Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Virginia F'closure Defense Advocates Take Issue With Bogus F'closure Docs As Dubious 'App'ts of Substitute Trustee' Begin Popping Up Throughout State

In Richmond, Virginia, Public News Service reports:

  • The tale of bogus Virginia bank documents used to kick people out of their homes after foreclosure reads like a mystery novel, with a very unhappy ending. The document in question in Virginia is called an Appointment of Substitute Trustee.
  • Tom Domonoske with the Virginia-based Legal Aid Justice Center(1) says documents are surfacing that have clearly been "robo-signed" at a document mill that churned out thousands of bogus signatures. These helped "foreclosure mill" attorneys process the paper in assembly-line fashion, without asking a lot of questions.
  • "It means that their home was never foreclosed on, and the person who bought at the foreclosure auction didn't actually buy anything."
  • A video investigation of the document fraud by "60 Minutes" is [available here].

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  • In some cases, Domonoske adds, the people signing these documents as "bank vice presidents" were working for a signature mill at $10 an hour, signing hundreds a day.

For more, see How Many VA Foreclosures...are Frauds?

(1) The Legal Aid Justice Center provides legal representation for low-income individuals throughout Virginia. Legal Aid Justice Center's staff of 40 work from offices in Charlottesville, Falls Church, Petersburg and Richmond.

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