Posted by Stoli on 8/16/12 11:22am
Msg #430688

The punishment isn't equal to the crime..

Settlement Reached In LPS Fraud Case, Company Founder Still Under Investigation
August 16, 2012

Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster has announced the settlement of criminal proceedings against mortgage servicing company DOCX, in an agreement forged with its parent company Lender Processing Services. Both companies, along with the DOCX founder and company president, were indicted for their alleged role in the foreclosure and robo-signing scandals in 2010.

The indictments against DOCX and the company’s founder and former president Lorraine Brown were for forgery and for making false declarations related to the mortgage documents processed by the Missouri DOCX offices. Company executives were accused of directing employees to falsely sign mortgage documents without proper authorization, and for having had the forged signatures falsely notarized and filed in Missouri courthouses.

“The monetary disgorgement and the agreement we have reached in this criminal case with DOCX should remind all mortgage-services processers that our system of titling real property will be held to a standard of accuracy and truth expected by homeowners across the country,” said Koster, in a recent statement.
According to the settlement, LPS will pay $2 million to the state of Missouri — including the cost of the investigation to the state — and the company has agreed to cooperate in the ongoing criminal investigation. Under federal consent order, LPS will also be required to conduct quarterly compliance reports and allow independent consultants to review mortgage documents serviced between 2008 through the end of 2010.

This case, along with a class-action lawsuit filed in Nevada, continue to draw national attention in the wake of the “robo-signing” scandal, and many states are responding to the ongoing crisis by enacting tougher laws and enforcement policies against those who commit or have committed mortgage-related fraud or misconduct.

More information on this issue can be found in the NNA’s archived risk mitigation webinar “Lessons Notary Employers Can Learn From the National Mortgage Settlement.”

http://www.nationalnotary.org/bulletin/bulletin_articles/settlement_in_lps_fraud_case.html?&WT.mc_id=3472&referID=A47902&utm_source=BULETN&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=A47902

Reply by JanetK_CA on 8/16/12 12:01pm
Msg #430698

The magic words, imo, are "ongoing criminal investigation..." That $2MM fine is probably the equivalent to a slap on the wrist.

Reply by GOLDGIRL/CA on 8/16/12 1:41pm
Msg #430706

The $2 million fine will probably come out of the notaries' hides... as if LPS could go any lower with their fees (I hear).

Anyway, this proves what we have known all along.... that gov't goes easy on Big Bad Business because, as we all know, the business of America is business. LPS is a big business that employs thousands of people, pays taxes, keeps the wheels turning in the mortgage servicing sector. No point shutting them down or punishing them too severely for their lying, cheating, horrendous behavior or doing anything that would hinder their march to profitability. Reminds me of John Garamendi when he was insurance commissioner in CA. He would occasionally come down on various TCs (FATCO comes to mind) fine them millions of dollars for outrageous insurance violations, which woud barely make a dent in their bottom line, and they'd be back in business the next day, no harm done. Same here with LPS, apparently.

Reply by C. Rivera Chicago Notary Services on 8/16/12 2:11pm
Msg #430710

well, I know this is the wrong forum for my comment, BUT, if there's a change in guard in WA, then it'll back to big business on Wall street as usual...no more making scum bag companies like these financially accountable...we (taxpayers) we'll def be paying for their greed!

OH, and HELLO EVERYBODY! :O