Saturday, July 23, 2011

Florida AG Responds To Recently-Dumped Foreclosure Fraud Fighters With Mud-Slinging Rip Job

The Palm Beach Post reports:
  • The Florida Attorney General's Office released a cutting statement Thursday criticizing the work of two former state foreclosure fraud investigators after a week of national attention paid to the duo's forced resignations.


  • Carlos Muniz, deputy attorney general and chief of staff in Attorney General Pam Bondi's office, said the performance of former Assistant Attorneys General Theresa Edwards and June Clarkson was "unacceptable" and that they were given the option to resign or be fired because of their "failure to improve after multiple warnings."


  • The Palm Beach Post first reported their departure on July 13. Edwards and Clarkson, who resigned their jobs at the South Florida bureau of the office's Economic Crimes Section on May 20, had been investigating the state's so-called "foreclosure mills," uncovering evidence of legal malpractice that also implicated banks and loan servicers.


  • In his statement Thursday, Muniz refers to an April 28 review of the South Florida bureau and Chief Assistant Attorney General Robert Julian that lists staff shortcomings, including "proper identification and analysis of legal issues" and "professionalism to opposing counsel." "Hopefully improvement will be made in these areas in the future," the review concluded. It does not mention Edwards or Clarkson by name.


  • Just seven days earlier, in an interim evaluation of Edwards, Julian praised her work, saying it has been "instrumental in triggering a nationwide review" of foreclosure practices. "I cannot overstate the degree to which I respect Ms. Edwards and her work with this unit," Julian wrote.


  • Edwards said Julian was assigned to another position in Fort Lauderdale in June.

For more, see State rips job quality of two fired foreclosure fraud investigators.

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