Foreclosure whistleblower wins $18 million lawsuit

A Florida woman, Lynn Szymoniak, who is a foreclosure attorney and a fraud expert, discovered that when she was served foreclosure documents she realized the documents were false and blew the whistle on mortgage servicers. Now, she has been awarded $18 million dollars for exposing the bank’s secrets.

Last year, after Szymoniak examined thousands of foreclosure documents she discovered that the much of the paperwork was fraudulent and that banks regularly employed the practice of “robo-signing.”

Robo-signing is the practice of issuing foreclosure documents that are false or signed en mass without reviewing the documents or using fake signatures.

Szymoniak came forward and spoke publically about the practice, thanks to her diligent work and expertise as a foreclosure lawyer, the federal government was able to launch an investigation into the bank’s practices, which has resulted in a $25 billion dollar settlement to help homeowners victimized by the fraudulent foreclosure practices.

The state of Florida was hit very hard by the foreclosure crisis and will be receiving $95 million; their portion of the settlement. Szymoniak will be awarded $18 million for exposing the fraudulent practice.

Szymoniak is the single largest recipient of the settlement funds.  The majority of homeowners will be receiving $2,000 if they were subjected to a wrongful foreclosure. Another potion of the funds will go to homeowners to help retain foreclosure attorneys or get help from a non-profit if they are in danger of losing their homes. Each state will determine how the funds will be distributed.