Real Estate Fraud Charges Cost Florida Law Firm $2 Million
Image via Wikipedia
Florida has a long history with expensive real estate. Even property located inland can be quite pricey, much less that found along the state’s massive amount of coastline. All that cost equates to a huge potential for foreclosures with the real estate industry in shambles. Florida actually has one of the highest rates of foreclosure in the nation. However, it seems that at least one law firm handled those foreclosures improperly, and now is being forced to pay $2 million in penalties.
The firm handled cases for several different banks, all of which have come under scrutiny recently for signing the forms without actually investigating the foreclosure cases, as mandated. Some documents were even notarized improperly. In the case of the Florida law firm (Marshall C. Watson), homeowners found that their forms were signed robotically, and that some forms were even forged outright. Some even did not have their foreclosure notices served correctly.
The ongoing scandal has touched far more than just Florida, though, and this law firm will not be the only one forced to pony up funds for penalties on these cases. Many major banks (like Chase, Wells Fargo and others) have been implicated, and the crisis actually spans the entire nation. Federal litigation is in process, though most banks have reached a settlement agreement, in which they express no guilt, but do offer some recompense and security for homeowners and potential buyers.
The most direct result of the fiasco is that buyers have had their confidence in banks shaken yet again. This is not good news, and the good done by the settlement is questionable in the face of how these banks have handled the entire situation.
