Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan filed suit against mortgage document prep firm Nationwide Title Cleaning Inc., claiming the company violated numerous trade practices in its handling of mortgage records.
Madigan is asking the court to enjoin the Palm Harbor, Fla.-based company from practices that allegedly violated the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Practices Act and the Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act.
In the suit, Madigan claims Nationwide Title representatives robo-signed mortgage documents during the mortgage securitization process.
She says, in some cases, document signors put their names on records without reviewing them, and in other situations, failed to verify the information printed on those records. The AG also claims Nationwide Title affixed names to documents without having the respective parties actually sign them.
A Nationwide Title representative said the firm cannot comment on the lawsuit until the company has an opportunity to review the complaint.
Madigan subpoened records from Nationwide Title Cleaning Inc. last year while also requesting records from Lender Processsing Services over robo-signing allegations.
The AG's office claims NTC provides document services to eight of the nation's top lenders. The lawsuit filed this week specifically accuses Nationwide Title of consumer fraud and numerous violations of the Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act.
The AG said the practices employed by Nationwide Title were key contributors to the mortgage financial crisis since they undermined "the integrity and accuracy of the mortgage servicing and foreclosure process."
Madigan is suing for all profits, revenue and gains that resulted from the unfair trade practices.
The AG is asking for a $50,000 penalty to be levied against the firm if the court finds the company engaged in deceptive acts without the intent to defraud.
However, the AG, says if the court should find the company possessed an actual intent to defraud when partaking in some of the practices, she believe the requisite penalty should be $50,000 per violation.
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