Central Fla. Multiple Corporate Hat-Wearing Vice President Back In News; Gets Hand Slap For Use Of Shortened Signature When Acting As "Robo-Notary"

In Central Florida, the St. Petersburg Times reports:

• To thousands of homeowners whose loans have been shuttled from one company to another, the name "Bryan Bly'' is very familiar. Over the past few years, Bly has signed countless mortgage assignments as either a notary public or "vice president'' of various lenders.

• In reality, Bly works for Nationwide Title Clearing, a Palm Harbor company. And he was recently reprimanded by state regulators after acknowledging in a sworn statement that Nationwide Title had him notarizing so many documents that he scribbled his initial instead of signing his full name as required by law.(1)

• Such a pace, critics say, shows that Bly and other so-called "robo signers'' can't possibly be sure that what they're signing is accurate. "Our entire system of real estate is founded upon the ability of courts to believe in the documents before them,'' says Matthew Weidner, a St. Petersburg lawyer who has a blog on foreclosure issues. "What this (Bly's statement) describes is assembly-line document production with no concern for the facts in front of them.''

• Bly's name has become well known in the foreclosure defense field since the St. Petersburg Times reported last year(2) that he and Crystal Moore signed thousands of mortgage assignments as officers of Option One and other lenders even though both work for Nationwide Title.

For more, see When 'Bryan J. Bly' became 'NB,' did he know what he was signing?

(1) According to the story, Florida law says: "Once commissioned, the notary must sign precisely as commissioned by the state of Florida, in the exact name appearing on your notarial commission certificate.'' Reportedly, Bly was unaware that use of an abbreviated signature when acting as a notary was in violation of the law. This year, the governor's office notified Bly that it had put a "formal reprimand'' in his file that would be reviewed "if other complaints are filed against you for notary misconduct'', the story states.

(2) See St. Petersburg Times: Tampa Bay companies help lenders transfer home loans, foreclose:

• Despite the turmoil in the lending industry, Bryan Bly seems to have no trouble finding a job. On Aug. 3, 2007, Bly signed a document as vice president of Option One Mortgage. On Feb. 13, 2009, Bly signed a document as vice president of Deutsche Bank. And on Feb. 18, 2009, Bly initialed dozens of documents — this time as vice president of Citi Residential Lending.