Media Coverage On Alleged Fraudulent Court Filings By Florida Foreclosure Mills Continues

In Central Florida, the Bradenton Herald Tribune recently weighed in with their report on the ongoing probe by the Florida Attorney General's office into what it says "appears to be [the] fabricating and/or presenting false and misleading documents in foreclosure cases."

• Foreclosure defense attorneys who have long complained about false documents in Florida foreclosure cases said judges should pursue claims of possible wrongdoing. "You see all these documents time and time again which on their face are not possible," Tampa attorney Matthew Weidner said. "The judges cannot just ignore this. They cannot ignore blatant fraud in front of their faces." The Attorney General's office opened its investigation into Florida Default in October, but it only became public after the target of the investigation was told about it.

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• Twelfth Judicial Circuit Chief Judge Lee Haworth said news of the investigation could prompt judges in Sarasota and Manatee counties to look more closely at filings. But Haworth said the judges do not have the ability to check documents as thoroughly as they would like.(1) "I would be very skeptical they're the only ones," Haworth said of the Florida Default Law Group investigation. "Our anecdotal experience are it's pretty widespread."

For the story, see Paperwork puts foreclosure firm in hot seat (Group suspected of falsifying records to retake homes).

(1) It appears that, at this point, the national and local media coverage on this issue has placed the entire State of Florida on notice of this problem. I wonder how long it will take for Judge Haworth (and other chief judges of the lower courts throughout Florida) to recognize that they really have no choice but to thoroughly scrutinize the court filings by any attorney filing a foreclosure action. Anything less would appear to demonstrate a reckless indifference for the truth on the part of the judiciary, to put it nicely.