S. Florida Attorney Probed For Allegations Of Forging Judges' Signatures; Once Linked To Now-Shuttered Loan Modification Outfit Also Under Microscope

In South Florida, The Miami Herald reports:

• State authorities are investigating allegations that a Coral Springs lawyer forged the signatures of Broward County judges while working with a disgraced foreclosure assistance company, court documents show.

• The lawyer, Frank J. Ingrassia, worked with Outreach Housing,(1) which is accused of siphoning more than $2 million from desperate homeowners, according to a search warrant filed in Miami-Dade court this month. The probe is being spearheaded by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Also investigating is the Florida Attorney General's Office and the Office of Financial Regulation, which last year sued the company and its officers. Ingrassia, a former Florida assistant attorney general, did not return calls for comment. He has not been charged.

***

• [T]he lawyer made headlines in June 2008 when he filed dozens of lawsuits against financial lenders alleging they fraudulently inflated the incomes of borrowers so that they could qualify for loans. Ingrassia worked for Affirmative Defense Group, which was refered most of its cases by Outreach, a now-shuttered Margate company that purportedly assisted homeowners facing foreclosures in getting legal settlements with lenders.

• State authorities allege the company induced 961 people to fork over their mortgage payments. The "illegal revenue'' amounted to more than $2 million, and employees were paid from the money that was supposed to be held until homeowners settled with lenders, the warrant said.

• The companies did virtually nothing to help clients stave off foreclosure, FDLE said in the warrant. Agents raided Ingrassia's Coral Springs office in July "due to allegations that Ingrassia forged the signatures of some 17th Judicial Circuit [Broward County] judges.'' He is under investigation for forgery.

• Agents are also looking into the practices of Outreach and its founder, Blair Wright. Wright, in an interview Wednesday, insisted his company was legitimately trying to help homeowners reach foreclosure settlements with lenders. He says lawyers such as Ingrassia and Kirsten Franklin -- both of whom he is suing in Miami-Dade court -- mismanaged the cases, ignored clients and pilfered hundreds of thousands of dollars.

***

• The Florida Supreme Court, in January, ordered Franklin barred from practicing law for three years because she abandoned hundreds of clients and allowed Wright to unduly influence her. The state's lawsuits against Ingrassia, Franklin and Wright are still ongoing.

For the story, see Foreclosure lawyer accused of forgery (A Coral Springs lawyer who worked for a troubled foreclosure rescue company is facing a criminal probe for allegedly forging court documents).

(1) Go here for earlier posts on now-shuttered loan modification outfit Outreach Housing.