Florida Foreclosure Mills Under Investigation

August 15, 2010
In a bombshell announcement earlier this week, Florida Attorney General Bill McCollums office announced that they have begun investigations into at least several of the largest foreclosure law offices in the state for allegedly submitting false required documents to the courts in order to speed up foreclosures. The law firms, known more appropriately as "foreclosure mills" which have been served with subpoenas are accused of widespread falsification of documents and fraudulent unfair and deceptive trade practices. These firms represent many of the largest lenders in the country and file thousands of foreclosures actions every month. Some have indicated that the unlawful practices are even nationwide.

Under investigation are:
- Law Offices of Marshall C. Watson, P.A.
- Shapiro & Shipman, LLP
- Law Offices of David J. Stern, P.A.
- Florida Default Law Group

Many mortgage loans are bought and sold over and over in "credit swaps". The original or executed notes and assignments must accompany the foreclosure filing in order to obtain a "Final Judgement" by the courts which is basically a foreclosure. The apparent inside joke has been that these documents may never be found at all and fraudulent documents are created in order to accomplish or just speed up the process. The foreclosing lenders and their representatives typically will manufacture whatever may be required knowing that most borrowers have no representation and will never contest the action. A foreclosure can be stopped or delayed by a judge until the proper documentation is produced. Some judges have dismissed foreclosure actions because of false or questionable documentation by the attorneys filing the foreclosure. Widespread reports by attorneys representing borrowers and the courts have finally moved the Attorney General to open an investigation.

Based on the broad scope and the overwhelming evidence of fake documents being submitted, judges should now have no confidence in any of the documents presented to them by these foreclosure mills. Furthermore, in my opinion, this exhausting race to foreclosure should slow to a point where borrowers are actually allowed a legitimate opportunity to accomplish a short sale or some other type of foreclosure alternative.