>Fannie Mae cited for failing to stop robo-signing
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2011
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
THE RECORD
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By DEREK KRAVITZ
WASHINGTON — Fannie Mae missed chances to catch law firms that were illegally signing foreclosure documents, and its government overseer did not take the right steps to ensure that Fannie Mae was doing its job, according to a federal watchdog.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s inspector general said in a report on Friday that Fannie Mae failed to establish an “acceptable and effective” way to monitor foreclosure proceedings from 2006 to early 2011. The FHFA then failed to ensure it was complying with demands that it clean up its programs.
Mortgage industry employees, including law firms working for Fannie Mae, signed documents they hadn’t read and used fake signatures on foreclosure cases across the country. The practices, known collectively as “robo-signing,” resulted in a suspension of foreclosures last fall and a probe by all 50 state attorneys general into how corners were cut to keep pace with the crush of foreclosure paperwork.
