Abogado de "rescate" de ejecuciones hipotecarias acusado de falsificar documentos

Foreclosure lawyer accused of forgery

10/28/2010 © Miami Herald

A Coral Springs lawyer who worked for a troubled foreclosure rescue company is facing a criminal probe for allegedly forging court documents.

BY DAVID OVALLE

State authorities are investigating allegations that a Coral Springs lawyer forged the signatures of Broward County judges while working with a disgraced foreclosure assistance company, court documents show.
The lawyer, Frank J. Ingrassia, worked with Outreach Housing, which is accused of siphoning more than $2 million from desperate homeowners, according to a search warrant filed in Miami-Dade court this month.

The probe is being spearheaded by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Also investigating is the Florida Attorney General's Office and the Office of Financial Regulation, which last year sued the company and its officers.
Ingrassia, a former Florida assistant attorney general, did not return calls for comment. He has not been charged.
His attorney, Timothy Lucero, declined to comment.
FDLE also declined to comment, saying the investigation is ongoing.
During the ongoing mortgage crisis, some foreclosure rescue companies have offered, for an upfront fee or monthly retainer, to negotiate with lenders to save homes. But critics say they never deliver, or refuse to refund money if they are unsuccessful.
The Ingrassia probe is in addition to a wider investigation by the Attorney General's Office into the practices of law firms specializing in foreclosures.
That includes Plantation's David J. Stern, whose statewide firm has been rocked by recent allegations of deceptive and shoddy court filing practices.
As for Ingrassia, the lawyer made headlines in June 2008 when he filed dozens of lawsuits against financial lenders alleging they fraudulently inflated the incomes of borrowers so that they could qualify for loans.
Ingrassia worked for Affirmative Defense Group, which was refered most of its cases by Outreach, a now-shuttered Margate company that purportedly assisted homeowners facing foreclosures in getting legal settlements with lenders.
State authorities allege the company induced 961 people to fork over their mortgage payments. The "illegal revenue'' amounted to more than $2 million, and employees were paid from the money that was supposed to be held until homeowners settled with lenders, the warrant said.
The companies did virtually nothing to help clients stave off foreclosure, FDLE said in the warrant. Agents raided Ingrassia's Coral Springs office in July ``due to allegations that Ingrassia forged the signatures of some 17th Judicial Circuit [Broward County] judges.''
He is under investigation for forgery.
Agents are also looking into the practices of Outreach and its founder, Blair Wright. Wright, in an interview Wednesday, insisted his company was legitimately trying to help homeowners reach foreclosure settlements with lenders. He says lawyers such as Ingrassia and Kirsten Franklin -- both of whom he is suing in Miami-Dade court -- mismanaged the cases, ignored clients and pilfered hundreds of thousands of dollars.
``It's disgusting,'' Wright said. ``Part of the money they took was from trust funds -- and these [lawyers] are still out on the streets.''
The Florida Supreme Court, in January, ordered Franklin barred from practicing law for three years because she abandoned hundreds of clients and allowed Wright to unduly influence her.
The state's lawsuits against Ingrassia, Franklin and Wright are still ongoing.
One victim, 77-year-old Tamarac retiree Cebert Griffith, whose house is still in foreclosure, said he hired Ingrassia though Outreach -- paying thousands in fees.
He found out later that Ingrassia never appeared in court on his behalf. “We're on a fixed income,'' Griffith said. “And to be scammed by these people, it's disgusting.''