Concerns Over Deutsche's Dubious Documents, Foreclosure Process Spur U.S. Trustee Probe In Connecticut Homeowner's Bankruptcy Case

Reuters reports:

• A branch of the U.S. Department of Justice is investigating whether Deutsche Bank filed false documents and attempted to mislead a bankruptcy judge in a foreclosure action. Although the investigation involves the case of only one homeowner in Connecticut, a court document filed on January 26 by the United States Trustee's Office said it wants to elicit information about Deutsche Bank's practices in general in foreclosure cases.(1)

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• In recent months, the office has stepped up efforts around the United States to block banks and law firms from using false or fabricated documents in home foreclosure actions. The effort follows disclosures in October 2010 of large-scale "robo-signing", the mass signing of foreclosure affidavits containing "facts" that had never been checked, and wide production of false mortgage assignments.

• The January 26 court motion stated that "The United States Trustee has reviewed the documents filed by Deutsche in this case and has concerns about the integrity of those documents and the process utilized by Deutsche in" filing to foreclose.(2)

For more, see U.S. investigates Deutsche Bank in foreclosure case.

(1) According to Reuters, the inquiry involves Deutsche Bank National Trust Co, the Deutsche Bank unit that acts as trustee for thousands of trusts that invested in mortgage-backed securities. The U.S. Trustees' Office is a division of the Department of Justice responsible for overseeing administration of bankruptcy cases.

(2) The U.S. Trustee cited evidence that Deutsche had filed a false mortgage assignment in the case in an attempt to persuade the bankruptcy court that it owns the mortgage, the story states.

Dated June 11, 2010, the assignment was by Sand Canyon Corp. to Deutsche. Sand Canyon purportedly had acted as an intermediary between the loan originator, MAC, and Deutsche. But the motion noted that Sand Canyon had completely exited the mortgage business in 2008, and so in 2010 had no mortgages that it could assign, the story states.