ML-Implode News - Obama Will Not Sign Bill Seen As Cover For Bank Foreclosures

Max Gardner, a foreclosure defense attorney, said the timing of the bill was suspicious, considering fraudulent notarization of bogus foreclosure affidavits is at the heart of a scandal that has prompted the nation's largest banks to pause foreclosures in 23 states.

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"The thing that concerns me about the bill is that the provisions in it that allow for digital notarization by electronic means," said Gardner, "which implies that anyone with the appropriate software could notarize a digital document or image of a document, which would allow someone to notarize a document without seeing someone execute the document or doing the things a notary is supposed to do. In my mind that would lead a broad exception for more fraudulent practices."

We would say Obama has done the right thing on this, but it is most likely because of the anti-populist backlash the bill was already creating when stunned observers saw it come out of nowhere and sail through passage.

In truth, we don't think this bill would have a huge bearing on the systemic problems behind foreclosures. The problems are much much deeper than "robo-notorizations" or fabricated notorizations, and have more to do with the legal authority behind foreclosures. It is not simply the notorizations of documents that was being challenged, but rather, the signature of the endorser.

Relevant:

Obama Will Not Sign Bill Seen As Cover For Bank Foreclosures