Bill McCollum, The Florida Attorney General, issued subpoenas to three South Florida foreclosure law firms as they begin their probe into allegations over forged documents filed with the courts in various foreclosure cases.
The Law Offices of David J. Stern in Plantation, the Law Offices of Marshall C. Watson in Fort Lauderdale, and Shapiro and Fishman, located in Boca Raton and Tampa, are all implicated in the scandal. The attorney general has request documents dating back to the beginning of 2008.
The Attorney General alleges that the firms may have presented falsified documents to Florida courts in order to obtain foreclosure judgments against homeowners.
“Law firms are not immune to Florida deceptive and unfair trade practice [laws],” said McCollum at a press conference. “I want law firms to reall think about it before they go through this volume.
The implicated firms are among the firms who have dealt with the largest amount of foreclosure in the state.
Mary Leontakianakos, the director of the economic crimes division at the Attorney General’s office, said, “I can tell you having seen some of this paperwork there is clearly some concern.”