Oct. 28 (Bloomberg) — OneWest Bank, formed in the aftermath of IndyMac Bancorp’s failure, may have its mortgage- servicing ratings downgraded by Moody’s Investors Service, which cited “potential irregularities” in the foreclosure process.
The ratings of IndyMac Mortgage Services, a division of OneWest, may be downgraded if faulty foreclosures increase the time it takes to sell bank-owned homes or boost legal costs, Moody’s said today in a statement. OneWest is resubmitting affidavits in certain cases after a review, Moody’s said.
“Employees signing affidavits may not have had full personal knowledge of every item in the affidavit,” Linda Stesney and Cecilia Lam, analysts at New York-based Moody’s, said in the statement. “Notaries may not always have been physically present at the time of signing.”
Court documents surfaced this year showing employees of the largest U.S. lenders signed paperwork without ensuring accuracy. Attorneys general in all 50 states started a probe into those practices and Bank of America Corp., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Ally Financial Inc. suspended some foreclosure sales or evictions, pending reviews.
Moody’s assigns a rating of SQ3, or average, to IndyMac as a primary servicer of prime home loans, and SQ3- as a primary servicer of subprime home loans or as a special servicer, or overseer of distressed debt.
IndyMac had a servicing portfolio of more than 565,000 loans with an unpaid balance of $133.5 billion at the end of June, Moody’s said. The company is the ninth-largest U.S. home- loan servicer, according to Barclays Capital Inc
OneWest Bank employee: ‘Not more than 30 seconds’ to sign each foreclosure document
The recent announcements by J.P. Morgan Chase and Ally Financial that they were freezing some foreclosures because of paperwork irregularities raises a key question: How many more mortgage companies employed “robo-signers?”
In a sworn deposition in July, Erica Johnson-Seck, an Austin, Tex.,-based vice president for bankruptcy and foreclosure for OneWest Bank, said she and her team of seven others sign 6,000 documents a week or about 24,000 a month without reading all of them.
Johnson-Seck estimated that she spent no more than 30 seconds to sign each document.
She explained that while she does not check everything, she does check some information, “which is why I said 30 seconds instead of two seconds.”
Please welcome Ericka Johnson Seck to the ROBO-SIGNER Hall of Sham!
MERS & LPS once again the “Common Thread”
Here is a list of her many Corporate Hats:
Vice President of Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems Inc. (MERS)
Vice President of Deutsch Bank National Trust
Vice President of Bank of New York
Attorney in Fact of IndyMac
Attorney in Fact of ONEWEST
Attorney in Fact of FDIC
I must confess, she was my first study because she signed two assignments for “one” of my properties using “two” different employers. 🙂 ‘<blush> I even created my very first youtube video in her honor (see below)!
Thanks to Judge Arthur Schack and Tom Ice from Ice Legal in Palm Beach County, we all became familiar with Erica for wearing too many corporate hats.
She is the “Robo-Signer” Judge Schack called out in three particular cases in NY and made her an instant foreclosure household name. I don’t think she ever emerged in NY soon after this. Also see the HSCB v. Yasmin case.
Excerpt of DEUTSCHE BANK NATIONAL TRUST v. HARRIS
The Court is perplexed as to why the assignment was not executed in Pasadena, California, at 46U Sierra Madre Villa, the alleged “principal place of business” for both the assignor and the assignee. In my January 3 1, 2008 decision (Deutsche Bank National Tr (1st Canpuny v Maraj, – Misc 3d – [A], 2008 NY Slip Op 50176 [U]), I noted that Erica Johnson-Seck, claimed that she was a Vice President of MERS in her July 3,2007 INDYMAC to DEUTSCHE BANK assignment, and then in her July 3 1,2007 affidavit claimed to be a DEUTSCHE BANK Vice President. Just as in Deutsche Bank National Trust Company v Maraj, at 2, the Court in the instant action, before granting itn application for an order of reference, requires an affidavit from Ms. Johnson-Seck, describing her employment history for the past three years.
Further, the Court requires an explanation from an officer of plaintiff DEUTSCHE BANK as to why, in the middle of our national subprime mortgage financial crisis, DEUTSCHE BANK would purchase a non-perferforming loan from INDYMAC, and why DEUTSCHE BANK, INDYMAC and MERS all share office space at 460 Sierra Madre Villa, Pasadena, CA 91 107.
24,000 Monthly Documents executed by her team
Now Lets move on to this below… according to this deposition her office signs 24,000 mortgage related documents out of the this figure she signed about “750” a week making it approximately 3000 mortgage documents used in foreclosure cases. Anything from Affidavits of Debt, Lost Note Affidavits, Assignment of Mortgages, Declarations pretty much anything having to deal with Bankruptcy and Foreclosures.
This is what she signs without any notary present.
Below is a sale that happened in DC all in 1 single day! It appears she also puts properties in her name with her co-employees Roger Stotts and Eric Friedman.
ROGER STOTTS signs these as well and according to the depo above Indymac/Onewest is “NOT” the custodian as defined below. Why do they commit fraud?
FIRST VIDEO MADE OF DAVID J. STERN, ERICA JOHNSON-SECK BACK IN FEBRUARY 2010
We all know some of the many hats Erica Johnson-Seck wears…so whats a few more. Just like her, Eric Friedman joins her with some signings and also gives Law Offices of David J. Stern Power Of Attorney via IndyMac.
N0tice how it may be the same person signing for all on the POA? Eric also signs documents for Florida Default Group now would this be a conflict? What makes of this POA since Eric’s signatures aren’t consistent and is an officer of other banks too?
Oh and they didn’t want notary Mai Thao to feel left out so they let “Mai” in on it too.
Notice original banks ceased operations before these were assigned.
They “fabricated” these assignments to back date and record months after.
Notice no addresses because their is none.
IndyMac itself was ceased by the FDIC in 7/11/2008 and sold to OneWest 3/19/2009.
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