Revenue For S. Florida Assembly Line Foreclosure Mill Skyrockets To $260M As Media Shines Light On Alleged Sloppy, Fraudulent Document Manufacturing

The Tampa Tribune reports:

• The housing crisis has been very good for Florida's biggest processor of foreclosure lawsuits: Its revenues have skyrocketed to $260 million since the housing bust began. In recent years, the Law Offices of David J. Stern, a Broward County-based foreclosure law firm, has become the largest filer of foreclosure suits in Florida. It also is the biggest filer in Hillsborough County, according to local court records.

• Stern has taken an unusual step by separating his firm's lawyers from its back-office clerks, title insurance workers and other non-legal staff. Stern spun this back-office staff into a publicly traded company called DJSP Enterprises, which must file financial reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission.(1)

***

• Dubbed "foreclosure mills," these firms are known for a factory-like process where most of the legwork of filing lawsuits, researching titles and other duties are handled by clerks and paralegals rather than lawyers. Some judges around Florida have criticized foreclosure mills for sloppy legal work and cutting corners.

• Last week, the Wall Street Journal wrote [see Judge Bashes Bank in Foreclosure Case] about Lynn Tepper, a circuit court judge in Pasco County who accused the Law Offices of David J. Stern and a banking client of submitting a fraudulent document. According to the article, the judge found Stern's office presented a mortgage document with a falsified notary stamp. In an interview with the Tribune Monday, Tepper said it appeared the document had been backdated in order to give a bank legal standing to foreclose on a home.

For more, see Foreclosure firm's revenues jump to $260 million.

(1) In a related story, DJSP Enterprises has signed an agreement to acquire Timios, a national title insurance and settlement services company. Headquartered in Westlake Village, California, Timios is a licensed title insurance and escrow agent operating in 38 States. See Insurance Business Review: DJSP Enterprises Acquires Timios., and DJSP Enterprises, Inc. to Handle Processing for National Foreclosure Alternative Program for Leading Mortgage Lender.