Robosigner Johnson-Seck Featured Prominently In Recent "Schack" Ruling

A recent ruling by Kings County, New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Schack in a Brooklyn foreclosure action prominently features the notorious, prolific robosigner Erica Johnson-Seck and her now-widely circulated deposition given in a separate Palm Beach County, Florida foreclosure case.

The short version of the story here is set forth in the following excerpt from Justice Schack's recent court ruling:

• [T]he Court requires an affidavit from Erica A. Johnson-Seck, a conflicted "robo-signer," explaining her employment status. A "robo-signer" is a person who quickly signs hundreds or thousands of foreclosure documents in a month, despite swearing that he or she has personally reviewed the mortgage documents and has not done so.

• Ms. Johnson-Seck, in a July 9, 2010 deposition taken in a Palm Beach County, Florida foreclosure case,(1) admitted that she:
  
  is a "robo-signer" who executes about 750 mortgage documents a week, without a notary public present;
  
  does not spend more than 30 seconds signing each document;
  
  does not read the documents before signing them; and,
  
  did not provide me with affidavits about her employment in two prior cases. (See Stephanie Armour, "Mistakes Widespread on Foreclosures, Lawyers Say," USA Today, Sept. 27, 2010; Ariana Eunjung Cha, "OneWest Bank Employee: Not More Than 30 Seconds' to Sign Each Foreclosure Document," Washington Post, Sept. 30, 2010).

• In the instant action, Ms. Johnson-Seck claims to be: a Vice President of MERS in the March 16, 2009 MERS to INDYMAC assignment; a Vice President of INDYMAC in the May 14, 2009 INDYMAC to ONEWEST assignment; and, a Vice President of ONEWEST in her June 30, 2009-affidavit of merit. Ms. Johnson-Seck must explain to the Court, in her affidavit: her employment history for the past three years; and, why a conflict of interest does not exist in the instant action with her acting as a Vice President of assignor MERS, a Vice President of assignee/assignor INDYMAC, and a Vice President of assignee/plaintiff ONEWEST.

• Further, Ms. Johnson-Seck must explain: why she was a Vice President of both assignor MERS and assignee DEUTSCHE BANK in a second case before me, Deutsche Bank v Maraj, 18 Misc 3d 1123 (A) (Sup Ct, Kings County 2008); why she was a Vice President of both assignor MERS and assignee INDYMAC in a third case before me, Indymac Bank, FSB, v Bethley, 22 Misc 3d 1119 (A) (Sup Ct, Kings County 2009); and, why she executed an affidavit of merit as a Vice President of DEUTSCHE BANK in a fourth case before me, Deutsche Bank v Harris (Sup Ct, Kings County, Feb. 5, 2008, Index No. 35549/07).

For the long version of the story, see Onewest Bank, F.S.B. v Drayton, 2010 NY Slip Op 20429 (NY Sup. Ct. Kings County, October 21, 2010).

Go here for:

• transcript of Seck's deposition in the above-referenced Palm Beach County, Florida foreclosure case,
• here for a Motion For Sanction Of Dismissal With Prejudice filed in the above-referenced Palm Beach County, Florida foreclosure case,
• here for links to other posts on Erica Johnson-Seck,

all available online courtesy of 4closureFraud.org.

(1) With respect to the deposition in the Palm Beach County foreclosure action, Justice Schack points out in his ruling:

• On July 9, 2010, nine days after executing the affidavit of merit in the instant action, Ms. Johnson-Seck was deposed in a Florida foreclosure action, Indymac Federal Bank, FSB, v Machado (Fifteenth Circuit Court in and for Palm Beach County, Florida, Case No. 50 2008 CA 037322XXXX MB AW), by defendant Machado's counsel, Thomas E. Ice, Esq.

• Ms. Johnson-Seck admitted to being a "robo-signer," executing sworn documents outside the presence of a notary public, not reading the documents before signing them and not complying with my prior orders in the Maraj and Bethley decisions.

• Ms. Johnson-Seck admitted in her Machado deposition testimony that she was not employed by INDYMAC on May 14, 2009, the day she assigned the subject mortgage and note to ONEWEST, even though she stated in the May 14, 2009 assignment that she was a Vice President of INDYMAC. According to her testimony she was employed on May 14, 2010 by assignee ONEWEST. The following questions were asked and then answered by Ms. Johnson Seck, at p. 4, line 11 - p. 5, line 4: [...]

***

• [P]laintiff ONEWEST must address the tangled employment situation of "robo-signer" Erica A. Johnson-Seck. She admitted in her July 9, 2010 deposition in the Machado case that she never provided me with affidavits of her employment for the prior three years and an explanation of why she wore so-many corporate hats in Maraj and Bethley. Further, in Deutsche Bank v Harris, Ms. Johnson-Seck executed an affidavit of merit as Vice President of Deutsche Bank. If plaintiff renews its motion for an order of reference, the Court must get to the bottom of Ms. Johnson-Seck's employment status and her "robo-signing." The Court reminds plaintiff ONEWEST's counsel that Ms. Johnson-Seck, at p. 161 of the Machado deposition, volunteered, at lines 4 - 5 to "gladly show up in his court and provide him everything he wants."