Tampa-based Florida Default Law Group, one of the largest foreclosure firms in the state, is under investigation by the office of Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum for possibly “fabricating and/or presenting” misleading documents in foreclosure cases.
Investigators say Florida Default Law Group firm “appears to be” a client of Lender Processing Services (LPS), a Jacksonville company which is also under investigation by the attorney general’s office.
According to the April 30 Wall Street Journal article, LPS, which processes and sometimes produces documents needed by banks to prove they own the mortgages, has acknowledged errors with documents they processed that were filed in foreclosure cases and said they have been fixed. An LPS spokeswoman said on Thursday the company is “willing to cooperate with any regulatory body that contacts us.”
In the May 1 article at ecreditdaily.com, the Florida attorney general’s office was quoted as saying in reference to the firm’s paperwork under review: “These documents have been presented in court before judges as actual assignments of mortgages and have later been shown to be legally inadequate and/or insufficient.”
Banks, and ‘foreclosure-mill’ law firms, and the way they take control of homes from borrowers in default, are fast becoming the focus of mounting scrutiny by Florida judges and federal prosecutors.
