Trustee for Option One
Mortgage Loan Trust 2007–02, Asset-Backed Certificates,
Series 200702
Plaintiff,

against

JOYCE SPOSATO, CITY OF NEW YORK PARKING
VIOLATIONS BUREAU and JACK RIVERA,
Defendants.

Upon the foregoing papers, the motion of defendant, Joyce Sposato is granted to the extent
herein provided.

This is an action to foreclose a mortgage dated November 8, 2006, upon the property located
at 99 Excelsior Avenue, Staten Island, New York. The mortgage was originated by Option One
Mortgage Corporation (“Option One”) and was recorded in the Office of the Clerk of Richmond
County on December 15, 2006 (see Defendant’s Exhibit 1). Plaintiff filed the Summons, Complaint,
and Notice of Pendency on April 8, 2008 (see Defendant’ Exhibit 2). However, it was not until the
following day, April 9, 2008, that Option One executed the “Assignment of Mortgage” with note on
the property to plaintiff Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., as Trustee for Option One Mortgage Loan Trust
2007-2, Asset-Backed Certificates, Series 2007-2 (“Wells Fargo”), which was recorded in the Office
of the Clerk of Richmond County on April 18, 2008 (see Defendant’s Exhibit 4). Upon defendant’s
default in appearing or answering, this Court granted a default Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale on
October 14, 2008 (see Defendant’s Exhibit 12). The foreclosure sale, initially scheduled to be held
on December 4, 2008, was cancelled upon defendant’s first order to show cause, dated December
1, 2008 (see Plaintiff’s Exhibit I), but was ultimately conducted on November 29, 2011, with the
property being sold to plaintiff for the sum of $443,634.00 (see Defendant’s Exhibit 13).

Defendant Joyce Sposato (hereinafter defendant) now moves by order to show cause to, inter
alia, vacate the October 14, 2008 Judgment of Foreclosure and set aside the enduing sale on
numerous grounds, including plaintiff’s alleged lack of standing (see CPLR 5015[a][2], [3], [4]).

In support of her position that plaintiff lacked standing, defendant sets forth three arguments:
(1) the Mortgage Assignment to Trust upon which plaintiff relies to show ownership of the note was
executed after the commencement of the action; (2) The Mortgage Assignment to Trust is invalid
since it was executed by a “robosigner”, Topako Love, who lacked capacity to act on behalf of the
originating lender, Option One, and (3) plaintiff has failed to demonstrate that it duly acquired the
mortgage and note in accordance with the terms of the “Pooling and Servicing Agreement for Option
One Mortgage Loan Trust 2007-2, Asset-Backed Certificates, Series 2007-2.” According to
defendant, said agreement prohibited plaintiff from accepting the note as a trust asset because, inter
alia, pursuant to its terms, any transfer to the Trust must come from a depositor, rather than
originator.

In opposition to the application, plaintiff relies largely upon the representations made by
Option One’s “Assistant Secretary”, Cindi Ellis, whose April 17, 2008 Affidavit of Merit and
Amounts Due submitted in support of the Order of Reference states: “The plaintiff became the owner
of the note and mortgage as a result of a purchase thereof for valuable consideration prior to the
commencement of this action.” It further states: “the assignment of Mortgage memorializing
plaintiff’s interest has not yet been recorded1; however, plaintiff has standing to prosecute the
foreclosure action in its capacity as beneficial owner and holder of the note and mortgage” (see
Defendant’s Exhibit 8, para 2). According to plaintiff, these representations settle the question of
ownership of the note at the time of commencement of the action, and accordingly, the validity of
plaintiff’s standing to foreclose. Plaintiff likewise relies on defendant’s concession (see Defendant’s
Affirmation in Support, para 10), that her particular loan was included among the mortgages that
were pooled into the trust filed with the SEC on March 1, 2007, and is listed in the Free Writing
Prospectus relating thereto. However, plaintiff fails to counter defendant’s claim that the Mortgage
Assignment to Trust was executed by a robo-signer employed by Lender Processing Services, Inc.
of Dakota, MN, rather than by Option One. Nor does plaintiff provide details as to when, where,
how and for what consideration it obtained transfer of the “beneficial owner[ship]…of the note” prior
to the written assignment.

This Court is mindful that, while the use of its equitable power to set aside its own judicial
sale should be exercised “sparingly and with great caution” (Guardian Loan Co. v. Early, 47 NY2d
515, 520), even in the absence of any demonstration of fraud, collusion, mistake or misconduct
which casts suspicion on the fairness of the sale itself (id., 520-521; Federal Natl. Mtge. Assn. v.
New York Fin. & Mtge. Co., 222 AD2d 647), it is not powerless to act in order to prevent its own
judgments and decrees from being made into “instrument[s] of injustice” (Guardian Loan Co. v.
Early, 47 NY2d at 520; see Matter of Ziede v. Mei Ling Chow, 94 AD3d 771). Moreover, while
this exercise of restraint is typically informed by the interests of persons other than the judgment
creditor and debtor, who should normally be entitled to rely upon the regularity of the foreclosure
sale, those interests will not be affected by a vacatur in this case, since plaintiff, the alleged
wrongdoer, purchased the property itself. Under these circumstances, the element of “irreparable
harm” which traditionally has barred relief based on allegations of presale acts of misconduct, e.g.,
fraud or misrepresentation, simply is not implicated (see Manufacturers & Traders Trust Co. v. Fay,
79 AD3d 825, 826).

It is well settled that in order to establish a prima facie case in an action to foreclose a
mortgage, a plaintiff must establish its ownership or possession of the note, the relevant mortgage,
and defendant’s default in payment at the time the action is commenced (see Mortgage Elec
Registration Sys, Inc. v. Coakley, 41 AD3d 674; Household Fin. Realty Corp. of NY v. Winn, 19
AD3d 545, 546). Thus, the assignee of a note and mortgage has no right or standing to foreclose
upon same unless the assignment (which may be affected by physical delivery) is complete as of the
time of commencement (see LaSalle Bank Nat. Assn. v. Ahearn, 59 AD3d 911, 912; Bankers Trust
Co. v. Hoovis, 236 AD2d 937, 938). In this context, standing has long been defined as “an interest
in the claim at issue in the lawsuit that the law will recognize as a sufficient predicate for
determining the issue at the litigant’s request” (Carprer v. Nussbaum, 36 AD3d 176, 182).
Accordingly, “if standing is denied, the pathway to the courthouse is blocked” (Saratoga County
Chamber of Commerce, Inc. v. Pataki, 100 NY2d 801, 812).

As set forth above, however, defendant’s challenge to the judgment pursuant to CPLR
5015(a)(2) and (3) may well have merit, since the moving papers contain some evidence of fraud
and/or misrepresentation, while newly validated evidence of possible robosigning of the Mortgage
Assignment to Trust by Topako Love on behalf of Option One, whose signature was notarized in a
state where the latter has no offices, and whose capacity to sign on behalf of Option One has been
drawn into question, could provide defendant with a viable ground to seek vacatur of the judgment.
Curiously, plaintiff has failed to offer any evidence in support of the efficacy of Love’s signature.

In light of the foregoing, it appears that the judgment of foreclosure and ensuing sale should
be vacated in the interest of justice pursuant to CPLR 5015(a)(2) and (3); that defendant’s default
be vacated; and that she be granted leave to serve and file a late answer within 20 days of the date
of service upon her of a copy of this order with notice of entry.

This constitutes the decision and order of the Court.

The parties and their counsel are directed to appear for a conference on this matter in DCM
Part 3 on Friday, January 25, 2013 at 9:30 a.m.

E N T E R,
DATED: January 7, 2013

Joseph J. Maltese
Justice of the Supreme Court

UPDATE: From the press conference this am– This is about DocX criminal charges and Lorraine Brown, former Founder-President of DocX faces up to 20 years. AG Schuette’s office is still working on the arraignments. 

Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette is holding a press conference Monday at 11 am to announce criminal charges in a significant case involving the mortgage foreclosure crisis.

H/T Click on Detroit

Recap:

FLORIDA: INDICTMENT & PLEA AGREEMENT | Lorraine Brown, Former Founder-President of DOCX Pleads Guilty

MISSOURI: Attorney General Koster announces plea agreement with Lorraine Brown – Former President of DocX to plead guilty for national mortgage document robo-signing practices

Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac et. al. have been helping ALL of the Banks profit as shareholders and business partners of MERS.

How else would they have created any and all documents from cradle to grave?

Business Week-

Fannie Mae and Ginnie Mae are seeking to protect taxpayers as a flood of new lenders apply to do business with them. That’s also helping big banks’ profit and blunting Federal Reserve efforts to boost housing.

Fannie Mae, the government-supported mortgage financier, has begun limiting how many loans annually it will guarantee or buy from certain firms. Ginnie Mae has moved slowly with responses to applications, said David Lykken, an industry consultant. The U.S.-owned bond insurer is also considering tougher rules, a Ginnie Mae official said earlier this year.

[BUSINESS WEEK]

October 15, 2012 

For Immediate Release:

GUILFORD COUNTY, ex rel. JEFF L. THIGPEN, GUILFORD COUNTY REGISTER OF DEEDS vs.  LPS, et al. motions to dismiss complaint will be heard in NC Business Court, Tuesday, October 16th in Raleigh, NC.

Guilford County, ex rel. Jeff L. Thigpen, Guilford County Register of Deeds vs. LPS, et. al motions to dismiss complaint will be heard in NC Business Court, Tuesday, October 16th in Raleigh NC at 225 Hillsborough Street Suite 303. 

The suit was filed by County Attorney Mark Payne and Deputy Attorney Matt Turcola on behalf of Guilford County, ex rel. Jeff L. Thigpen, in March 2012 against LPS/DocX, MERSCORP, MERS, Inc., and numerous banks, loan servicers, and foreclosure specialists.   The County is seeking that the defendants clean up the “mess” they created in the County’s property records registry.

Guilford County is located in central North Carolina. Its population is approximately 500,000. Greensboro is the largest city within Guilford County. Guilford County was established in 1771, the same year it began its Registry of Deeds.

To assist with the suit, Guilford County retained Talcott Franklin P.C., the nation’s preeminent securitization litigation law firm.

                        ###

source: Jeff Thigpen

NOTE: This agreement was not out in the public.

Via JN

Under the agreement, LPS will pay the state of Missouri $2 million and will cooperate with the Attorney General’s Office in its continuing criminal investigation of founder and former president of DOCX, Lorraine Brown.

Specifically, LPS will pay $1.5 million into the Missouri state treasury and will pay $500,000 to the Merchandising Practices Revolving Fund of the Attorney General’s Office as reimbursement for the costs of the investigation.

DOCX earned approximately $363,000 in total revenue from the execution and filing of mortgage-related documents in the state of Missouri for the years 2008-2010. Consequently, LPS’s payment of $2 million to the state is well in excess of the revenue earned by the company in the state of Missouri during the relevant time period, and is approximately two and a half times the amount that could be obtained as a result of convictions on the previously pending indictments. LPS discontinued the operations of DOCX in May 2010. LPS terminated Lorraine Brown in November 2009.

[ipaper docId=106278945 access_key=key-2dnpkev5tddpzwcxx0m6 height=600 width=600 /]

The Real Estalker-

Not only does always-working actor and former Brat Packer Rob Lowe (Parks and Recreation, Brothers& Sisters, The West Wing) own a substantial estate with a 14,000-plus square foot mansion in Montecito, CA with distant, over-the-tree-tops ocean views, until last September (2011) he and the Missus also owned an ocean side getaway just 6.5 miles away in Carpinteria, CA that they quietly sold for $5,900,000 to title insurance tycoon William P. “Bill” Foley II.

[THE REAL ESTALKER]

image: The Real Estalker

Below is the only video I could find of this beach house.

by PCdotCOM

Jax Daily record-

Lender Processing Services Inc. announced an agreement Thursday with the Missouri Attorney General to pay $2 million to settle charges related to its role in the nationwide foreclosure mess. But payment was only the tip of the iceberg.

LPS also announced Thursday that it set aside an additional $144.5 million in the second quarter for possible foreclosure-related legal costs.

That’s on top of the $78.5 million it reserved for legal costs in the fourth quarter of 2011.

Jacksonville-based LPS provides technology services for mortgage lenders through all phases of the loan process, from origination through default if the loan goes into foreclosure.

The company has been dealing with investigations by a number of state and federal authorities for more than two years over charges that one of its subsidiaries falsified documents.

When LPS announced the $78.5 million charge in February, analysts were hoping that was a signal the company’s legal costs would be relatively small. The additional $144.5 million charge raises more questions.

[JAX DAILY RECORD]

— LPS to pay Missouri $2 million and cooperate in ongoing criminal investigation of DOCX president Lorraine Brown —

Jefferson City, Mo. – Attorney General Chris Koster today said his office has negotiated a settlement of criminal proceedings against mortgage-services company DOCX and an agreement with DOCX parent company Lender Processing Services, Inc. (LPS). In February 2012, Koster obtained criminal indictments against DOCX related to its alleged role in the mortgage-document surrogate-signing scandal of 2010.

Under the agreement, LPS will pay the state of Missouri $2 million and will cooperate with the Attorney General’s Office in its continuing criminal investigation of founder and former president of DOCX, Lorraine Brown.

Specifically, LPS will pay $1.5 million into the Missouri state treasury and will pay $500,000 to the Merchandising Practices Revolving Fund of the Attorney General’s Office as reimbursement for the costs of the investigation.

DOCX earned approximately $363,000 in total revenue from the execution and filing of mortgage-related documents in the state of Missouri for the years 2008-2010. Consequently, LPS’s payment of $2 million to the state is well in excess of the revenue earned by the company in the state of Missouri during the relevant time period, and is approximately two and a half times the amount that could be obtained as a result of convictions on the previously pending indictments. LPS discontinued the operations of DOCX in May 2010. LPS terminated Lorraine Brown in November 2009.

Koster obtained the indictments against Brown and DOCX for forgery and making false declarations related to mortgage documents processed by DOCX in the state of Missouri. The Attorney General’s indictments alleged that DOCX directed employees of the company to falsely sign mortgage documents in the names of various bank vice presidents without proper authorization. Furthermore, the indictments alleged that such forged signatures were then falsely notarized by DOCX as though such bank vice presidents had actually signed the documents. Finally, the forged documents were then filed in courthouses across Missouri.

“My office has taken the position that when you sign your name to a legal document, it matters,” Koster said. “The monetary disgorgement and the agreement we have reached in this criminal case with DOCX should remind all mortgage-services processers that our system of titling real property will be held to a standard of accuracy and truth expected by homeowners across the country.”

“I appreciate LPS taking responsibility for the actions of its subsidiary, and for their agreeing to cooperate in our continuing criminal investigation of this matter.”

Koster noted that LPS has also entered into a separate consent order with the Federal Reserve, the FDIC, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency that requires LPS to allow an independent, third-party consultant to conduct a review of document execution services provided by subsidiaries of LPS, such as DOCX, between January 1, 2008, and December 31, 2010. The review is intended to assess potential financial injury to borrowers. Under the federal consent order, LPS has agreed to prepare a remediation plan to provide restitution to borrowers if any such financial harm is found. Under the terms of today’s agreement, LPS has agreed to report to the Attorney General’s Office on a quarterly basis to provide the status of its compliance with the federal consent order as it pertains to Missouri residents.

The Attorney General’s Office has agreed not to prosecute LPS or DOCX for DOCX’s previous surrogate-signing related conduct so long as LPS makes the above-referenced payments and complies with the terms of the agreement.

The indictments against DOCX and Lorraine Brown were the result of months of investigation by the Missouri Attorney General’s Office into the robo-signing scandal that injected thousands of questionable mortgage documents into the market. The 68 documents on which the indictments were based were purportedly signed by an employee of DOCX, Linda Green, in her role as a designated vice president for several of the nation’s leading banks, but were in fact signed by someone else, and subsequently notarized and filed in Missouri.

The pending charges against the defendant are merely accusations. As in all criminal cases, the defendant is presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty.

Source: http://ago.mo.gov

H/T Abigail C. Field

IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS
CUYAHOGA COUNTY, OHIO

LINDA A. CLARK

JEFF DOEHNER

JULIE DOEHNER

NINA LOWERY

JOHN WHITEMAN

LAURA YEAGER

MICHEAL YEAGER

Plaintiffs

vs

LENDER PROCESSING SERVICES, INC

LPS DEFAULT SOLUTIONS

DOCX, LLC

FIDELITY NATIONAL INFORMATION SERVICES, INC.

-AND-

AMERICAN HOME MORTGAGE SERVICING, INC.

-AND

LERNER, SAMPSON & ROTHFUSS

-AND-

REIMER, ARNOVITZ, CHERNEK & JEFFREY CO, L.P.A.

-AND

MANLEY DEAS KOCKALSKI LLC

Defendants

[ipaper docId=100930645 access_key=key-1l5pw0hzk9dph096rs26 height=600 width=600 /]

Last month it was with Chase & a few weeks ago BofA & LPS with a STOLEN CAR! Missing valuables, Break and Entry. This has been going on for a while. Remember the stolen Pittsburgh Parrot? Yea a long, long time ago. Not a single corrupted politician has put an end to it.

I guarantee you that if a homeowner inflicts any harm to any (bank reps) trespassers, the homeowner will face the consequences.

“They just back a couple big trucks up to the back door and haul everything off, and people never see their property again,” he said.

A spokeswoman for Lender Processing Services, the Jacksonville, Fla., parent company of the repossession firm, declined to comment citing Smith’s pending lawsuit.

Yahoo-

A red scarf draped over a bannister is one of the few clues that Sidnetta Smith and her children lived in the sandy-gray, two-story Conyers home.

It was taken by a bank, even though that bank didn’t hold a valid mortgage on it.

Bank of America has since tried to rescind its April 2010 foreclosure. But hitting the reset button can’t undo uprooting her kids or replace family photos, jewelry and kids’ honor roll certificates.

“I miss it. I miss it a lot,” a stoic Smith, 41, said of the still-vacant home on Wall Street.

Smith’s case highlights how few protections borrower advocates say Georgia offers during foreclosure. Georgia, like most states, has no “judicial review” in which a judge verifies basic facts before a bank can take a house. In the “non-judicial” system, bankruptcy or a lawsuit are the main means of disputing a foreclosure.

Advocates for borrowers say it’s impossible to know how many improper foreclosures have occurred because no one is monitoring the validity of the paperwork.

[YAHOO]

DUH! When is the media and especially FHA going to learn…..??

Shocked they’re still in business!

American Banker-

FHA remains said in a statement that it remains confident in the accuracy of the data it reported in April,” FHA said in a statement, but warned that “the very large increase reported by LPS for the month of April was not accurate.” 

Michelle Kersch, an LPS spokeswoman, admits there was an error.

[AMERICAN BANKER]

The foreclosure processor sued by Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto in last year’s robosigning cases has now retaliated, suing Masto and alleging due process violations.

VEGAS INC.-

In December, Masto’s office sued Lender Processing Services Inc. (LPS) of Jacksonville, Fla., claiming it was involved in widespread fraud involving mass document-signing procedures in which foreclosure documents were fraudulently notarized by the thousands. That suit remains active in Clark County District Court.

The investigation that led to her suit also resulted in criminal charges against several notaries and two LPS officers.

On Wednesday, attorneys for LPS sued Masto…

[VEGAS INC.]

IF this was my home, I would sue them so badly and go for criminal charges! This is trespassing, breaking into a home…[breaking] into a home!

What if the homeowner shot at them and possibly killing them? Betcha the homeowner would go to jail for this mistake!

Too many careless mistakes happening here.

First Coast News-

John Delaney of St. Augustine is bewildered, wondering why a mortgage company not his own changed the locks on his home without his knowledge.

John Delaney drove in from Chicago Wednesday night and went to open the door of his second home condo in St. Augustine. The key didn’t work. He got in through the back screen door, which fortunately in this case he had forgotten to lock.

“I discover there is this sticker here saying that the locks were changed at the request of my mortgage company, I couldn’t figure out why, I am current on my mortgage.”

Delaney spent 5 hours on the phone with LPS Field Services which changed the locks at the request of Chase Financial. But Chase is not his mortgage company.

[FIRST COAST NEWS]

Brower is Nevada’s former U.S. Attorney. He’s now a partner at a private law firm paid to represent Lender Processing Services. Nevada’s attorney general sued that company for what the state calls the largest case of illegal robo-signing. Brower’s fellow attorneys filed a court paper which states robo-signing is not illegal; it is expressly permitted, and is not forgery.

[I-TEAM 8]

Keep in mind, this is LPS  and NOT DocX’s doing. So they cannot try to push the blame on a now defunct sister corp. they once had. Also, who is creating a legal document such as a Quit Claim Deed? Lying to the court with false documents?

Another important tip that needs to be investigated is if LENDER PROCESSING SERVICES (LPS) is BUYING HOMES AT AUCTIONS?

Lender Processing Services (LPS) Internal Email Accidentally Leaked in a Fraudclosure Case

4closureFraud.org has received a very interesting court-certified document to share with our readers. An affidavit from Bank of America representative, Kimberly Sue Daley, refers to attached business records. The documents attached to the affidavit included a printout of email exchanges with the LPS Desktop logo.

The conversation evolves like this:

“Yikes! The name of the foreclosing party (HSBC as Trustee for Deutsche Bank Alt-A 2007-BAR1) matches the name on the affidavit of amount owed BUT that name doesn’t match what is in our system. It’s pretty far into the legal foreclosure process. What should we do now?”

“Hey, no problemo! We have two options; 1) change the name now and possibly be hit with higher homeowner association fees or 2) quit claim deed the home over to the right name after the sale, but that will cost documentary stamp taxes. The doc stamp taxes will probably be less costly than the HOA fees. Please advise.”

“Go with the quit claim deed (QCD). After the foreclosure sale to the trust, just deed the home over to Bank of America! Problem solved.”

Text and PDF copies of the documents below courtesy of 4ClosureFraud.org

Are these going to be the docs they signed at DOCX, LPS, NTC and most using MERS…in other words anything that was signed by 20,000!

Is this even permitted by the PSA’s?

LinkedIn-

STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA

IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE
SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION

COUNTY OF GUILFORD

GUILFORD COUNTY, ex rel. JEFF L.
THIGPEN, GUILFORD COUNTY
REGISTER OF DEEDS,
Plaintiff,

v.

LENDER PROCESSING SERVICES, INC.;
DOCX, LLC; LPS DEFAULT SOLUTIONS,
INC.; MERSCORP HOLDINGS, INC.;
MORTGAGE ELECTRONIC
REGISTRATION SYSTEMS, INC.; WELLS
FARGO BANK, N.A.; WELLS FARGO
HOME MORTGAGE, INC.; BANK OF
AMERICA, N.A.; JPMORGAN CHASE
BANK, N.A.; CHASE HOME FINANCE
LLC; EMC MORTGAGE CORPORATION;
MIDFIRST BANK; SAND CANYON
CORPORATION; CITI RESIDENTIAL
LENDING, INC.; GREEN TREE
SERVICING, LLC; AMERIQUEST
MORTGAGE COMPANY; USAA
FEDERAL SAVINGS BANK; AMERICAN
HOME MORTGAGE SERVICING, INC.;
MOREQUITY, INC.; U.S. BANK
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION;
EQUICREDIT CORPORATION OF
AMERICA; NATIONSCREDIT
FINANCIAL SERVICES CORP.; ARGENT
MORTGAGE COMPANY, LLC; THE
BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON; THE
BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON TRUST
COMPANY, N.A.; CAPITAL ONE, N.A.;
FIRST FRANKLIN FINANCIAL CORP.;
NAVY FEDERAL CREDIT UNION; and
WEICHERT FINANCIAL SERVICES;
Defendants.

[ipaper docId=85235617 access_key=key-1g5fk84g1cy0nyzvnllk height=600 width=600 /]

AP –

Arizona, Michigan and Florida, three of the states hit hardest by the housing crisis, will join a nationwide settlement over foreclosure abuses, officials with direct knowledge say. They will join more than 40 other states in approving a deal that would benefit many Americans who lost their homes or can’t afford their mortgages.

The three states’ involvement buoys hopes that a full 50-state deal is imminent.

Formal announcements from Arizona and Florida could come within a week, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the settlement publicly.

Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne said he first wants to resolve a separate foreclosure-related lawsuit his state filed against Bank of America.

Florida officials say they are still in discussions. Attorney General Pam Bondi “remains engaged in the settlement discussions in order to ensure that Floridians receive their fair share in the agreement,” she said in a statement. Other officials said Florida intends to back the deal.

Michigan announced Tuesday it would join the settlement. Officials said the state would receive about $500 million in aid.

Michigan officials also said they would continue a criminal investigation into Docx, a unit of Lender Processing Services of Jacksonville, Fla. The company is accused of using fake signatures on phony foreclosure documents. Missouri filed criminal charges against the firm and its founder Friday, saying it falsified 68 notarized deeds on behalf of mortgage lenders.

[AP]

I knew there was something I was suppose to follow up with last week and earlier today I noted that this was unconfirmed, until I finally found it in my “things to do”!

Now exactly who is going to cover the costs for the document mill?

via: Curtis Hertel
Ingham County Register of Deeds

We have even received information in recent days that shows LPS, a document mill included in the proposed settlement, specifically requested to have this criminal investigation converted to a civil lawsuit. It seems clear that they are aware of their vulnerability to these charges, and are attempting to save their company’s stock price by avoiding responsibility.

What is wrong with people these days???

They should have known better going up against AG Masto!

Nevada News Bureau-

CARSON CITY – When state Sen. Greg Brower asked the Attorney General’s office earlier this month about the $6 million in outside legal costs incurred so far in defending the state in a freeway construction dispute, he said his motives were purely fiscal in nature.

“We just don’t have money to waste,” said Brower, R-Reno. “At least this particular situation seems to suggest that maybe we are. Maybe there are good answers to all of these questions I raised in my letter but there is only one way to find out and that is to ask them.”

But the use of outside counsel is being questioned in another case where Brower’s law firm, Snell & Wilmer, is representing a company being sued by Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto, who is also using the services of a private law firm.

[NEVADA NEWS BUREAU]

If this isn’t proof something isn’t smelling right at the Florida’s AG’s office, I don’t know what this is?

When you read David Dayens article, keep in mind where the assignments came from… LPS/DOCx!

FDL-

We’re at T-minus four days for sign-ons to the foreclosure fraud settlement, and we know that Florida’s Pam Bondi is on board, despite pushback from advocates in her state, ground zero for the foreclosure crisis. There’s an interesting nugget buried in this article, though.

Bondi spokeswoman Jennifer Meale said in an email that their concerns are “misguided” because the settlement would provide a historic level of monetary relief and will overhaul the mortgage industry.

“Rather than engaging in political grandstanding, Attorney General Bondi is working hard to reach an agreement that gets Floridians substantial relief now and holds banks accountable for their misconduct,” Meale wrote.

The settlement is expected to provide $1,800 each for about 750,000 families across the country. It is a response to such practices as “robo-signing” by bank employees who often knew little or nothing about the mortgage documents they were hired to sign.

Nevada, New York, Delaware, New Hampshire and Massachusetts contend the deal isn’t strong enough because it would protect banks from future civil liability.

It will not, though, fully release them from future state criminal lawsuits.

Put aside Bondi’s dissembling for a second …

[FIRE DOG LAKE]