IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE NINTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT IN AND FOR ORANGE COUNTY, FLORIDA WELLS FARGO BANK, N.A., AS TRUSTEE FOR OPTION ONE MORTGAGE LOAN TRUST 2007-4 ASSET-BACKED CERTIFICATES, SERTES 2007-4, Plaintiffs, vs. Case No.: 2009-CA-007640-0 STANLEY W. MARISKOVIC, JR., ET AL, Defendants. Deposition of CHERYL DENISE THOMAS, held on March 23, 2011, at 1755 North Brown Road, Lawrenceville, Georgia, commencing at 9:53 a.m., before Mary Ann Hanham, Court Reporter and Notary Public in and for the state of Georgia.a ow Ce aan 10 12 13 4 15 16 17 18 19 20 2 22 23 24 25 c. THOMAS APPEARANCES : On behalf of the Plaintif BY: AMY SUMACEWSKI, Esquire Robertson, Anschutz & Schneid, PL 3010 North Military Trail suite 300 Boca Raton, Florida 33431 (561) 241-6901 (561) 241-9181 (facsimile) als@rasflaw, co On behalf of the Defendants: BY: JONATHON C.A. BLEVINS, Esquire The Law Office of Kaufman, Englett & Lynd 111 North Magnolia Avenue suite 1500 Orlando, Florida 32801 (407) 513-1901 (407) 389-5144 (facsimile)sen ee raw 10 u 2 13 4 15 16 7 18, 19 20 a 2 2B 4 25 DESCRIPTION Exhibit-a 3 Cc. THOMAS INDEX TO EXHIBITS MARKED 35 Certificate of Appointment of Notary Public, consisting of Exhibit-B Assignment of consisting of Exhibit-c Assignment of consisting of Exhibit-c-2 Assignment of consisting of Bxhibit-c-3 Assignment of consisting of one page 39 Mortgage, Stanley d——777suemmpe, three pages. 42 Mortgage, Jason @= Gili two pages 42 Mortgage, Jason #.. 7m, two pages 42 Mortgage, Willian @. Gm. two pages.10 ul 12 B 4 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 2 2B 24 25 DESCRIPTION Exhibit-c-4 Assignment of consisting of Exhibit-C-5 Assignment of consisting of Exhibit-c-6 Assignment of consisting of Exhibit-c-7 Assignment of consisting of Exhibit-c-8 Assignment of consisting of a c. THOMAS INDEX TO EXHIBITS (CONT’D.) Mortgage, two pages Mortgage, two pages Mortgage, two pages Mortgage, two pages Mortgage, two pages. MARKED 42 Asher Sm, 42 Leticia sa iim, 4 42 Timothy © Ain 42 Dillon 42 steven gas5 Cc. THOMAS INDEX TO EXHIBITS (CONT’D.) sor ea ae 10 u 12 13 14 15 16 17 19 20 21 2 23 24 25 DESCRIPTION MARKED Exhibit-c-9 42 Assignment of Mortgage, Brenda MBM, and then from her, it became Renee Gaglione. Q. I'm just going to ask you, because the Fa. Do you have any A. No, sir @. And when you say at the time, what time are we talking about? What years, months? Can you ballpark what you're talking about? A. Within the -- within that last year, I was under QD QM but then upon the closing, within about five/six months, I became more underneath Renee. Q. Okay, And what year are we talking about? A. 2009, Q. Okay. And how long had you been with DOCK at that time? A. Seven years. Upon the closing? Yes. A. Seven years. Q. Okay. So the supervisor, either10 12 13 14 15 16 7 18 19 20 a 2 23 24 25 15 c. THOMAS Qe Gimm® or Renee Gaglione, woglitum &» davise you as to what needs to be changed on the documents, correct? A, Well, they would tea- -- we would learn from them how to cgrrect the document. So once you 5- you know, you understood how to correct the document, you didn't go to them, you know, constantly, but they would -- they had told us how to correct the documents, correct. Q. Okay. If -- if I understand your prior testimony, though, you were just changing loan',amount$ or wileever the receiver was. How would you know, through that training, what to change? MS. SUMACEWSKI: Form; mischaracterization. THE WITNESS: It was different temps that did a lot of the documents. Q. By "temps," you mean temporary workers? A. Correct. Q. Okay. A. So if a -- if a -- if a temp didn't know exactly what to look for, if youewe wa 10 uw 2 2B “4 15 16 7 18 19 20 aq 22 23 24 25 76 c. THOMAS + didn't know: exactly, on the document, what to look for, they would either overlook something or something to that effect, so if -- that would be a reason that something would come back, because maybe they overlooked something or there was some type of oversight on their part. And so when we would see it, the document, when it comes back, it will actually have a cover sheet on it stating what the problem is or maybe something is missing in the document, so we would just fix that and send it back out Q. Well, how would you know what you were looking for? A. I knew personally. Because, like I said, I'd been there seven years. and I held different -- been in different departments. I actually started as a prep. So I knew what a loan was. I knew what a note was, knew what a modification was, and stuff of that nature. Q. But Z assume, and correct me if I'm wrong, that DOCK is receiving these documents from a host of different lenders, correct?10 ul 12 13 4 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 7 c. THOMAS A. Correct. Q. Okay. 80 if you're dealing with so many different lenders or different banks, how would you know, given whatever set of documents you were looking at, what needed to be changed? A. Because all of the documents were pretty much the same as far as the standard procedure, formwise, They were -- so you would know what particular document to go and look for something, if it was a schedule they paid, the type, but you would know exactly where to go and look for something. Because they were all kind of like the same documents, just a different, you know, bank name or something like that. But it was all pretty much the same standard document. Q. Okay, If -- if they were all standard then -- I'm sorry, maybe I'm asking the question incorrectly. But how would you know, you know, what names to change or -- or loan amounts to change, without being advised from the actual lender of what to change? A. Again, it's -- it's differentsoo 10 u 12 13 4 15 16 7 18 19 20 a 2 2B 4 25 Te C, THOMAS departments. Because, like I said it from the beginning, when the documents come in the door -- this is my knowledge of it, when the documents come in the door, they have a C-dating process that -- Q. I'm sorry, what was that? A. They have a C-dating process. They call it C-dating. Q. Like the letter c dating? A. Yeah, the letter c -- Q. Okay. A. -- and then dash dating. They call it a C-dating process. When the document comes in the door, they see the document. They note the document come in. And it's filled with papers. It's, like, a folder that's filled with papers, probably anywhere from 20 to 30 papers, depending upon the document. And once that document comes in the door, it's an original document, so then it's another process. I could be skipping different processes. But I'm just going with the flow. ‘There's another process that scans this document, okay. 80 we have it on the10 u 2 1B 4 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 2 23 24 25 79 C. THOMAS system, because it's scanned. So if that document goes back out the door incorrectly, because of the scanning system that we have, we would know that that was correct. So if -- if -- once somebody is doing something with the document, I can't say exactly what they might be doing with the document, but say a temp was doing something with the document, Say they was locking up a name and maybe the name was -- a name on the document, the loan document, was different than the name on the title page, so the temp went in and said, well, this title page should have the same name as the loan documents and they might go in and change the document. Why? I couldn't tell you. whatever their job duties was, that's something totally different. Now, they call that data entry. 680 if they change the document, we already have it scanned, so we know what the correct name and everything that was on the document. So if it went out the door and they said that name shouldn't have been changed.Cer aue on 10 u 12 13, 4 13 16 7 18 19 20 21 23 24 25 20 c. THOMAS Why was it changed? $0 once it come back on the door with a cover sheet, that's when they would question us, why was this document changed name? 0 we would change the name back and send it back out. and they said, okay, yeah, the document is correct, something like that. Q. And when you say they're saying it's correct, are you talking about the supervisors or the lender on the documents? A, The lender. Q. Okay. Now, when you said you would -- the temps, or whoever it was that was doing the data entry, would change the name on a title sheet, would they ever change the mame in the actual loan documentation? A. Sometimes. It depends on whatever data entry process they're doing, It -- it may not be just a name change on the title page. Tt could be a schedule date. rt could be anything, I'm -- I'm not sure of the process of the data entry part of it, so while they would be doing whatever with the loan. Q. Okay, How -- what kind of10 ul 12 13 14 15 16 7 18 19 20 ai 2 23 24 25 21 c, THOMAS verification would you guys do, ox whoever it was that was inputting the names, to know whether the title page name was correct or the name in the loan documentation was correct? A, That's another department that would make sure that it's -- different bank names that would have different codes. There's different schedule days or different assignments that may be attached to a loan. So the supervisor or, you know, someone would have already gathered that information from whatever bank. And so they'll know exactly which code or which name should be on there, It's just -- they -- they would have a code that they would have gotten from the lender to know exactly, you know, what should be correct and what's incorrect or something to that nature. and they -- that's, again, the data entry department. Q. Okay. And the coding, does that refer to the borrowers and the lenders or just the lenders? A. It could be either/or. I've seenwe wn ce rare 10 u 2 B 4 15 16 7 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 22 c. THOMAS either/or. Q. Okay. Now, you said there's different departments, I guess, within Docx, whenever you were there? A, Correct. Q. Was it -- how many different departments, do you think, are involved in this process? A. That's -- that's really hard to say. Me, myself, I've probably only done three or four different departments. But it -- it could be anywhere from six -- six to ten different departments. It depends on whatever, you know, they're doing at that time. Because we had other different things that we did at the job as well You know, once the mortgage company got like it did. You know, the mortgage is going down, and, you know, all of the flexibility with that. You know, we did other things like foreclosures. so it just depends on what department. There's there's a lot of different departments that was there. @. And how many people are we talking10 ul 12 1B 4 15 16 7 18 19 20 al 2 23 24 25 23 C. THOMAS about? I mean, do you have any idea of how many people were working at DOCK during that time? A. See, when I started, it was probably about 30. By the time we ended, it was probably a good 100, 150, maybe. Q. And when did -- when is the date that you refer to as the ending date? A. April ist or April and was the actual due date, but they let us go April the ist. Q. Of what year? A. 2009. Q. Okay. So were -- were you also employed at DOcCx and LPS as a notary? A. Yes Q. Okay, Did you notarize different documents? A. Yes. Q. How many about how many documents would you notarize on any given -- at any given time? A. That's flexible. It could be anywhere from one to a thousand documents in one day.Sowra uw 2 1B 4 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 2 25 2h Cc. THOMAS @. Okay. and how was that setup? 1 mean, how -- how did you get the documents in order to notarize them? A. Tt was different processes. So some -- sometimes we would go into a room and, you know, we sat around the table and the different people named that might have been on the documents, those people were in there as well, And so as they signed, you know, we just kind of passed the documents. and you -- you got to the end, which was the notary. Because there might be three or four persons' names on the documents. so by the time it got to the notary, then all of those persons would have signed it. And sometimes it would depend upon the work schedule. You got in there when you got in there. Q. And when you were talking about -- earlier about the documents and the data input and all of the other things that you guys did with the documents, did you guys - were you guys responsible for creating the assignment of mortgages as well? A. I can't say that for sure, becauseBower raw 10 12 13 4 15 16 7 18 19 20 2 22 23 24 25 25 C. THOMAS I've never been a part -- a part of that department, if it was. To my knowledge, like I said, they came in the door already with all of that in it, the assignments, the of that was in the documents when it came in the door. If anything was created, I don't know. I haven't seen it. Q. 80 you just -- personally, you know that you've never been involved in creating an assignment of mortgage or a note or a mortgage or any of those documents? A. Right. Right. Q. Okay. Now, back to the -- the room where people are signing, when you say that you could get there when you could get there, what do you mean? Does that always mean everybody was there or how would that work? A. Well, it -- it depends, again, on the -- on the supervisor. Sometimes she'll tell you you have to do your own work and you get in there when you get in there. just -- it really depended upon the supervisor. you know, the note, the title page, all rt10 u 12 13 4 15 16 7 18 19 20 at 2 2B 4 23 26 Cc, THOMAS And, of course, we questioned it. Because it’s like, well, why can't I be in there? If they're signing their name, I need to see it. Well, just do what you're told. And so you did what you were told. Q. Okay. Now, that's kind of what I want to get at is, when you say you questioned it, what do you mean by “questioned it"? A. Questioned it in terms of if somebody's name is on the document and I'm a notary, I have to see that person sign the document. and so when I -- when I say that, I've said it a number of times, you know, to my supervisors. And they were, like, well, you -- you got your own work to do, and you go in there, you know all of these people are already in the room signing, you just go in there and sign when it's your time, stuff like that. so it depends on what day. 0. Okay. So if I understand your testimony correctly then, either WHIM c= gence Gaglione, whoever it may be, actually instructed you not to be in theSeerxau Tt 12 1B 4 15 16 17 18 19 20 al 22 23 24 25 a Cc. THOMAS room, in some circumstances, when these things were being signed? A. Correct. Q. So there were times that you would notarize something where you didn't actually physically watch the person sign the document? A. Correct. Q. Do you have any idea -- you may not, but do you have any idea of how many of those documents you would have notarized without actually seeing the person sign? A. I really couldn't say an idea. 1 really couldn't say a number to be accurate. I couldn't even say close to a number. It -- it could be a thousand documents. I -- I -- it could be more or it could be less. I really couldn't give an exact number. 1 just know there was a lot of times that we didn't. We knew the person was in there, but we didn't physically see them sign. Q. S80 the setup of, I guess, your offices is that there is a room wnere these Eeople.are signing these documents? A. Correct.wera 10 Tt R 13 4 15 16 17 18 19 20 2 22 23 24 25 28 c. THOMAS Q, Like the room we're in now, with four walls and a door? A. Correct. Q. Okay. 0 you -- so you wouldn't actually be able to see the people who are in -- in the room while this is happening? A, At the beginning of the day, you'll know if you're on a document. How do I say it? It's almost like a -- whenever they were creating documents, it's, like, a dropdown box that they would pick a certain name. So if you knew that -- if -- if they knew that you were going to be on the documents that day -- because some days you might not be on the documents. But if they knew you were going to be on the documents, the supervisor in the room, at that time, was Jeffrey -- I don't even know his last name. T think it was (MMB 50 if he knew that you were going to be on the documents that day, he would come to you and say they're using you as a notary today, s0 you need to come in the room today. so I would take it upon myself and go into theaw 10 i 2 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 2 2 23 24 25 28 c. THOMAS xoom and see who was in the room. If T knew that it was, again, going to be a fight with Renee to say you need to stay at your desk and, you know, you go once you know the last person has signed, whatever the case may be. Jeffrey would come and get you or Jeffrey would e-mail you to come in the xoom, stuff like that, But I would -- I would go in the room myself and see that the persons that are on those documents are in the room. Q. Okay. So is it true or is it accurate for me to say that it was the procedure for DOCX to tell you and other notaries not to be in the room, in some circumstances, when signing these documents? MS. SUMACEWSKI: Form; objection. THE WITNESS: Objection means I don't have to answer it? Q. No, you still haye to.answer it. A, Oh, okay. Sometimes, in some cases, yes, they said, we didn't -- they wouldn't let us in the room, They said you do your own work, You do what you need to do -- Q. Okay.Ceara 10 uw 12 13 “4 15 16 7 18 19 20 at 22 23 24 25 30 c. THOMAS A. you go in there... Q. And when we're saying "they," we're meaning the supervisors that you've described? A. Correct. Q. Now, when it -- DOCX became LPS, did that procedure change? A. Slowly, it did, not right away, but it progressed to a better change. Q. Were those supervisors still in place at the time when LPS took over? A. Yes. Q. Okay. Are you familiar with the rules of a notary? 1 mean, I ask that and I'm not trying to be facetious, but you understand what the role of a notary is, correct? A. Correct. @. Do you know the rules as far as what needs to be done before you could notarize something? A. Correct. @. Okay. Can you, please, briefly describe your understanding of what those xules are? A. The bank -- the main thing was you10 u 12 13 14 15 16 7 18 19 20 21 22 23 25 37 Cc. THOMAS see a person sign a document, you know what was on the document, so that when you notarize it, it's an accurate signature. Q. Okay. Now, when you would notarize these documents, whether you would watch them sign it or not, some of these people signed as corporate officers, correct, vice presidents, secretaries, stuff like that? A. Correct. Q. Were you ever provided any information regarding their authority to sign in those capacities? A. No, that is another question that we, of course -- I. have, of course, aroused many times. Q. When you say you raised that issue, can you describe how that situation went? MS. SUMACEWSKI: Relevancy. THE WITNESS: Again, you do what you're told, You just -- it's covered. we have legal documentation. It's covered. That's really all you woulda get from them. Q. Okay. So when these people would sign as these corporate officers, they never produced, to you, anything that shows that Iyan een 10 i 12 13, 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 23 24 25 32 c. THOMAS am this officer, whatever that position may be? A. No. Q. Okay. And when you raised this issue with them, they just told you to do what you were required to do? A. Yeah, we got it covered. we're legal. You can do it. That's fine, just notarize it. Q. Now, you said that Tywanna is your daughter? A. Correct. Q. Do you have any information or know any information about her being a corporate officer? A. No. Q. Are you currently a notary? A, No. Q. Okay. Did you just not reinstate your license or what happened? A. Once I moved -- because we -- the company was in Fulton County. So once I moved, I addressed that with Renee, which was such a blessing for me, And I'm in Gwinnett, So I'm like, I'm no more. Andu 12 B 14 15 16 7 18 19 20 2 22 23, 24 25 3 ¢. THOMAS that's when they -- well, upon us leaving anyway, they took up our notary stamps and everything and destroyed them. But I was relieved of my duties once I moved to Gwinnett county. Q. Who -- who -- I'm sorry, did miss that? who destroyed those documents? A. I can't say exactly who destroyed them. All I know is that Jeffrey Qa the supervisor in the signing room at that time, he picked up everyone's stamp, the notaries' stamps. Q. He took your stamps? A. He took our stamps. And -- and they were destroying them. Q. How were they destroying them? A. I don't know how, He just said they were picking up all of the stamps, all of the notary stamps. And they were going to destroy them, because the company was closing. And they were only supposed to be used for that company. Q. Do you know the names of any of the other notaries that were there at the time? A. wow. I can't say, because, at thatou ken u 2 13 14 15 16 7 18 19 20 2 2 24 25 34 ¢. THOMAS time, upon the closing, they had hired a lot of temps that became notaries, so I didn't know them personally. I didn't know them by name. And it was different notaries that were there, but I don't know whether they were active. Once they hired other notaries -- once LPS kind of took over, they hired another, maybe, eight notaries Q. What about the notaries thgt wer& there during the seven years that you worked for DOCK? A. I only knew a few. (QM Thomas was one. Q. And that's ZA > A. Correct. Q. Any, relation? A. She's my niece. Wow, @iiimues Mr was one. Bailey Que (phonetic). «= I can't -- I can't spell her last name. I just know it starts with a K. She was one, 7p QB was one. That's really all the ones I could think of at this time. Q. Okay. So during the seven years you were with DOCK or thereabouts, these were10 ul 12 13 14 15 16 7 18 19 20 ai 22 23 24 25 35 C. THOMAS some of the notaries that were working with you? A, Right. 9. And they would have been under the same procedures or guidelines that you were under? A. Correct. And QM, chat was another one. Correct, same guidelines. Q. Now, when you got your notary stamp -- can I see your certificate: again? y I'm sorry. (Whereupon, #handing document.) MR. BLEVINS: And I guess for purposes, if we could, document this as Exhibit-A since I didn't have this previously. . «* (Whereupon, Exhibit-A was marked for identification.) BY-MR.BLEVINS: oe Q. The certificate you got here that says you're from Fulton County, Georgia, Cathelene Robinson is the Clerk of the Court for Cheryl Denise Thomas, correct?ul 12 13 14 16 7 18 19 20 2 22 23 25 36 c. THOMAS A. Correct. Q. Okay. And this was done on or about, it looks like, the sth day of april of -- is this '06? can you tell me what those dates are? A, April 8, 2007, is when it was done, and it expired 2012. Q. Okay. 3 A, It would have expired 2012. Q. Now, this is -- this notary is in your individual capacity, correct? A. The stamp? Q. Yes. A. No, they took it up upon the office closing, they took it from us. Q. When you applied to become a notary, did you apply to become a notary as Cheryl Denise Thomas ~~ A. Yes. Q. -+ or as Cheryl Denise Thomas as employee for? A. Well, when they -- they paid for everything, the -- the company. DOCK paid for everything. $0 they let us know that it was for that company specifically. You don'tML 2 13 14 15 16 7 18 19 20 2 22 23 24 25 a7 ‘THOMAS notarize anything else outside the company. In other words, we wasn't -- we couldn't even take them home, They had to stay in the office. S80 you notarized only in the office. You didn't do anything outside the office. Q. Okay. Then based on your notary certificate here, your notary stamp still would have been active when DOCK or LPS closed in 20097 A, Correct. Q. Okay. And is this your correct signature here on your application? A. Correct. Q. Okay. Okay. Ms. Thomas, what I would like to do now is I'm going to ask you some questions about some particular documents, okay? A. Okay. Q. I've already showed these to Plaintiff's Counsel, but I just want you to take a look at this. Can you -- do you recognize this document in any way? Do you have any independent knowledge of this document?awk ww 10 ul 12 13 4 15 16 7 18 19 20 2 2 23 24 25 38 C. THOMAS A. Those -- this is the documents, like I say, when -- when we go into that room -- Q. Uh-huh, A, -+ you would know the people. 1 know -- I know everybody on this document. I've worked with everyone here, so I know their names. And I would know, when I walked into that room, that they're actually in that room when I would go and do my -- when it would -- if it was a time that she said you do your work, you sign later, I would go into the room and make sure that those people were in that room. Q. Okay, And just before we go any further, I have this marked as Exhibit-B. And this is the Assignment of Mortgage, in the instant case that we're here to talk about, between American Home Mortgage Servicing, Incorporated, as successor-in-interest to Option One Mortgage Corporation. The borrower's name is stanley Mariskovic, a single person. Original mortgagee was Option One. But you don't have any independent knowledge whether this is one of the10 L 12 4 15 16 7 18 19 20 2 2 23 24 25 Ey c. THOMAS documents where you were actually present in the room or if this was one of the times when you were told not to be in the room? (Whereupon, Exhibit-B was marked for identification.) MS. SUMACEWSKI: Object to form. THE WITNESS: Correct, I can't say whether I was in the room for this document or not, I cannot. BY-MR . BLEVINS: Q. Okay. And you say you recognize the names of the people who were on that document ? A. Correct. Q. Okay. Can you list off those names? A, Dawn williams, Korell Harp, Christina Huang, and Tywanna Thomas. Q. Okay. Now, Korell Harp signed as a vice president, correct -- A. Correct. Q. -- at least, as far as this document is concerned? A. Correct. MS, SUMACEWSKI: Objection. It calls for a legal conclusion.au ken eon 10 ul 12 B 14 15 16 7 18 19 20 21 2 24 25 40 C. THOMAS Q. Okay. And Tywanna Thomas, she signed as an assistant vice president? MS. SUMACEWSKI: Same objection. THE WITNESS: Correct. Q. And are those signatures accurate? Is that Tywanna's signature? A. To my knowledge, it is, yes. Q. Okay. And on the back page is where you notarized it? A. Correct. Q. And is that your signature? A. Yes. Q. Okay. Now, when you notarized this document, did either Korell Harp or Tywanna Thomas present to you any information regarding their ability to sign as a vice president, or an assistant vice president respectively? A. No. Q. and did you have any hand or have any independent knowledge as to the creation of this document? A. I -- I know that there was a document that was created at Docx, because I can -- because of the names that are on it.