Tracy Lawrence, Notary Public Who Blew The Whistle On Massive Foreclosure Fraud, Found Dead

Tracy Lawrence, the notary public who blew the whistle on a massive foreclosure fraud scheme, was found dead in her Las Vegas home on Nov. 28, MSNBC reported.

Cause of death has not yet been determined, but Officer Jacinto Rivera, a Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department spokesman, said the case was not being investigated as homicide. She was 43.

Earlier this month, Lawrence came forward and admitted to the Nevada Attorney General's Office that she notarized 25,000 fraudulent documents for Lender Processing Services, a Florida company used by most major banks to process home repossessions. The documents were filed with the Clark County Recorder's Office between 2005 and 2008, The Los Angeles Times reported.

Lawrence also accused two loan officers of allegedly running the massive robo-signing scheme, saying they forged signatures on tens of thousands of default notices. Nevada now alleges that Gary Trafford, 49, of Irvine, Calif., and Gerri Sheppard, 62, of Santa Ana, Calif., directed their employees to forge foreclosure documents, notarize the signatures on the documents they had forged and file the fraudulent paperwork in order to begin foreclosures on homes throughout the county.

Trafford and Sheppard have been indicted on more than 600 counts of offering false instruments for recording, false certification on certain instruments and notarization of the signature of a person not in the presence of a notary public. Authorities are currently negotiating the terms of their surrender, KSNV MyNews 3 reported.

Earlier this month, Lawrence pleaded guilty to one count of notarizing the signature of a person not in her presence, The Associated Press reported. Had Lawrence shown up at her sentencing hearing on Monday, she could have faced a potential sentence of up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $2,000.

On Nov. 17, Lender Processing Services issued a statement acknowledging that the signing procedures on some of documents were flawed. The company also agreed to fully cooperate with the attorney general's investigation.

"I am deeply committed to ensuring that LPS meets rigorous standards of professional conduct and operating excellence," newly appointed LPS President and CEO Hugh Harris stated. "I have full confidence in the ability of our leadership team and over 8,000 dedicated employees to deliver on that commitment."

According to RealtyTrac, Nevada has had the highest foreclosure rate in the nation for 56 straight months.

Comments

[kevinjones8110]

03:58 PM on 12/16/2011

I am fed up reading these robo-signing looters. And this story should be on front page.
Kevin
http://www.righttocancel.com

[Johnm Schwarzlaw]

08:02 AM on 12/06/2011

wow, it's getting worse out there... www.johnmschwarzlaw.com Foreclosure Defense

[Mithrall]

01:35 PM on 12/05/2011

Let's face it, there are certain areas of our society where sociopaths are drawn to, politics, finance, big business, religion, law enforcement, etc. All of them involve gaining power over others. Whack one of those hives and you're bound to piss off at least one sociopath. I'm not advocating ignoring wrongdoing, on the contrary I think we need to clean all those houses. Good Lord, just look at the rampant narcissism(one of the in the Republican Primary race. One of them is going to have a shot at becoming our next President. /shudder.

[genebasler]

09:51 AM on 12/05/2011

Is it correct that she was under subpoena by Ron Paul's committee and due to testify before Congress?

[AustinCrazed]

01:08 PM on 12/04/2011

I am sure the coroners report will read the same as that of Terry Yeakey, The brave OK City police seargent that was suicided due to his knowledge of government involvement in the OK City bombing.

The official report said "Suicide," and anyone who believes an ANFO bomb destroyed Murrah and the other surrounding buildings will believe this. According to the report, Terry slashed himself eleven times on both forearms before cutting his own throat twice near the jugular vein. Then, apparently seeking even a more private place to die, he crawled another mile of rough terrain away from his car and climbed a fence, before shooting himself in the head with a small caliber revolver. What appeared to be rope burns on his neck, handcuff bruises to his wrists, and muddy grass imbedded in his slash wounds strongly indicated that he had some help in traversing this
final distance.

[Judson Witham]

12:20 PM on 07/22/2012

http://nwopodcast.com/fetz/media/jim%20fetzer%20real%20deal-march%2028%202012.mp3 LISTEN TO THE WHOLE INTERVIEW ...... Judson Witham

[mxytsplyk]

01:33 AM on 12/04/2011

Wow, that was a surprise, including not investigating it. Next comes the part where they find drugs in her system.

[Judson Witham]

12:21 PM on 07/22/2012

MASSIVE FAKE PAPER LOOTINGS Far Far Beyond Nevada http://nwopodcast.com/fetz/media/jim%20fetzer%20real%20deal-march%2028%202012.mp3

[Mister Grumpy]

08:18 PM on 12/03/2011

I'm sure the death of this whistleblower is just coincidence............ right...........

[Jeffery Lovesyou]

12:57 PM on 12/03/2011

kill them.....now.

[Michigan Joe]

11:56 AM on 12/03/2011

These practices will continue until we decide and demand, that CORPORATE liability shields are permanently removed and make the CEOs and the management level people held accountable and their assets fair game for attachment. Why should a CORPORATION be allowed privileges that are not extended to the people of our country? Why are "liability shields" allowed when you and I can't have that same privilege and right? If a mortgage CORPORATION is found guilty then the CEO of the CORPORATION should have liability for claims as well. These practices would end shortly thereafter. We can't give a free pass to a thief through legislation that allows the thief to get a free ride no matter who he/she is.

[breakingpoint]

11:39 AM on 12/03/2011

this should be on the front page

[FiscalConservative2012]

03:30 PM on 12/03/2011

it was, 3 days ago.............

[LloydG]

10:16 PM on 12/02/2011

Seems curious that these criminals against society are being allowed to "negotiate the terms of their surrender". Why? Just imagining the sheer terror of fathers, or anyone who was put in the street with their children and belongings, who did not have the pleasure or comfort of "negotiating" their departure from their home. It's hard to imagine that such a small group of individuals thought they could profit handsomely from ripping the home out from around these families. We hear of these stories every day. we talk about savages of the past cannibalizing their peers, but isn't this cannabalism of a modern sort? And it is happening with large institutions who masquerade as pillars of our society, and yet they are just as bad as these few individuals in their quest for profits.

The foundation that our great Nation was built upon is so far removed from the experience of today on many crucial levels. Politicians, corporations, financial interests are all in the business of outsmarting the general public for their own profit. When will it end? When will the simple people be allowed to live without the fear of being manipulated by any corporate entity that sees them as a target? Clearly, the 99% are facing a losing battle. What will the final chapter look like? 99% of our citizens begging in the street? Shame on the man who falls asleep with 100 loaves of bread in his pantry, when his neighbor died for lack of just one slice.

[MarsAmbassador]

03:34 AM on 12/03/2011

I only hope it's because they're getting them to name names in order to spark a wider investigation.

[marla singer]

04:03 AM on 12/03/2011

F/F!!! How very eloquent. Thank you!

[whosallen]

04:18 PM on 12/02/2011

OOOPPPs.

[EdwardUlyssesCate]

11:34 AM on 12/02/2011

Lender Processing Service is a public 'plantation' controlled by the same folks that control the banks and mortgage companies. Just look up the major holders under LPS, and you'll see that no one inside the company controls over 1%. Same for the banks and mortgage companies. They're the ones that would have interest in witnesses being 'suicided', as their hundreds of millions are at stake. Of course, the plantation managers would deny any responsibility or knowledge of such unfortunate happenings.

[MikeW CA]

10:20 AM on 12/02/2011

Robo-signing and other fraud must be prosecuted, never settled. Why? Not for "revenge", "punishment" or "justice" but for something more valuable: "rule of law". Without rule of law, that is, without knowing that the laws applying to property ownership will be applied fairly to all, "property ownership" actually has no value. The housing market can never recover without it. If the authorities favor banks over homeowners, if they won't uphold the law defending homeowners' "ownership", that "ownership" has no value relative to renting. In fact, if the courts and prosecutors favor lien holders over owners, "ownership" can actually have a negative value -- sure downside risks, with dubious upside rewards.

[filo]

08:57 PM on 12/02/2011

I agree with everything you said but I'l settle if they are prosecuted for "revenge", "punishmen­t" or "justice" as long as they get prosecuted.

[Jr Palmer]

09:38 AM on 12/02/2011

All the CEO's should be put in jail the are responsible for thier empoleey's action's and they all knew what wasgoing on, as if they say they did not know then they are a lier