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Judge freezes accounts of Star City Title in Roanoke

In a court document, a physician said one of the agency’s owners has memory loss caused by encephalitis.

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A circuit court judge has granted a temporary injunction against a Roanoke title agency under investigation for financial improprieties.

Judge David Carson signed the order Thursday, freezing the accounts of Star City Title, and it was entered in Roanoke Circuit Court on Monday.

Star City Title has until recently represented two companies — Fidelity National Title Insurance Co. and First American Title Insurance Co. — as a local policy-issuing agency.

Both Fidelity National and First American last week filed complaints that one of Star City’s escrow accounts showed a shortage of $588,840. They also alleged that funds, policies and deposits had been handled improperly, and that files had been lost or misplaced.

The injunction asked that the accounts be frozen “to maintain the status quo … pending a full evidentiary hearing.”

The document also said Star City Title’s co-owner, Roanoke lawyer Roy Creasy, “joins in Fidelity’s request and does not object to the injunctive relief sought.”

“Roy didn’t take any money. We don’t know if there’s anything missing,” his lawyer, Kevin Oddo, said Wednesday. “To that extent, we are working cooperatively to find out what’s happened.”

Roanoke police began investigating the companies’ accusations Aug. 6, spokesman Scott Leamon said last week.

A separate document included in the civil file, submitted by a Carilion Clinic physician, said that the company’s other owner, Janet Crosswhite, “is not able to work at her profession or answer legal questions due to memory loss and other sequelae of recent encephalitis.”

On Aug. 1, both Fidelity National and First American submitted requests with the Virginia State Corporation Commission, terminating Star City as one of their policy-issuing agencies. The injunction also said Star City Title cannot refer to those companies in its advertising, marketing or other dealings.

Saturday, September 14, 2013