Through a request for a preliminary injunction filed in the Lucas County Court of Common Pleas, Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray is seeking to prevent GMAC Mortgage LLC from completing foreclosure sales in Ohio based on faulty affidavits. Cordray filed suit Oct. 6 against GMAC; its parent, Ally Financial Inc.; and one of its employees, Jeffrey Stephan, also in the Lucas County Court of Common Pleas. According to the lawsuit, GMAC and its employees committed fraud on Ohio consumers and Ohio courts by signing and filing at least hundreds and potentially thousands of false affidavits in foreclosure cases. The fraud came to public light after Stephan testified in depositions out of Florida and Maine that he signed thousands of affidavits without personal knowledge or verifying the content.
The preliminary injunction, which is part of the lawsuit against GMAC/Ally, asks that GMAC stop its faulty affidavit practices while the lawsuit is pending.
"These so-called 'robo-signed' affidavits disrespect the courts and the private property rights of homeowners," Attorney General Cordray said. "As we seek to uncover the extent to which GMAC used such tactics, we are taking this action today to make sure that these faulty affidavits are no longer used in foreclosure proceedings."
Cordray, who through his action against GMAC/Ally was the first attorney general in the nation to take legal action to confront the emerging robo-signing problem, joined attorneys general from all 50 states Wednesday in announcing a multi-state investigation of the mortgage industry over faulty affidavits.
To read the request for a preliminary injunction, click here.
For more information, visit www.OhioAttorneyGeneral.gov.
