Attorney General McCollum Announces Multistate Effort to Reign in Mortgage Servicers for Deceptive and Unfair Practices
TALLAHASSEE, FL – October 13, 2010 – (RealEstateRama) — Attorney General Bill McCollum today announced an on-going effort to rein in mortgage servicers and protect Floridians from purported deceptive and unfair practices. Attorney General McCollum, along with 48 other Attorneys General, are part of a multistate effort to stop mortgage loan servicers from allegedly submitting affidavits or signing notices that appear to have procedural defects of either a judicial or non-judicial foreclosure.
Investigators allege that many mortgage documents have been signed without personal knowledge of the facts asserted in the documents. In addition, it appears that many affidavits were signed outside of the presence of a notary public. This process of signing documents without confirming their accuracy has come to be known as “robo-signing” and is in direct violation of Florida law.
The 49 states are joining together to form a multistate group comprised of both state Attorneys General and state banks and mortgage regulators to more effectively address the issue. The multistate group, led by Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller, plans to speak with all relevant mortgage servicers as soon as possible to determine whether or not each company has improperly submitted affidavits or signed notices in support of a foreclosure in the states. State bank and mortgage regulators are participating both individually and through their Multistate Mortgage Committee, which represents mortgage regulators from all 50 states. Florida is taking a leading role in this multistate initiative as a member of the Executive Committee of the multistate group. The Executive Committee is also comprised of the following Attorneys General Offices: Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Iowa, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas, and Washington; and the following state banking regulators: the Maryland Office of the Commissioner of Financial Regulation and the New York State Banking Department.
Participating Attorneys General
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii Department of the Attorney General / Hawaii Office of Consumer Protection
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming
Participating State Bank and Mortgage Regulators
Arizona Department of Financial Institutions
Arkansas Securities Department
Connecticut Department of Banking
D.C. Department of Insurance Securities and Banking
Florida Office of Financial Regulation
Idaho Department of Finance
Illinois Secretary of Financial and Professional Regulation
Indiana Department of Financial Institutions
Iowa Division of Banking
Kentucky Department of Financial Institutions
Louisiana Office of Financial Institutions
Maine Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection
Maine Bureau of Financial Institutions
Maryland Office of the Commissioner of Financial Regulation
Division of Banks, Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Michigan Office of Financial & Insurance Regulation
Minnesota Department of Commerce
Mississippi Department of Banking and Consumer Finance
Montana Division of Banking and Financial Institutions
Nebraska Department of Banking and Finance
Nevada Financial Institutions Division and Mortgage Lending Division
New Hampshire Banking Department
New Jersey Department of Banking & Insurance – Office of Consumer Finance
New York State Banking Department
North Carolina Commissioner of Banks
North Dakota Department of Financial Institutions
Ohio Division of Financial Institutions
Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services – Division of Finance
and Corporate Securities
Pennsylvania Department of Banking
Rhode Island Department of Business Regulation – Division of Banking
South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs
Tennessee Department of Financial Institutions
Texas Department of Banking
Texas Finance Commission and Consumer Credit Commissioner
Vermont Department of Banking, Insurance, Securities and Health Care Administration
Washington State Department of Financial Institutions
West Virginia Division of Banking
Wisconsin Department of Banking
Wyoming Division of Banking
For more information about what Attorney General McCollum is doing to protect Floridians, please visit www.myfloridalegal.com.
Media Contact:
Ryan Wiggins
Phone: (850) 245-0150
