CHICAGO (Legal Newsline) -- Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan announced Wednesday the distribution of $3.3 million to Illinois county recorders from the proceeds of a national settlement with Lender Processing Services Inc.
In January, Madigan and 45 other attorneys general reached the settlement with the Jacksonville, Fla.-based LPS to resolve allegations of pervasive robo-signing of mortgage documents and other faulty practices while servicing the loans of homeowners at risk of foreclosure.
The settlement resulted from an inquiry into LPS and its subsidiaries, DocX and LPS Default Solutions, all of which primarily provide support to mortgage loan services and banks.
In addition to the payment, the settlement requires that LPS reform its business practices by no longer signing off on mortgage documents with signatures of unauthorized people or people without firsthand knowledge of facts attested to in the documents.
"LPS and its subsidiaries demonstrated an utter disregard for accuracy and fairness in verifying key mortgage documents," Madigan said in a statement. "The settlement holds LPS accountable for its unlawful actions and will provide added resources to Illinois' county recorders to enhance their efforts in maintaining accurate public records."
Under the terms of the settlement, LPS paid $3,364,326 to Illinois, which Madigan will completely distribute to Illinois' 102 county recorder offices.
The settlement and subsequent distribution of funding is part of Madigan's effort to address the misconduct that contributed to the financial crisis and provide assistance to Illinois families trying to save their homes.