Citigroup Stops Using Foreclosure Law Firm Facing Florida Probe
Citigroup Inc. said it stopped steering foreclosure work to a Florida law firm whose court filings to support home seizures are under investigation by the state’s attorney general.
The bank, which is proceeding with seizures as some rivals stop to recheck documents, had used the Law Offices of David J. Stern PA. Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum said Aug. 10 it is examining whether Stern and two other firms filed “improper documentation” with the state’s courts to speed proceedings.
“Pending the outcome of the AG’s investigation, Citi is not referring new matters to this firm,” the New York-based bank said in an e-mailed statement. Citigroup services loans for government-sponsored entities, such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Stern “was approved by the GSEs during the time in which it was retained by Citi,” the bank said.
Lawmakers, attorneys general and consumer groups have pressed mortgage firms to follow Bank of America Corp., the biggest U.S. lender, which last week suspended all foreclosures to check whether faulty documents were used to confiscate homes. JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Ally Financial Inc.’s GMAC Mortgage unit froze seizures or evictions in Florida and 22 other states. Citigroup said last week it doesn’t plan to join them.
McCollum’s office “hasn’t made any charges or allegations of fault,” said Jeffrey Tew, an outside attorney for Plantation, Florida-based Stern, who declined to discuss its work for Citigroup. “I believe they’re a client. I can’t go into any details.”
‘Strong Training’
Citigroup, the third-largest U.S. bank by assets, said in an e-mailed statement Oct. 8 that it provides “strong training” for its employees and periodically reviews document- handling procedures within the company’s foreclosure group.
“At this point, we have no reason to believe our employees haven’t been following our procedures, so we do not believe a suspension is necessary,” it said.
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How can some one find out prior to discovery which of these fraud factories is working with foreclosure mills in VA, MD and DC.
In VA the foreclosure lawyers, even today after we know that ‘ALL” mortgages that were and that had been securitized at some time have defective titles, do not have perfected liens, and are a total fraud, are still walking into court rooms with fake documents, fake signatures, etc.
The judges seem to still believe that the statutes allow them to foreclose and that you do not even need a note original or other wise, the only thing you need is to recreate a deed of trust assignment and there you go, you are out of your home.
The lawyers here in Northern Virginia have tried everything but throwing the kitchen sink and these people are still walking in with clearly fabricated documents, notary seals, etc. The judges only concern is that some where there is creditor who is owed some money and they rather give a free house to some one else than to allow the borrower and real homeowner with serious skin in the game a chance to plead his case.
After the news about the ROBO signers came out, and for which I had sat down with a Washington Post reporter almost three years ago and they thought I was a nut case ( I gave her evidence, names, cases, everything). Now all of these news papers are reporting the news but with an unfortunate tilt. they still refer to those who have not made payments either dead beats or borrowers in default and in violation of the SANCTITY of the contract. This is unfortunate and bias. The fact as we now know it is that the parties foreclosing do not won crap. That the loans are a fraud and that the information, the facts are being lost in the translation. I cannot say if it is a coordinated effort or if it is just the way we have been slowly programmed to believe. But I we do not fight out way out this, they banksters will finish burying this in no time at all. The title insurance companies are doing business as usual, they are selling their title insurance policies adding certain verbiage that is not being properly explained or disclosed to those still fool enough to buy real estate now days. Realtors are telling the buyer that there is no problem that the title insurance will cover for any title defect, the title agent is not disclosing the full extent of the coverage of the policy and to explain the consequences of purchasing this newly designed policy will be disastrous.
no one is talking about this, all the culprits want people to go back to the mindset of business as usual. Taking some one’s home with a technicality is no longer going to be as relevant, since the matrix of opinion is that if we stop foreclosures the economy is going to somehow collapse. Who is perpetuating this idiocy?, we will have to look nu further than the thieves and their procuring minions. the Real Estate agents and organizations, the mortgage brokers that still survive and that are not yet involved in the other big scam “loan Modifications’ with 95 failure rate, the Mortgage Bankers, foreclosure mill attorneys, wall street firms and their economists, the rating firms and all the media , local, regional and national that see the banker ad investments at risk in their advertising allotments, remember local news papers win big money publishing your foreclosure ads.
So it is our duty to keep fighting regardless of whether we are still in our homes or if we have been foreclose, the moment we stop fighting another American family falls pray to this criminal enterprise.
We are not dead beats, we were swindled into a transaction where all the details were not properly disclosed and material factual information was concealed.
This is fraud, this is criminal.
I want justice served.
HOW DO THESE PEOPLE SLEEP, DON”T THEY KNOW THAT GOD IS WATCHING THEM AND HE IS JUDGING THEM AND JUSTICE WILL BE SERVED…KARMA..FOR THEIR GENERATIONS OF THE FAMILIES TO COME PEOPLE DON’T THINK GREED IS INDEED A CRIME THAT IS PAID IN BLOOD YOU TAKE FROM ONE FAMILY IT COMES BACK FROM YOURS????
Was approved by Fannie & Freddie?
As in past tense?
Plagiarizing one of the greatest comments ever left here before, “Su ass es me ass,” Stern.