(Lansing, May 4, 2011) Oakland County Clerk/ Register of Deeds Bill Bullard Jr. was the lead witness today in a hearing held by Marty Knollenberg (R-Troy), Chairman of the House Banking and Financial Services Committee on the recent investigation by Bullard into fraudulent signatures on foreclosure documents filed by America’s largest banks and financial institutions.
Bullard’s investigation uncovered signatures on foreclosure documents filed in Oakland County in 2008 and 2009 which matched a national pattern of signatures by a nonexistent bank “Vice President, Linda Green.”
Bullard was joined on the bi-partisan witness panel by Curtis Hertel Jr., Register of Deeds for Ingham County who also found similar signatures. “We are not saying citizens have no responsibility here. If someone does not pay their mortgage they will lose their home. But banks have to play by the rules, too.” Hertel further stated, “We are looking at a massive fraud committed against the people of the state of Michigan.”
Hertel proposed several reforms to prevent such false signatures from being filed in the future; the most important of which is to give homeowners a judicial hearing should such a practice be uncovered in their case.
(picture, Oakland County Clerk/Register of Deeds Bill Bullard Jr. (R-Highland Twp) and Ingham County Register of Deeds Curtis Hertel Jr. (D-Ingham County)
Last week, Attorney General Schuette sent out the following release on the issue:
| Schuette, Bullard Probing Questionable Mortgage Documents
Contact: John Sellek or Joy Yearout 517-373-8060 |
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http://www.michigan.gov/ag/0,1607,7-164–255014–,00.html
April 25, 2011 LANSING – Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette announced today that he is working with Oakland County Register of Deeds Bill Bullard, and other local and federal authorities, to look into questionable mortgage documentation filed with Michigan’s Register of Deeds offices during the current foreclosure crisis. Bullard and other county officials have uncovered Assignment of Mortgage documents filed in their offices with signatures of some mortgage executives that appear to have been forged by many different people, raising questions about the authenticity of the documents. For example, a recent “60 Minutes” news broadcast showed that the name “Linda Green” was signed to thousands of documents nationwide but with many different variations in handwriting. Bullard, in a letter to Schuette today, said that his office has found many examples of these documents in its files, as have other county Register of Deeds offices, and plans to forward the questionable documents to the Attorney General’s office for review. Schuette’s office is beginning the process of working with local, state and federal authorities to look into the problem. Since late last year, the Michigan Attorney General’s office has also been a part of a 50-state Attorneys General workgroup addressing the robo-signing issue and other consumer protection issues. “The idea that anyone would forge documents during a process in which a family is losing their home is absolutely unconscionable,” said Schuette. “We are working closely with federal and local authorities to get to the bottom of this.” “I want Oakland County residents going through the foreclosure process to be aware of this potential problem with their mortgage documentation and strongly encourage them to review their files,” said Bullard. “My office will continue its investigation and work with Attorney General Schuette’s office as we find more questionable documents.” Interview Requests to Bill Bullard—248 858 0560 |
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