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Foreclosure Fraud | Lender Processing Services Robo-signer Whisleblower Found Dead in Nevada
Foreclosure fraud whistleblower found dead
By msnbc.com staff
A notary public who signed tens of thousands of false documents in a massive foreclosure scam before blowing the whistle on the scandal has been found dead in her Las Vegas home.
NBC station KSNV of Las Vegas reported that the woman, Tracy Lawrence, 43, was scheduled to be sentenced Monday morning after she pleaded guilty this month to notarizing the signature of an individual not in her presence. She failed to show up for her hearing, and police found her body at her home later in the day.
It could not immediately be determined whether Lawrence, who faced up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $2,000, died of suicide or of natural causes, KSNV reported. Detectives said they had ruled out homicide.
Lawrence came forward earlier this month and blew the whistle on the operation, in which title officers Gary Trafford, 49, of Irvine, Calif., and Geraldine Sheppard, 62, of Santa Ana, Calif. — who worked for a Florida processing company used by most major banks to process repossessions — allegedly forged signatures on tens of thousands of default notices from 2005 to 2008.
Trafford and Sheppard were charged two weeks ago with 606 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. You can read a .pdf version of their indictment here.
Rest from MSNBC here...
Detectives said they had ruled out homicide but they also said it could be weeks before investigators know how 43-year-old Tracy Lawrence died.
Is this really a suicide or a warning to others?
UPDATE 8:54pm EST:
Witness in Alleged Robo-Signing Case Dies
State witness Tracy Lawrence was found dead by Las Vegas Metro Police officers Monday morning. They were called to her apartment by the Attorney General’s office after she missed a Monday morning court hearing.
The Attorney General’s office says she was going to be sentenced after pleading guilty to one count of fraudulent notarizing. She was one of four notaries cooperating with the state in exchange for lighter sentences.
She faced up to a year in prison for forging signatures enabling title companies to rush Nevada home foreclosures. Title loan officers Gary Trafford and Gerri Shepperd of Lender Processing Services were indicted on more than 600 felony charges.
Well, it looks like the other three notaries might just come up with rare cases of amnesia…
This is so beyond scandalous…
www.4closureFraud.org
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START BUYIN' PEOPLE! PRICES CAN ONLY GO HIGHER ON THIS NEWS! I heard today Chinese growth could slow to 4 percent given the collapse of a massive property bubble over there. Obviously this is a problem for tourist trade. The US will soon have millions of barrels of oil coming on line in addition to trillions bcf of natural gas. i'll be watching to see if this suddenly makes the USA a net energy exporter in the coming years. if that massive Chinese trade surplus suddenly disappears the Chinese yuan could suddenly be seen as WAY overvalued as well.
anyone wanna take bets who dunnit?
Police say Ms. Lawrence apparently shot herself in the head thee times, then beat herself up before throwing herself down a flight of stairs, then picking herself up and jumping from a sixth story balcony into the swimming pool below.
Foul play is not suspected.
Sounds like a scene from Fight Club.
And as the police said it was sad that she didn't get to eat the dinner she just cooked for herself before using the kitchen knife to stab herself in the back.
The cops said it's the worst case of suicide they've ever seen.
You never call a scene until you know exactly what you are talking about. Saying, "there appears to be no foul play" is the standard. However, to say it was not a homicide means they are not following the rules. Everything has a meaning, including their statements. I would assume there was something found and the police do not want to raise any suspicion on the part of those involved.
only city folk think a body stays hid in the desert
Its_the_economy... .
Only people who have never heard of a BACKHOE knows a body ,or a lot of bodies can stay buried in the Nevada desert.
I am Linda Green
It might be time to retire to the ranch in Paraguay.
nothing to see here people...move along. nothing fishy...not at all. no sir. perfectly normal. happens all the time.
just ask Deborah Jeane Palfrey...well...you can't but...if you could...she'd tell you. nothing fishy here at all.
pure coincidence.
How can they rule out homicide knowing not how she died?
must be something I'm missin...
How could they not know how she died, yet rule out 'homicide'?
swani....
Did you not get the memo...?
"Not taking questions"
"All conclusions are final"
You're on to something there, Sherlock!
linda green, stupid girl
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1N29vkIT3eo
The foreclosure fraud issue makes the S & L scandal of the '80s and "90s look like amateur night at the local theater. The stakes are so high that a settlement is nowhere near to being finalized. Clear title on a shocking number of properties has been broken. This could cripple the housing industry.
http://georgesblogforum.wordpress.com/2011/11/02/the-daily-climb-2/
yeah, and the maverick was almost elected president [keating 5]
why does it take Police "weeks" to figure out how a person died?
should be plain at the autopsy that day
That's the news cycle folks, we're told she's dead today.
Two weeks go by they release the autopsy results, suspicious or not most think who's Tracy Lawrence?
Bingo sweept under the carpet. I see this done all the time by police and the MSM.
The autopsy report can take a while to get back any toxicology. Or if there was a heart condition, was it stress, or the overdose of pills that made the heart stop. Also, since it is the police being quoted, they may be referring to the final police report, which will include interviewing neighbors, friends and relatives, and where ever that may lead.
What I don't understand is how the cops ruled out homicide but suicide and natural causes are still on the table. There are good odds that what appears to be a suidide or natural causes at 24 hours, could be homicide.
As in we will consider other possibilities after the body is cremated.
maybe they'll just go with the old reliable prison categorization of "involuntary suicide".
Agree.. She wasn't swinging from a rope and she didn't shoot herself in the head twice
Toxicology report maybe. What do I know? yada yada yada
they want to make sure they wait until the height of the Christmas frenzy so they can release a one line statement on page 9 of the local section of the Nevada news papers that states she "died suspiciously" and "no further comment will be available"....Ever.
Interpretation: It will take weeks to come up with an alibi to cover for the hitman.
Tracy Lawrence, I hope you blew the whistle to make good on a nonmoral decision. It is never too late to make good and try to fix the damage. Godspeed.
Good riddance and good for taxpayers!
Hey treasurefish.
I wish me and you could play"catch the lead"
FuckHead.
"Bansters" - really?
Banksters - ?
You got a green one for content anyway...
WTF?????? A cooperating witness to one of the largest thefts in American history suddenly dies in what at the very least amounts to suspicious timing...and you think this is good for taxpayers? And "good riddance"? Wow...just...wow.
Whatever the fuck you've been smoking...please...send me some.
You don't want it, it's krokodil. You die from rot after a few weeks or months if it doesn't kill you right off.
Why didn't the murderer(s) from the banks just bury her in the Nevada desert, the preferred choice of LEOs? It's awfully big and dark out there.
many people have died for much less. why was she not garded?
http://covert.mypressonline.com
If it was foul play wouldn't it be better to leave a message and not hide it? Just thinkin'
only city folk think you can hide the dead in the outback
buzzards always give it up
Have you ever tried to dig a hole in the Nevada desert? You'd need a jackhammer and backhoe. Just sayin'.
Actually I have. Looking for old bottles and relics around Goldfield. Not that hard. Maybe Las Vegas is different.
The soil here is like concrete. I think Hollywoody portrays people burying bodies in the desert in and around Vegas to mess them up and leaving the miscreants freakining out with a body to dispose of. Besides making it easier for them to catch, LEOs have a good sense of humor. Like the 3 minutes needed for a phone trace and the promotion for better marksmanship by shooting the pistol sideways while holding onto their nads, misinformation I am happy to see. And have you ever heard how an M-16 sounds like a .50 cal machine gun on screen? Funny.
Fun with acronymns ...
LEO - Law Enforcement Officer or:
http://www.leo.gov/leo_brochure_26.pdf
Lov'n The Innernets!
gangsta stylin gets you shot up dog http://gothamist.com/2009/12/12/times_square_shooters_gun_jammed_be.php
XitSm, pricelass. In Times Square at that. He would have done serious damage day or night. Thanks for the story.