Schuette
LANSING, Mich. (Legal Newsline) - Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette announced on Wednesday that he has issued criminal investigative subpoenas against several national mortgage servicing support providers.
DocX allegedly filed the questionable mortgage documentation with Michigan's Register of Deeds offices during the current foreclosure crisis. The subpoenas come as an expansion of a look into questionable mortgage documentation.
Schuette's filed criminal investigative subpoenas against DocX, which provides mortgage support services -- including creating, processing or recording mortgage assignments or other mortgage documentation. Investigative subpoenas were also filed against Lender Processing Services Inc., Fidelity National Financial Inc., and CT Corporation System, which are all affiliated with DocX.
Under the Code of Criminal Procedure (MCL 767A.2(2)), the attorney general is empowered to pursue criminal investigative subpoenas.
Schuette requested documents regarding the companies' operations in regards to foreclosure and/or bankruptcy-related document processing. The information must be provided on or before June 30.
"Allegations of forged mortgage documents are very serious and require a thorough investigation," Schuette said. "I will continue to work closely with federal and local authorities to find answers on behalf of Michigan homeowners."
Schuette began his crackdown in April following reports from county officials statewide that they suspected Assignment of Mortgage documents filed in their offices may have been fogged.
The name "Linda Green" was signed to thousands of mortgage-related documents nationwide, a recent "60 Minutes" broadcast reported, but different handwriting was used for the signatures. A review by Michigan county officials found similar documents that raised questions about the documents' authenticity.
Schuette's actions are seeking to determine if certain mortgage processing companies allowed this purported robosigning of legal documents filed in connection with Michigan foreclosures. Robosigning, in addition to falsifying signatures, may also be involved in individuals signing affidavits to signify that mortgage documentation was properly prepared without every conducting a proper review of the documents.
Michigan is a non-judicial foreclosure state, but Schuette is reviewing if robosigned documents may haven been filed with courts in limited cases.