Robo Signing - While our government was sleeping !

Below, some shocking news (cough-cough) that apparently happened while our government was sleeping! In a total surprise (except for homeowners) it appears fraudulent robo-signing continued, as Attorney Generals sold out attention was focused on cutting a sweetheart deal with the five largest mortgage servicers: Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Ally Financial. Of course they all agreed to a $25 billion settlement without admitting wrongdoing. (Collectively paying 25 billion!...for no wrongdoing...Really!)

The New York Times  - April 1st - Section B - cover story
As Foreclosure Problems Persist, Fed Seeks More Fines
Carla Duncan is fighting a foreclosure lawsuit on her home in Cleveland Heights, Ohio

Carla Duncan, a social worker, is {still} fighting a lawsuit over the foreclosure on her three-bedroom home in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. The lawsuit, which was filed in March 2010 in Ohio state court, includes a {mortgage assignment} document signed by {an admitted and known robo-signer} Ms. Erica Johnson-Seck. In July 2010, Erica Johnson-Seck, whose signatures appeared in {thousands of} foreclosure cases acknowledged, in a deposition....to having signed 750 mortgage documents a week, usually with only a cursory review.
“It’s so totally unfair {to have to fight their fraudulent submissions}” said Ms. Duncan.

In October 2010, Garr M. King, a senior judge with the United States District Court in Oregon, blocked a foreclosure after spotting a suspicious document from {another admitted and known robo-signer}Ms. Noriega. In that lawsuit, Ms. Noriega, acting as vice president of Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems,(MERS) signed an assignment of mortgage. The problem, court records show, was with the date. Ms. Noriega’s signature {purportedly} transferring the mortgage from Mortgage Lenders Network (MLN) to LaSalle National Bank (now part of Bank of America) was dated 15 months after MLN halted its operations.

Despite the pledges of the giant servicers to amend their practices, there are signs that foreclosure cases with other companies remain problematic. An examination of dozens of court cases by The New York Times found questionable documents involving some of {the below} eight institutions. HSBC (United States bank division), SunTrust Bank, MetLife, U.S. Bancorp, PNC Financial Services, EverBank, OneWest and Goldman Sachs. In addition, judges, lawyers and advocates for homeowners say that people are still losing their homes despite improper documentation and other flaws in the foreclosure process often involving these firms. The eight firms cited by the Federal Reserve “should be fined for unsafe and unsound practices in their loan servicing and foreclosure processing,” Suzanne G. Killian, a senior associate director of the Federal Reserve’s Division of Consumer and Community Affairs, told lawmakers last month in a House Oversight Committee hearing in Brooklyn. Read the rest of the New York Times story (HERE)

(Picture above by David Maxwell for The New York Times)