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The co-founder and president of a defunct mortgage escrow company was indicted on federal fraud charges for allegedly misappropriating more than $500,000 of customer funds for his own personal use, as well as to pay operating expenses of two other businesses. A former employee of his company was indicted in February. Read on for more details.

The General Assembly of Iowa has enrolled a bill to amend the state’s recording statute. Read on to find out more about the bill.

Wells Fargo endorsed the American Land Title Association’s Best Practices in its latest Settlement Agent Communications. It said they were guidelines for sound business practices and said settlement service providers should ideally already have these in place.

The South Carolina General Assembly is considering a bill that would allow mortgagees, note holders, trustees or their legal representatives to execute a mortgage satisfaction or deed of trust release, as well as providing a procedure and form for doing so. Read on for more details.

The title insurance and mortgage lending industry will begin to feel the sting of implementing the newly integrated mortgage disclosure forms soon enough. And while challenges always present themselves when dealing with new regulations, planning ahead and following the advice of industry experts can lead companies to a smooth transition and successful implementation. But title companies are urged to start now in order to manage pressure points and reduce the disruption in business operations when it comes time to comply. So what should you be doing? The Title Report and sponsor WFG National Title Insurance Co. are offering an exclusive webinar on March 19, from 2-3:30 p.m. ET, to provide title companies instruction on implementing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s mandated mortgage disclosure forms.

Following a public comment period, the Federal Trade Commission has approved a final consent order settling charges that Fidelity National Financial’s acquisition of Lender Processing Services was anticompetitive.

WFG National Title Insurance Co. introduced a compliance management system to enable title agents to implement key compliance safeguards. This technology will help demonstrate to agents’ clients that they have implemented these safeguards.

Erica Meyer, chief executive officer and publisher of October Research, LLC, announced that Fidelity National Title Group  has signed on as the presenting sponsor for the 10th Annual National Settlement Services Summit, making this the third consecutive year the company has taken on this central role.

The Alaska Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development appointed a new director of the Division of Insurance. Read on for more about the new hire.

An escrow officer from Edinburg, Texas, pleaded guilty to her role in a mortgage fraud scheme that involved creating fraudulent HUD-1 documents for several transactions, leading to the loss to lending institutions of approximately $3.7 million. Read on for more details.