Our Midland-

Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette has issued a second criminal investigative subpoena against national mortgage servicing support provider DocX as his office continues to investigate questionable mortgage documentation filed with Michigan’s Register of Deeds offices during the current foreclosure crisis.  

“We are moving forward with our investigative efforts to find answers on behalf of Michigan homeowners,” said Schuette.  

Schuette’s office has requested documents and information regarding DocX operations in relation to foreclosure and/or bankruptcy-related document processing. The subpoena was approved by the 54B District Court in Ingham County, and the information must be provided to the Attorney General’s Office on or before April 4.

This is the second criminal subpoena filed during the course of Schuette’s investigation. Schuette previously filed a criminal subpoena against DocX on June 12, 2011.

[OUR MIDLAND]

A few email discussions of the FL AG’s office that show what went on behind closed doors. Go thru them and thanks to Foreclosure Hamlet for these gems.

Please click on the links below.

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Daily Tribune–

PONTIAC — A free service is now available to people wanting to protect themselves from mortgage document fraud.

The Oakland County Clerk’s Office has launched its Property Fraud Alert Service.

By signing up at the clerk’s office, people will be notified whenever there are documents filed with their names.

Clerk Bill Bullard said the service is an extension of the mortgage document fraud his office has uncovered and referred to local and state authorities for investigation.

[DAILY TRIBUNE]

BLOOMBERG:

The Michigan attorney general’s office subpoenaed three mortgage processors including Lender Processing Services as part of a state probe of robo-signing.

Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette said his office serviced Lender Processing, Fidelity National Financial Inc. (FNF) and CT Corporation System with investigative subpoenas as affiliates of DocX, a mortgage service support provider. The attorney general said he is seeking information about documents signed by DocX employees as “Linda Green.”

The subpoenas are part of a criminal investigation into questionable mortgage documentation filed with Michigan’s Register of Deeds offices, Schuette’s said in a statement today. The subpoenas were approved by the state court in Lansing June 13 and require responses by June 30, Schuette said.

Continue reading [BLOOMBERG]

PRESS RELEASE:

Schuette Issues Subpoenas in Criminal Probe of Mortgage Processors

Contact:  John Sellek or Joy Yearout 517-373-8060
Agency: Attorney General

LANSING– Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette today announced that he has issued criminal investigative subpoenas against national mortgage servicing support providers in an expansion of his office’s investigation into questionable mortgage documentation filed with Michigan’s Register of Deeds offices during the current foreclosure crisis.

“Allegations of forged mortgage documents are very serious and require a thorough investigation,” said Schuette.  “I will continue to work closely with federal and local authorities to find answers on behalf of Michigan homeowners.”

The Attorney General is empowered to pursue criminal investigative subpoenas under the Code of Criminal Procedure (MCL 767A.2(2)).  Schuette’s office has filed criminal investigative subpoenas against DocX, which provides mortgage support services, including creating, processing or recording mortgage assignments or other mortgage documentation.  In addition to DocX, the following companies affiliated with DocX were served with investigative subpoenas by Schuette’s office:

·         Lender Processing Services, Inc.;

·         Fidelity National Financial, Inc.; and

·         CT Corporation System.

Schuette’s office has requested documents regarding the mortgage processing companies’ operations in relation to foreclosure and/or bankruptcy-related document processing.  The subpoenas were approved by the 54B District Court in Ingham County on Monday, June 13, 2011, and the information must be provided to the Attorney General’s Office on or before June 30, 2011.

In April 2011, Schuette launched an investigation after county officials across the state reported that they suspected Assignment of Mortgage documents filed in their offices may have been forged.  A recent “60 Minutes” news broadcast had shown that the name “Linda Green” was signed to thousands of mortgage-related documents nationwide, but with many different variations in handwriting.  County officials in Michigan reviewed their files and found similar documents, thus raising questions about the authenticity of the documents filed.

Schuette is investigating whether certain mortgage processing companies permitted such robosigning of legal documents filed in connection with Michigan foreclosures.  Apart from the question of whether falsified signatures were used, robosigning may also involve individuals signing affidavits to signify that mortgage documentation was properly prepared without ever conducting a proper review of the documents.  Although Michigan is a non-judicial foreclosure state, Schuette is reviewing whether robosigned documents may have been filed with courts in limited cases.

Schuette urges any current or former employees of mortgage servicers or processing companies with knowledge of unlawful practices related to mortgage servicing or the execution of documents in Michigan to call the Attorney General’s Corporate Oversight Division at (517) 373-1160 (517) 373-1160 .

Schuette is also continuing to work with fellow attorneys general in a national workgroup examining mortgage lending practices, including the robosigning issue and consumer protection concerns affecting homeowners nationwide.

Schuette reminds Michigan homeowners that citizens do not need to pay to speak with their lender or servicer or to obtain outside assistance with foreclosure issues.  Free local assistance with foreclosure issues can be found by calling the Michigan State Housing Development Authority at (866) 946-7432 (866) 946-7432.

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source: http://www.michigan.gov

Housing Wire-

The Ingham County Board of Commissioners in Michigan approved up to $60,000 in Legal Aid funding to represent borrowers affected by allegedly improper foreclosures and possible documentation fraud.

The county’s Register of Deeds Curtis Hertel Jr. uncovered potential fraudulent documents in his office calling into question hundreds of foreclosures. Hertel told HousingWire Wednesday he found 400 cases with possible fraudulent documentation involving Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems and another 100 involving DocX, a division of Lender Processing Services (LPS: 24.44 -1.89%).

LegalNews-

If someone does not pay their mortgage they will lose their home. But banks have to play by the rules, too.” Hertel further stated,

“We are looking at a massive fraud committed against the people of the state of Michigan.”

Be sure to catch the samples of Linda Green signatures down below…

P.S. He’s currently reviewing 12,000 assignments of mortgages that were recorded in 2010!

They’re all doing an excellent job! Talk about hero’s!

[ipaper docId=54751289 access_key=key-2hwhs1wtsdaiqyeb23f9 height=600 width=600 /]

At the hearing, after watching the 60 Minutes segment on DocX forged documents, they seem to appear in shock…  “This is Compelling,” Rep. Knollenberg said.

Michigan Messenger-

LANSING — The growing controversy over allegedly fraudulent foreclosure documents will receive a hearing Wednesday in the state House Banking Committee. The controversy has also prompted some public officials to call for repeal of Michigan’s foreclosure by advertisement process, and instead adopt a judicial foreclosure act.

LSJ.com–

Ingham County Registrar of Deeds Curtis Hertel Jr. said last week that he had found at least 60 instances of such fraudulent documents in his office – documents presented by mortgage lenders as part of the foreclosure process.

He is not alone. Eaton and Clinton counties also reported questionable documents, and Oakland County Registrar of Deeds Bill Bullard wrote to Schuette about the problem earlier this week.

MFI-MIAMI-

Several months ago, the major banks sounded the all clear signal regarding robo-signing in non-judicial foreclosure states, namely Michigan and Massachusetts.  It appears those claims of non-exist robo-signing were either greatly exaggerated or were overly optimistic.

MFI-Miami has uncovered evidence of forged documents drafted and signed by attorneys and employees at Orlans Associates at their corporate offices in Troy, Michigan.   These  fraudulent documents will impact tens of thousands of foreclosures done by Ally Financial, Bank of America, Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan-Chase, Fannie Mae and others in Michigan and Massachusetts over the past five years and makes the investigation being done by Ingham County Register of Deeds, Curtis Hertel, Jr. and Oakland County Clerk Bill Bullard into the robo-signing of Linda Green at the now defunct DocX look like a kindergarten production of the movie, The Firm.

Contact: John Sellek or Joy Yearout 517-373-8060

LANSING
Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette announced today that he is working with Oakland County Register of Deeds Bill Bullard, and other local and federal authorities, to look into questionable mortgage documentation filed with Michigan’s Register of Deeds offices during the current foreclosure crisis.

Bullard and other county officials have uncovered Assignment of Mortgage documents filed in their offices with signatures of some mortgage executives that appear to have been forged by many different people, raising questions about the authenticity of the documents.  For example, a recent “60 Minutes” news broadcast showed that the name “Linda Green” was signed to thousands of documents nationwide but with many different variations in handwriting.  Bullard, in a letter to Schuette today, said that his office has found many examples of these documents in its files, as have other county Register of Deeds offices, and plans to forward the questionable documents to the Attorney General’s office for review.

Schuette’s office is beginning the process of working with local, state and federal authorities to look into the problem.  Since late last year, the Michigan Attorney General’s office has also been a part of a 50-state Attorneys General workgroup addressing the robo-signing issue and other consumer protection issues.

“The idea that anyone would forge documents during a process in which a family is losing their home is absolutely unconscionable,” said Schuette.  “We are working closely with federal and local authorities to get to the bottom of this.”

“I want Oakland County residents going through the foreclosure process to be aware of this potential problem with their mortgage documentation and strongly encourage them to review their files,” said Bullard.  “My office will continue its investigation and work with Attorney General Schuette’s office as we find more questionable documents.”

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Source: www.michigan.gov