Deposition: S. Fla. F'closure Mill Duped Fannie, Freddie During Visits When Conducting On-Site File Inspections; Possible Sewer Service Also A Conern

A recent story in the Jacksonville Business Journal highlights one part of a recent deposition given by Kelly Scott, a former employee with South Florida foreclosure mill, Law Office of David J. Stern, in the following excerpt:

• Scott said Stern would get tipped off that Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae were coming to visit. “If certain files weren’t updated correctly and there was lack of process, they would change the client code in the file,” she said.

• “If it was Countrywide, they would change it into a different client name with a sticker and print it out, and then these files were transferred into a room where they would hide them and keep them behind closed doors until the client would leave.”

• When Freddie Mac officials would leave the office, the staff would change the file codes back again, Scott said. She said she personally did this on five or six occasions, involving more than 500 files.

• Scott said Stern would take care of the expense of bringing clients to the office: hotel, food, rental cars — “whatever the client needed.”

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• Scott said some managers would look the other way when process servers billed for service on three or more people at one address, even though the case involved only one person.

• If they found files without the proper notice of service documents, they gave them to office manager Cheryl Samons, and the files would reflect the proper paperwork within an hour or two, Scott said.

For the story, see South Florida law firm at center of foreclosure investigation.

Go here for the Deposition of Kelly Scott.