Florida Foreclosure Document Sweatshop's Campaign Cash To New State AG May Explain Recent Firings Of Duo Heading Up Major Fraud Probe

In Tampa, Florida, a recent story by University of South Florida's WUSF Radio contains the following tidbit addressing a possible reason for the firing of foreclosure fraud investigators Theresa Edwards and her friend and colleague, June Clarkson:

• Edwards says there’s another possible explanation. “I don’t really know, but I think there was political pressure to cause this to happen,” she said.



• She declined to say more than that, but others point to Lender Processing Services. They’re a Jacksonville-based company Edwards and Clarkson were investigating.



• If you look at campaign contributions to Bondi, a certain address comes up a lot: 601 Riverside Avenue in Jacksonville. It’s the home of Lender Processing Services, its subsidiaries, and the company it recently spun off from, Fidelity National Financial.



• Altogether, those companies gave $6,500 to Bondi’s campaign directly. They also gave $78,000 to the Republican Party of Florida – which was itself a major funder of Bondi’s campaign.



• Finally, Lender Processing Services recently hired a new senior vice president for government affairs – Joe Jacquot, who until recently was an assistant attorney general for Bondi.



• Lender Processing Services did not respond to a request for an interview. Jacquot told the Sarasota Herald-Tribune that he has “no particular insight” into the investigation against Lender Processing Services.

For the story, see Bondi: Poor Performance, not Politics Led to Ouster of Robo-signing Investigators.