A law firm educates the community about notary fraud

Just weeks away from when President-elect Donald Trump arrives at the White House, a nonprofit public interest law firm in Los Angeles looks to prepare the undocumented and immigrant community of the dangers of notary fraud. 

On Thursday, December 17, Public Counsel, a law firm dedicated to advancing civil rights and racial and economic justice, hosted an end-of-the-year community event, organized to inform the undocumented community of how to protect themselves from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and avoid the devastating consequences of notary fraud, a common legal threat for immigrants, especially among those that do not speak English. 

Over tamales and champurrado, participants, many undocumented or with family members who are undocumented, were able to hear from attorneys and civic leaders from Public Counsel’s Immigrants’ Rights Project, a multi-disciplinary approach serving immigrants in L.A. who cannot access legal protections without counsel and who lack access to legal services due to socioeconomic and language barriers. 

 Rebecca Brown, a staff attorney in the Immigrants Rights Project, said notaries are notorious for immigration fraud, as they can take on the appearance of  being a resource in many cases. A notary, or notarios, as they are commonly known in Spanish, are people who falsely advertise to the immigrant community that they can help with immigration issues and represent their victims in immigration court, appeals and other matters of law, even though they have no legal training and are not authorized to perform these services. 

“ Our immigrant's rights project has been in the fight against notary fraud and educating the community for several years now. We are dedicated to shining a light on that recurring practice in places like L.A,” Brown said. 

One of the key points that Public Counsel wanted participants to take with them is that only a licensed attorney can give legal and immigration advice. Notaries cannot and should not. 

Brown also said that notary fraud is more common in times like these, when many take advantage of the undocumented communities' fears and blurred lines of a new presidential administration coming into the U.S. political sphere. “In times where folks are really uncertain and have political anxiety like right now because of the new administration, they're especially vulnerable to notario fraud,” she told CALÒ News. 

According to the California Secretary of State, a California notary public who has been found to have violated California notary public law is subject to disciplinary action after the complaints surrounding the performance of the notary public's duties are submitted for investigation.

Public Counsel talked about how to identify common notary schemes. Many notaries may make false promises to their undocumented clients, such as  being able to acquire a work permit in six months or in an unrealistic time frame. 

In addition, some notaries may spread lies to their clients, such as their being eligible for a green card solely because they have lived in the U.S. for more than 10 years. “Unfortunately that is not true,” Brown told the attendees on Tuesday. “There is no path to citizenship only because you have been in the country for that long.” 

Brown also said many feed their clients with lies and false hope that they are eligible for certain visas, even if they do not qualify, as well as telling them that they can be eligible for asylum even if they do not fear returning to their home country.

Public Counsel has been able to help many undocumented people who have fallen victim to scams by notaries, who in worse case scenarios fail to perform contracted work, collect payments, overcharge their clients for work they are not authorized to perform and disappear, and at times, file meritless applications or incorrectly fill out applications, causing applicants to lose their immigration benefits or barring them from obtaining future relief, as well as placing the applicant at risk of removal. 

Public Counsel also explained that many people tend to fall victim to notarios because, in many Latin American countries, they have similar educational and professional training and duties as lawyers. Contrary to this, in the U.S., a notary public is only authorized to witness the signature of forms and cannot provide legal advice or services. 

Public notaries are intended to serve the public as atte-appointed impartial witnesses during notarizations, as well as confirm signer's identity by asking for a current, valid form of identification, administer oaths and in some states, notaries can also perform marriage ceremonies. 

In the wake of Trump's reelection, despite the expressed amnesty towards Dreamers, the newly-elected's immigration policies still include ending birthright citizenship and deporting millions of undocumented immigrants, even those with U.S-born children. 

Brown said the organization's support will continue and expand in the next few months, despite the terrain in these next four years is far from the outcomes immigrant rights advocates wanted. 

“We've been through the Trump administration before as a project and as an organization,” Brown said. “During Trump's first presidency, we’ve learned to expect an onslaught of inhumane policies, at a rapid fire this time, but the immigrant community is not alone.”

To protect yourself from public notary fraud, Public Counsel recommends that clients: 

• Request a written contract signed and dated by an immigration lawyer.

• Request a receipt showing the date, the amount you paid and the service you paid for.

• Request the lawyer’s business card and website.

• Ask the lawyer to explain documents and legal procedures to you.

• Keep your original documents and only give copies to your lawyer.

• Keep copies of any contracts, forms filed on your behalf, receipts and  any other documents.

• You will get a receipt from U.S Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) when you turn in your paperwork. Keep it.

If you have been a victim of public notary fraud, you may also report the incident to the L.A. County District Attorney’s Notario Fraud Unit.