New York State Takes Action to Deter Immigration Scams and Perpetrators
The New York Department of State (DOS) today
announced the adoption of new regulations for notaries public aimed at
protecting the public from unscrupulous notaries who use their title to commit
fraud and cheat people by posing as immigration professionals and attorneys.
The DOS oversees the commissioning and
enforcement of the notary public occupation.
“For a long time now, con-artists have been
hiding behind the veil of the notary public occupation to commit egregious acts
of fraud and victimize thousands of people in our state. These new regulations
will put the brakes on immigration scammers and expose these bad actors”,
stated Secretary of State Cesar Augusto Perales.
“New York State can finally look forward to the
day when the notario fraud reference is no longer part of its lexicon.”
Quite often, immigrants seek immigration
assistance by contracting with a notary public. Because the word for notary
public in some languages implies that the individual is an attorney, some hold
themselves out as qualified to help immigrants obtain lawful status, or able to
perform legal functions such as drafting wills or other legal documents when
they are not authorized to do so.
Many times, these fraudsters charge excessive
fees for services that are never provided. At times, victims are so damaged by
these con artists that they permanently lose out on important immigration opportunities.
The new regulations will prohibit notaries
public from advertising their services using foreign language terms that
falsely represent or imply that the notary public is an attorney authorized to
practice law, or authorized to provide immigration advice.
The new regulations require notaries public who
use foreign language to advertise their services to include the following
disclaimer in their advertisement, “I am not an attorney
licensed to practice law and may not give legal advice about immigration or any
other legal matter or accept fees for legal advice.”
The adoption of these regulations will provide
stronger consumer protection to immigrant communities and they are especially
timely given the recent reports of scammers targeting young people who are
eligible to be considered for relief from removal from the country and eligible
to apply for work authorization through the new federal Deferred Action for
Childhood Arrival program.
The regulations will be effective three months
after the notice of adoption. Notaries found to have violated the new
regulation could face the revocation or suspension of their notary commission
or the imposition of a fine of up to $1,000 per violation.
The case may also be referred to the Attorney
General’s office for further action.
Image courtesy of http://www.notarycentral.net.
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