Freddie Dumps Foreclosure Mill Targeted In MD Fraud Probe; Accusations Of 1,000+ Robosigned Deeds May Lead To More Crappy Real Estate Titles

In Baltimore, Maryland, The Baltimore Sun reports:

• Freddie Mac has instructed its mortgage servicers to stop referring foreclosure cases to Shapiro & Burson, the Virginia law firm accused of improper handling of more than 1,000 deeds for Maryland homes in foreclosure, the mortgage giant said this week.
• Prosecutors in Prince George's County began investigating the firm in March after a paralegal formerly employed there filed a complaint alleging that deeds and foreclosure paperwork contained fraudulent signatures.(1)

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• The spokesman, Brad German, called the decision "mutual" and said he could not comment on whether the continuing investigation by the Prince George's County state's attorney's office played a role. But Jose Portillo, the former Shapiro & Burson paralegal who complained to Maryland officials, said Freddie Mac contacted him in March to hear his allegations.

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• On Wednesday, a spokesman for the Prince George's state's attorney said investigators are speaking with other individuals who have made accusations against the law firm. The state's attorney's office is working with state and federal law enforcement officials on the effort, the spokesman said.

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• In Maryland, mortgage servicers hire attorneys to shepherd homes through the foreclosure process as "trustees." While he worked at Shapiro & Burson, Portillo alleged, more than 1,000 deeds for Maryland foreclosures were handled not by the appointed trustee but by an outside lawyer who signed the trustee's name.
• "Then they were recorded, and properties had been sold by the bank to new home buyers," said Portillo, who worked at the firm for about three years and said he was laid off with others in February. If deeds aren't signed by the proper person, proving ownership of the home can be difficult or impossible.

For more, see Shapiro & Burson no longer a Freddie Mac- recommended foreclosure law firm (Firm is under investigation for alleged fraudulent signatures on deeds).

Thanks to Bill Roper for the heads-up on the story.

(1) See Laid Off Robosigner Blows Whistle On Foreclosure Mill; Describes Boiler Room Operation Allegedly Set Up To Crank Out Docs w/ Falsified Signatures.