My question involves collection proceedings in the State of: Massachusetts
My sister graduated school a few years back. After graduation, parents were receiving collections calls regarding student loan debt, that my father was not aware of. After discovering 6 or 7 student loans taken out in his name, by my mother, my father consolidated most of the loans. He contacted my sister for help in paying some of these off. My sister recently needed a copy of a promissory note for one of the private student loans that was apparently in her name. The documents showed that my mother had forged my sister's signature, as well as my grandmother's signature (she is now deceased) and was under the assumption that my parents were paying for her student loans, as my mother had promised they would. It is very obvious that this is my mother's writing, and the documents even show that they were faxed from my mother's workplace back in 2009. I also was a witness to her forging my grandmother's name on a student loan, although I do not remember the year or the loan.
Needless to say, my parents are now going through a nasty divorce. They are working with the lawyers to figure out the student loan debt that is in my father's name. My father is not going after my mother for fraud for forging his signature or using his social security number (I'm not sure he even could since they were married at the time). My sister, however, is struggling with damaged credit because of the fraud my mother has committed. She now has to contact each loan to see which are in her name and if she signed agreed to them herself. She was also told by the lender to file a police report.
My questions are as follows:
1. Since she did not knowingly take out a loan in her name, is my sister still responsible for the debt?
2. If convicted of identity theft or fraud, who is responsible for the disputed debt?
3. If my mother is found responsible for the debt for the fraud she committed, would my father be somehow responsible for this, since they were married at the time and are now divorcing?
4. What, if anything, will happen to my mother if she is found guilty of student loan fraud? Can she also be found guilty for forging my grandmother's signature as cosigner (even though she is now deceased)?
5. What are the next steps?

