Local woman unravels scam

PORTVILLE, N.Y. (WIVB) - How did a Southern tier grandmother manage to unravel a multi-million dollar scam affecting victims across the country?
   
It happened because she was able to turn to someone in authority who trusted her.

Kathy Baughman was stunned to discover her checking account was frozen, and checks had bounced.
   
A court judgment had been filed against her, but she didn't even know she was being sued.

"And I thought, oh my God!  I thought everything was just coming to an end that day.  It was awful.  It was very traumatic, very traumatic," said whistleblower Kathy Baughman.
   
The Portville grandmother then checked with county clerk Jim Griffith, who confirmed a default judgment was filed against her and court documents showed she had been served notice, but was a no show.

Kathy explained, "And he had the dates written down there.  I said, 'really?' I said 'I am really not lying to you, she really did not serve me.'  She did not."

County Clerk Jim Griffith believed her and launched an investigation into the process server's activities.

Cattaraugus County Clerk, James Griffith said, "And in no time at all, we found what we call the smoking gun--where the person claimed to have been two places at the same time."
   
The investigation turned up hundreds of cases in Cattaraugus County, and tens of thousands of default judgments statewide.

Leading to the arrest of William Singler, whose firm, American Legal Process, had signed off on all of them.

"The Unified Court System did an analysis, came to the same conclusion, then contacted our office," said Assistant Attorney General, James Morrissey.
   
Assistant Attorney General Jim Morrissey told us, process servers sign an "affidavit of service" indicating they served court papers to a defendant in person.. or after three attempts nailed the document to the defendant's door.. and then mailed a copy.. known as "nail and mail".

But the Attorney General contends servers, in the Singler case, falsely delivered "sewer service," instead.  

Those affidavits of service were falsified on thousands and thousands of occasions.  Meaning the courts relied on those affidavits of service, not knowing they had been falsified," Morrissey said.

Kathy Baughman did pay the judgment, but now she is looking for a chance to get her money back.
   
An attorney for William Singler blames rogue process servers for this massive fraud, but authorities built the case against Singler using his own company records.