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EDITOR’S NOTE: It seems only a matter of time — very little time — before some of these notaries and others whose stamps and signatures were used, along with the supposed witnesses strike a deal with prosecutors and allow diligent prosecutors to move up the food chain to the highest players. Whoever they are, wherever they are, they better move fast to strike that deal because in these cases FIRST SING FIRST FREED — LAST TO SIGN GETS THE MOST TIME.
And it looks very much like the much maligned statute of limitations has been overused in quieting these people down. They have been “advised” not to say anything because they cannot be prosecuted. The complaints are quick to point out that while the crimes were committed 5-6 years ago, they were only discovered last year. In cases involving fraud, the statute usually doesn’t start to run until a reasonable person would have known sufficient facts about the fraud to allege the crime.
- Nevada grand jury indicts 2 LPS workers on robo-signing charges
- Las Vegas notary public guilty in robo-signing scheme found dead
- Nevada AG: Criminal actions coming to servicing industry soon
- Two state AGs subpoena LPS, National Title in robo-signing probe
- Maryland removes six notaries from office in foreclosure prob
The Office of the Nevada Attorney General announced Monday that it filed complaints against three more notaries in the state’s continuing massive robo-signing investigation.
Meghan Shaw, Jennifer Bloecker and Joseph Noel were charged with notarization of the signature of a person not in their presence, a gross misdemeanor.
“These complaints are the result of notary practices which did not conform with legal requirements of our state,” said Chief Deputy Attorney General John Kelleher in a statement. “These requirements were enacted to ensure the integrity of public documents and our action today is another step in our attempt to determine those responsible.”
According to the Nevada Attorney General criminal complaint, Shaw’s and Bloecker’s alleged crimes took place in 2005 and were discovered in 2010. Noel’s alleged crimes took place in 2008 and were discovered in 2010.
“These actions were performed in a secretive manner in order that the false documents be given full legal effect and that this criminal activity not be discovered,” the complaint states.
The charges stem from the notaries’ involvement in the scheme to file fraudulent documents with the Clark County Recorder’s office. The documents, referred to as Notices of Default, were used to initiate foreclosure on local homeowners. Through an investigation led by the Attorney General’s office, the notaries charged in the case confirmed that their job duties included signing another person’s name on a document and then notarizing that signature as valid.
Last week, Las Vegas notary public Tracy Lawrence was scheduled to be sentenced for her part in a foreclosure robo-signing scheme, but was found dead in her home after failing to show up for sentencing. The local TV station referred to Lawrence as a whistleblower in a larger robo-signing investigation that resulted in the first criminal charges for the filing of faulty foreclosure documents.
Earlier in November, two employees of Lender Processing Services (LPS: 19.17 +1.48%) were indicted in Nevada on alleged robo-signing charges connected to foreclosure filings. Gary Trafford and Gerri Sheppard, both California residents described as title officers, were indicted on a total of 606 counts by a Clark County grand jury.
Shaw, Noel and Bloecker are set to make an initial appearance in court on Wednesday, December 28.
Write to Justin T. Hilley.
Follow him on Twitter @JustinHilley.
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