Several years ago, I learned that a real estate lien had been placed against a piece of property for a loan, and that the loan documents had not only been forged, but the forged signature had been notarized.
I brought the matter to the attention of the District Attorney. After some calls and investigation, he concluded that filing a criminal suit would not produce a conviction; and further, that it should be filed as a tort suit. "This is a family matter, not a criminal matter," he said.
He went on, and I somewhat paraphrase, "People forge signatures all of the time. Courts just don't get too upset about it. I suppose they may relate it to a kid signing his mom's name on his report card." So what's that mean? That a mischievous kid and a thief are one and the same?
And as time passed, this occurrence needed to be the basis of a law suit whereby the forger had used part or all of the proceeds of the nearly quarter of a million dollar loan for their own benefit. The lawyer representing the plaintiff also opined that to file for recovery, based on the forgery, wouldn't produce a strong case.
The money was never accounted for or recovered, and there was never a tort suit filed. The notary was not disciplined for attesting to a signature for a person she not only didn't know, but obviously did not witness signing the document. The property owner paid off the loan.
Recently, one of my clients wondered what had happened to a significant amount of earnest money he had put up on behalf of him and his business partner to buy a Dallas property. The deal had not been consummated, and his earnest money was never returned to him.
On his behalf, I began pressing for him to get copies of the file from the title company. I volunteered to look them over to see if I could figure out that had happened.
Lo and behold, there was the Texas Board of Real Estate's promulgated form that gives the escrow company directions as to how the earnest money will be disbursed.
Of course not only had my client never personally been in the offices of the escrow company, but they apparently had made no effort to determine whether or not he had signed the document that was being presented to them. Instead they had disbursed the large sum of earnest money in accordance with the instructions on the form.
My client's signature was a forgery. It will be interesting to see how the escrow company chooses to handle this very obvious failure.
But my real question are these:
- Why don't people who forge others' signatures stand trial for a criminal offense?
- Why aren't notary publics properly disciplined when it is determined they violated their office?
Has this happened to you?
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Unbelievable. Now, how the Title company will get out of this mess?
In our area there was a scam a few years ago, when someone bought several expensive lots using power fo attorney. Then they immediately refinanced the lots using inflated appraisals, and, of course, disappeared with the money. Or better say, never came from the Ukraine. Of course, they have never made a single payment. The signatures were forged, the notary was part of it and a real estate broker was part of it. They put handcuffs on the broker, and we all thought that would go to jail. Somehow he didn't. But what surprised us, was that he returned to Real Estate. I guess they did not take his license.
Go figure
Bill, I can barely believe what I just read. Laws need to be enforced and law enforcers need to stop being so lax. Otherwise, what good are the laws? If there are no penalties, then there is nothing stopping more people from doing it.
We wouldn't need any legislation at all if they prosecuted those who committed fraud. There are grey areas, but I have to tell you those who intentionally perpetuate this.....they need to be dealt with.
I never cease to be amazed at how "Okay" it is to forge someone's signature (notarized or not). I won't go into details, but I know of amazing feats of creativity when a husband or wife are out of town and yet, when signatures are asked for, they appear within minutes and with both signatures! I know this seems trivial (after all, they are husband and wife), but it doesnt' stop there. I know that Notaries do "favors" often. Sometimes they have notarized so much for the same person, that it seems ridiculously redundant. But, is that person worth jeopardizing their license for? I doubt it!
unbelieveable!
I think the Justice System gets more and more convoluted as time goes on...is it because they are over burdened? Or do they just want a sure thing?
Who did the forging? Any ideas?
Bill, I had no idea that there was such a nonchalant attitude about forging someones name.
Bill - This is an excellent blog piece you have written. I recall a couple decades ago, I listed a property up in El Dorado Hills (here in California). The property was put on the market by the father of the actual owner, using a Power of Attorney. The father "advised" that his son, wasn't in town much, and he was taking care of business on his behalf.
I no sooner had the sign go up at the house, when the phone rang. The woman on the other end of the line asked several questions about the property - it's condition on the inside, whether it was vacant etc; and then she asked a very odd question. She said, "Myrl, if you should get an offer on the house, would you let me know?" I responded, "Can I ask why you would want me to do that?"
She went on to answer that the property had belonged to she and her husband. And that her husband (the actual seller), was in prison for a major check kiting scheme which involved a large bank in which he was an employee. She then went on to say that she had been removed from the title of the house without her knowledge. It turns out her signature on the deed was a forgery, which was notorized by none other than the now "ex" husband's new girlfriend:-(
Forgery is a crime in California. I always wondered what ramnifications all that had for the girlfriend - and whether the law allowed her to get by with that or not!
To Each of You --
I'd say through the telling of your own stories, you have shown that this problem is far from an aberration on my part -- a fluke experience.
And in addition to your comments, I got a number of private emails from people who just wanted to tell their story ... a story about how a forgery changed their lives ... a story of how the authorities paid no attention to this very important detail.
The most egregious stories are of title companies who didn't accept responsibility for doing the job they were assigned and depended on to do. Remember, title companies have no reason to exist unless they assure honesty in the files they handle.
And then there are notaries whose responsibility it is to attest to the mental clarity of a person signing a document, and that they are who they say they are. Add to that, the attestation that the document was signed on the date it was notarized.
Again, if a notary's seal is undependable, then the notary has no reason to exist.
What to do about all of this? I don't know.
Bill - Your statement, "Again, if a notary's seal is undependable, then the notary has no reason to exist." is so 'right-on.' Until my own experience with how much damage a notary can do, we can only be left to wonder how to insure against that kind of damage! The notary seal can provide about as much collateral damage as a missile in a war zone!
I have a similar story. I was in escrow to buy a property a few years ago, at the height of the madness. The mortgage broker was working on the loan documents, but had to re-do them at the last minute, due to some changes from the lender. Since I was unable to get to his office in time to review and sign them, he felt it would be OK to sign them, based on samples of my signature he had from the mortgage application. Since he was also a notary public, this worked. I felt that this was unusual, but he assured me everything would be fine. Later, when I reviewed the loan terms, I wanted to cancel, but he talked me into keeping the property, saying that it was a bargain and would go up in value, and that the seller might sue if I cancelled. Now I am wondering what I should have done then, and what I can do at this point.
Dan --
I don't know the answer to the last of your two questions, but I am positive I know the answer to the first one. You should have taken that forged document directly to the District Attorney and also sent a copy to whomever in your state controls the licensing of notaries.
I hope that the financial side turns out no matter what. And thanks for telling us your story. This junk truly happens all the time, and it doesn't appear much happens to those who do it.
Bill Cherry
Bill,
I am not aware of a promulgated from that deals with the release of earnest money. There is a TAR-1904 that membes of the Texas Association of REALTORS® may use.
Richard, I think you're correct. Thanks for your clarification.