Alleged Robosigner/Process Server Says Signature Was Forged On F'closure Docs, Employer "Screamed" At Her For Slow Service; Outfit Probed By State AG

In West Palm Beach, Florida, The Palm Beach Post reports:

• West Palm Beach resident Liz Mills learned she was a robo-signer when a friend suggested she search her own name online. On foreclosure blogs and in at least one newspaper article, the 51-year-old process server was singled out for the numerous and varying styles of her signatures on summons paperwork used to prove her efforts in locating home­owners in foreclosure.
• Now Mills is coming forward in affidavits filed in three foreclosure cases, saying she didn't sign the paperwork and never signed in front of a notary despite notary stamps affixed to the documents.
• In one case, Mills allegedly signed a return of non-service, meaning the homeowner could not be found, for a foreclosure in Lehigh Acres near Florida's west coast - a town where Mills said she has never been.

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• Service of process is sometimes the first notice a homeowner has that the bank has filed for foreclosure. Sloppy service or "sewer service," as some defense attorneys call bad service of process, can leave a homeowner in the dark and defenseless until after the final judgment and a notice of sale is sent out.

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• With the crush of foreclosures statewide, process service has become big business. Once entrusted only to sheriff's deputies, summonses may now be handled by special process servers certified by the court. The servers often work for larger companies that dole out the legwork. Mills worked for several process service companies, including Miami­-based Gissen & Zawyer Process Service Inc.
• The Florida Attorney General's Office is investigating the company after allegations of backdating returns of service, improper billing practices and filing questionable affidavits with the courts.
• Mills said she believes her signatures were forged on documents because she has a short name that's easy to sign.

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• The typical charge for process service is $45, about $10 of which goes to pay Mills, who may have to make several visits to a home. When Gissen & Zawyer didn't think she was working fast enough, she said, she was called to Miami for a conference. "They stood there and screamed at me that I was not serving their work fast enough," said Mills, who worked for the company about 10 months.

For more, see Local 'robo-signer' alleges her signatures were forged.