Former Lakeland Florida title agent is charged in theft and fraud case

A Former Lakeland title agent is charged in theft and fraud case, according to an article in The Ledger, March 26, 2008. www.theledger.com/article/20080326/NEWS/803260463 Of course, I was not shocked by the news. I had heard of this company during a title closing at our office. People talked and I listened.

It is unfortunate, but some people in the industry do not have the morals or ethics necessary to handle large sums of money. They are tempted by the almighty dollar, even if it is not theirs.
The article I have linked to also mentions a local real estate attorney that was also charged, in a separate case. Therefore, as I stated in an earlier blog, the consumer doesn’t know which way to turn.

I remember listening to a real estate agent at one of our closings about how much money the closing agents at her title company were bringing home. I never said a word to the agent, just listened. After the closing, I tried to calculate how many average closings they would have to perform to afford a payroll of that amount. Not even considering the other overhead involved in running the company. Two and two were not adding up to four! A short time after learning the information, I heard that the underwriter for the title company had frozen the escrow account! I felt bad for the clients whose money had been frozen. Their closings would not happen in a timely manner. I had wished those clients had chosen another company, but how were they to know?

Around the same time, another title company in the area was also shut down. Not as much was publicized about that one. I cannot remember the name of it now. It was a difficult time having to listen to our industry get criticized. My company, which prided itself on treating the customers with honesty and integrity, suffered due to bad publicity. By then people had forgotten about the real estate attorney that was just as bad!

Unfortunately, I don’t have the magic answer on how to figure out who to trust! There are people still out there that have no business touching other people’s monies. I am not going to start listing names and get into any lawsuit over hearsay. I cannot prove who does what. I am not privy to their books and bank records. Believe me, some of these people look so innocent, you would never guess by appearances. Also, don’t let the number of years they have been doing closings cloud your judgement either!

Until I can figure out the magic answer, beware. Take the time to ask questions. Like I stated in earlier posts, most of the time the seller chooses the closing agent, so sellers do your homework!