By JODI SOKOLOWSKI
Buffalo Law Journal

An Erie County woman allegedly filed false affidavits of service of legal papers with the Cattaraugus County clerk, causing default judgments to be entered against unsuspecting individuals, the state Attorney General's office announced this week.

Annette Forte, 34, of Alden, was charged Tuesday with two counts of offering a false instrument for filing in the first degree, a felony, and one count of scheme to defraud in the second degree, a misdemeanor. The maximum sentence for the felony charge is four years in prison. Forte was released on her own recognizance.

The Attorney General's office alleges that she claimed to serve papers on people when she had not, leaving those people with no notice of pending court actions against them. This led to default judgments such as wage garnishment, the seizure of bank accounts and other assets, or negative impact on credit ratings.

"These victims had no idea that a court action had been brought against them, and because of that, were unable to defend themselves," New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said in a prepared statement.

Before a creditor can garnish a debtor's paycheck or seize bank accounts and personal property, the creditor must obtain a court judgment that may only be filed after a debtor has been served with legal papers and had the opportunity to respond and contest the creditor's claims, then fails to do so. If service of the papers is not completed legally, the resulting judgment may be invalid.

The sworn affidavits of service were filed from August to April in Cattaraugus, Allegany, Chautauqua and Wyoming counties. Anyone with additional information is urged to contact Investigator Sandra Migaj at 853-8468.