Notorious S. Florida Foreclosure Mill Gives Hundreds Of Employees The Boot As Storm Clouds Continue To Darken Over Alleged Robosigning Racket

In Plantation, Florida, The Miami Herald reports:

• The Law Offices of David J. Stern laid off hundreds of employees on Thursday, the latest sign that a state investigation, the loss of major clients amid scandal and the incriminating testimonies of former employees are bringing the foreclosure-processing giant to its knees.

• Jeffrey Tew, a lawyer for the firm, confirmed the layoffs Thursday. [...] Tew would not say how many employees were let go on Thursday, but said the firm has shrunk to about 400 employees, a decrease of about 50 percent in the past 10 days. Earlier this year, the firm had more than 1,100 employees. An e-mail memo sent out Thursday morning advised the employees of the layoffs.

• On Thursday afternoon, an employee for a document management and shredding company was unloading hundreds of empty boxes from a truck and carting them into the office complex at 900 S. Pine Island Dr. in Plantation, where Stern's firm occupies four floors.

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• On Monday, the stock price for DJSP [Enterprises, the public spinoff firm handling foreclosure document processing launched last year by Stern] closed below $1 for the first time. It had been trading at $13.65 in April. It closed at 77 cents on Thursday.(1)

For more, see Foreclosure law firm cuts staff (Hundreds of employees were laid off at the Law Offices of David J. Stern on Thursday, as the embattled company struggles amid the foreclosure document scandal).

See also, South Florida Sun Sentinel: Mass layoffs at Stern as foreclosure law firm loses top clients (Plantation attorney eliminates 560 jobs —70 percent of staff — citing 'recent turbulence in the mortgage industry').

(1) According to this story, a Chinese-American investment banking firm named Chardan Capital acquired a controlling interest in what is now a DJSP subsidiary on Jan. 15 for $64.8 million in cash and the assumption by the subsidiary of about $3.4 million in DJSP expenses.