More On Central Florida Foreclosure Mill Operation

In Fort Lauderdale, Florida, The National Law Journal recently ran a story on the state attorney general's investigation into Tampa-based Florida Default Law Group, one of the nation's largest foreclosure mill law firm operators over allegations it "appears to be fabricating and/or presenting false and misleading documents in foreclosure cases," according to the AG's Economic Crimes Division in Fort Lauderdale, which is leading the investigation. A couple of tidbits from the story:

• Florida Default has paid for improper filings. In October 2008, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge John Olson fined Florida Default $95,130 for "repeated misrepresentations" to the court. The firm had submitted documents claiming that Fort Lauderdale homeowner Fazlul Haque owed his lender, Wells Fargo, $2,114 in prepayment penalties even though the mortgage, while in arrears, was still on its books. Olson realized the fee was illegal since Haque had yet to pay off the delinquent loan. "The notion that the debtor paid off his loan in full to the creditor is absurd," Olson wrote. "It is utterly perplexing to me how the creditor or its law firm could or did assert such claim." In a recent interview with the Daily Business Review, Olson attributed the misrepresentations to "sloppiness" by the foreclosure firm rather than fraud.

• In 2004, the Florida Bar reprimanded Florida Default president [Michael J.] Echevarria [see Conditional Guilty Plea For Consent Judgment] for not properly supervising lawyers at his prior firm, Echevarria & Associates, according to the Florida Bar. Among the issues in the case, a lawyer at his firm notarized foreclosure-related documents without reviewing the foreclosure files despite signing affidavits affirming he had done so.

For the story, see Law Firm Probed Over 'False' Documents Filed in Foreclosure Cases (Fla. AG's office has received dozens of homeowner complaints about questionable court documents filed by firm's lawyers, according to a source).