The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) filed on Tuesday the results of an investigation that sought to ascertain whether major mortgage servicers signed foreclosure documents without always verifying the accuracy of the forms.  The report was filed as part of a $25 billion mortgage industry settlement struck earlier this year. The federal investigation reportedly confirmed what has been widely reported for 18 months: that Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and other major mortgage servicers had, in fact, employed those practices when dealing with foreclosures.  Among the findings at BofA:

• Employees routinely signed foreclosure documents, including affidavits, certifying that they had personal knowledge of the facts when they did not.
• Affiants (those signing the affidavits and swearing to their accuracy) signed large volumes of foreclosure documents without reviewing the supporting documentations.
• Notaries public routinely notarized documents without witnessing affiant signatures. They also failed to keep required records of the documents they notarized.
• Attorneys may have been allowed to improperly prepare documents and misrepresent the work they performed.

The 27-page document detailing findings at BofA is filled with anecdotes from unnamed employees. It alleges workers signed hundreds of documents on a daily basis, including 18-inch stacks of pages, without ever verifying the information. The findings report the improper policies were often allowed and supported by managers. HUD said the procedures led to BofA to file improper documents in some foreclosure proceedings. The allegations are focused on mortgages that had begun the foreclosure process, meaning the errors led to improper paperwork in cases already moving toward foreclosure, not mortgages in good standing. BofA said in a statement it reviewed its policies and corrected any improper procedures: "The memorandum references activities from over a year ago that have been addressed as we do all we can to modify loans when possible and to ensure foreclosures are fair when they are unavoidable." HUD reported similar findings at other major mortgage servicers, including Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Ally Financial (formerly GMAC).  The formal audit of the lenders began after reports of the improper activity surfaced in October 2010, resulting in a nationwide moratorium on all foreclosures for several months until banks conducted internal investigations. Last month, the largest banks agreed to pay a total of $25 billion in fines, modifications and principal write-downs as part of a 49-state settlement of the allegations. Click to access the referenced story:  [Atlanta Business Chronicle, 3/13/12].