Missouri company faces multiple forgery charges over foreclosures

A Missouri grand jury has indicted DocX on multiple forgery charges marking one of the few criminal prosecutions in the foreclosure crisis.

Banks and foreclosure document processing companies have been under investigation for over a year since major abuses in the system were uncovered. Major banks have thus far been able to avoid criminal prosecution while they negotiate a settlement with the federal government.

DocX, one of the country’s largest mortgage document servicers has been charged with 136 counts of forgery. According to prosecutors DocX employees fraudulently signed notarized foreclosure documents and the grand jury concluded that these acts constituted forgery.

Employees for mortgage document processors have come forward and exposed that they were instructed to sign thousands of documents a day with a false name.

Millions of people have lost their homes since the housing bubble burst in 2008. Some of these foreclosures are legitimate and can be attributed to a homeowner’s failure to pay their mortgage. But many other homeowners have faced losing their homes because of fraudulent documents, which can be challenged by a foreclosure attorney.

Since the robo-signing scandal broke most mortgage processors and banks have been subjected to civil lawsuits, but most have evaded criminal charges.

Foreclosures are weighing heavily on the housing market. For some people a foreclosure lawyer can prevent their eviction through by challenging a bank’s decision. Other homeowners can ask their foreclosure attorneys to seek a mortgage modification. Any steps a person can take to avoid foreclosure can also help prevent further declines in home prices.