GA woman faces Mich racketeering charge

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - A Georgia woman was arraigned in a Michigan courtroom for allegedly "robo-signing" more than 1,000 mortgage documents during the foreclosure crisis.

Lorraine Brown, 51, is was charged Dec. 5 with forgery, conducting a criminal enterprise, and uttering and publishing. She waived her preliminary hearing, sending the court to circuit court. She was granted a $5,000 personal recognizance bond and allowed to leave the state. She could spend 20 years behind bars.

Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette's office said Brown fraudulently processed mortgage assignments and lien releases for residential lenders and servicers nationwide through DocX -- the company of which she was president.

The Alpharetta, Ga. woman "allegedly established and orchestrated a widespread scheme of 'robo-signing,' a practice in which employees were directed to fraudulently sign another authorized person’s name on mortgage documents in order to execute these documents as quickly as possible," Schuette's office said in a release.

This took place between 2006-09, according to the AG's office said. DocX suspended operations in 2010.

Brown pleaded guilty to a federal charge in Florida and reached a plea agreement in a similar case in Missouri.