NJ notary fraud

State officials are combatting the problem of notaries fraudulently providing immigrants with legal services that they are not qualified to do in their capacity as notary public.  As a result of these frauds, immigrants often lose money, or, in the worst cases, face deportation.  The scam is an especially huge problem for the Hispanic community.  For most Hispanic immigrants, “notarios” are licensed to handle legal matters.

On Monday, New Jersey launched a law enforcement and education campaign in an effort to crack down on corrupt notaries and to inform immigrants of these corrupt notaries public.  State officials promised to “aggressively investigate” and to prosecute notaries accused of committing fraud.  Those found guilty can be fined up to $10,000 for a first offense and $20,000 for a second offense, with the possibility of revoking their notary license.

In addition to notaries public, business owners in immigrant communities, such as travel agencies, tax preparers, and prepaid calling card businesses, are also posing to be legal experts who can help fill out legal documents and give legal advice, even though they lack both the skill and the proper licensing to do so.  However, it is especially difficult to investigate and prosecute these small business owners because they target their audience and advertise only in that foreign language.