LAS VEGAS -- Three notaries accused in a robo-signing scheme faced a judge for this first time Wednesday morning.
They did not enter a plea instead the judge postponed the case until early next year. The notaries are key witnesses in a case against two title officers accused in a massive robo-signing scheme.
According to the state attorney general, the officers, who work for Florida-based Lender Processing Services, directed the notaries to sign documents without properly witnessing the signatures. The result says the AG is tens of thousands of fraudulent foreclosure records.
The notaries, Meghan Shaw, Jennifer Bloeckner and Joseph Noel, each faces one count of notary fraud, which is a gross misdemeanor. Prosecutors expected the three to enter guilty pleas as part of deal struck for their testimony. A judge delayed the hearing to give them time to consult with their attorneys. As part of the 8 News NOW Desert Underwater series, the I-Team spoke exclusively with Bloeckner about the alleged scheme. She claims her boss, Gerri Shepphard, who was based in California, told Bloeckner to forge her signature, and then for Bloeckner to notarize it as if she witnessed Sheppard signing the document.
"It was just like starting any other job, you go to work somewhere and they say this is just what we do, this is part of the job. This is how it is done. She works out of California, we work here, we are the satellite branch and we sign these and sign her name so we can record them with the county on the same day. It was just kind of like this is just what it is," Bloeckner said.
Sheppard and co- defendant Gary Trafford face more than 600 counts related to the alleged operation both have pleaded innocent to the charges. In a written statement, Lender Processing Services acknowledges that signing procedures for some of its documents were flawed. However, it claims those records did not result in any wrongful foreclosures. The notaries are scheduled to be back in court early next year.
