Florida AG joins national foreclosure probe

Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum is joining the nationwide foreclosure probe, as a member of the “working group” aiming to investigate banks and large mortgage companies, a spokesperson announced today. Homeowner advocates in Florida have been disappointed by the state’s response to the widening foreclosure meltdown nationwide, complaining that little has been done. In addition, an investigation into the state’s four large foreclosure mills is now in question after a judge said the AG has no authority to investigate law firms. “The silence is damning and deafening,” said Lisa Epstein, a Palm Beach County homeowner advocate who runs a blog called Foreclosure Hamlet. She questions the political motivations of McCollum, who lost his run for governor in the Republican primaries. According to the AG’s office, Florida state law doesn’t allow the AG to investigate banks, so it’s unclear what part McCollum will play in the probe. [Palm Beach Post]