2 Stories

almost three years apart about the same Ohio Democrat congresswoman, Marcy Kaptur, can be found here and here.

Remember back a year or so ago when there was a kerfluffle about Robo-signing

In the fall of 2010, major U.S. lenders such as JP Morgan Chase, Ally Financial f/k/a GMAC, and Bank of America suspended judicial and non-judicial foreclosures across the United States over the potentially fraudulent practice of robo-signing, a practice first identified and reported in a 1999 white paper by Nye Lavalle titled “21st Century Loan Sharks.”  However, the term robo-signer was first coined by attorney Matthew Weidner of Florida.

In an October 21, 2010 Wall Street Journal Article titled “Niche Lawyers Spawned Housing Fracas” the Journal reports that foreclosure lawyer/advocates, Thomas Ice and Matthew Weidner, were discussing the deposition testimony of employees of mortgage employees. “Tom and I were talking, and it was, ‘Jesus, they’re like robots!'” Mr. Weidner says. Mr. Weidner, a blogger, on January 8, 2010 wrote a blog post with an appellation for the routine signers. “We know from depositions taken of these ‘robo signers,'” he wrote, “that they don’t even read the documents placed in front of them and the notaries and witnesses that are supposed to watch them as they sign are not present.” This conclusion paralleled Lavalle’s findings a decade earlier.

The terms robo-signing and robo-signers then gained wider exposure by other mortgage fraud activists Michael Redman and Lisa Epstein via their blogs. Robo-signing is a term used by consumer advocates to describe the robotic process of the mass production of false and forged execution of mortgage assignments, satisfactions, affidavits and other legal documents related to mortgage foreclosures and legal matters being created by persons without knowledge of the facts being attested to. It also includes accusations of notary fraud wherein the notaries pre and/or post notarize the affidavits and signatures of so-called robo-signers.

Well, Representative Kaptur is back with the following message

She told them to stay in their homes and get legal help. If they couldn’t afford an attorney, call legal aid. If they still had problems finding an attorney, call her office and we would help them find help.

Rep Kaptur can be reached here on-line.  And via telephone at (202) 225-4146 in DC and (800) 964-4699 in her district.