Mortgage foreclosure paperwork evidences fraudulent or careless practice by banks and their agents

Today the New York Times reported on a series of problems in bank foreclosure paperwork.  The problems underlie announcements by Wells Fargo, GMAC, JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America that they are halting foreclosure actions in many states.  Among the problems detailed by the Times:  notarization of documents before the documents were even prepared; apparently fraudulent signatures; notarizations attested so far from the location where documents were signed that the notarization appears false; and testimony by bank employees that they did not actually verify information (such as the balance owed) which they were theoretically required to affirm under oath.

One Circuit in Florida conducted a search of foreclosure cases and found that twenty percent of cases set for summary judgment involved deficient documents.  Attorney generals in at least six states are investigating improper foreclosure practices.  A GMAC mortgage employee apparently testified that he attested to the loan information on 400 properties per day--obviously without independently confirming the information he was "attesting" to the Court.  A Wells Fargo employee admitted he was passing on the accuracy of 50 to 150 mortgages daily--without indendently confirming the information to which he was attesting.  In a pair of New York cases, investigators are examining claims that Deutsche Bank and Morgan Chase had attempted to enforce mortgages which belonged to another bank and had never been properly assigned to the bank seeking foreclosure, exposing the property owner/debtors to multiple deficiency claims and legal expenses.