An investigation by the North Carolina attorney general into the foreclosure practices of 14 mortgage lenders does not stem from complaints from North Carolina consumers, according to a spokeswoman for the attorney general.

On Wednesday, Attorney General Roy Cooper announced that he was launching an investigation into the lenders. In letters sent Tuesday, Cooper also called on the lenders to suspend foreclosures in North Carolina until the lenders can show that their foreclosure affidavits procedures comply with the law.

Cooper spokeswoman Noelle Talley said that while the AG’s office receives consumer complaints about foreclosure scams, “that is not what spurred this investigation.”

The investigation is a response to national reports that some mortgage companies have been using foreclosure processes that might be illegal, she said.

The 14 lenders are American Home Mortgage Servicing, Aurora Bank, Bank of America, BB&T Mortgage, Citi Mortgage, HSBC, JP Morgan Chase, MetLife Home Loans, OneWest Bank, PHH Mortgage, PNC Mortgage, SunTrust Mortgage, US Bank Home Mortgage and Wells Fargo.

Mecklenburg County has the highest number of “foreclosure cases” in the state as of September, according to the North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts. The county had 1,026 cases for the month, followed by Wake County with 544.

Deon Roberts can be reached at deon.roberts@mecktimes.com.

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