Notario or Lawyer?

Have you ever hired a Notario to prepare legal documents, or seen a business advertise as being a Notario? You should be aware of a growing problem in the southwestern United States where people are taking advantage of the language barrier in order to defraud clients by charging large sums of money for tasks that they are legally not able to provide.

Notario Fraud is occurring mainly in the southwestern United States because of the large number of Hispanic speakers. Individuals who take part in Notario fraud take advantage of the difference in legal systems between the United States and many Latin American countries where a Notario is a type of lawyer who is able to practice law in a number of legal fields. In the United States, a Notario is not an attorney and often is only a Notary Public. Because the different meaning of the word and the difference of the legal systems, scammers will advertise as a Notario and prey on Spanish speakers seeking legal representation.

Notario fraud is especially common when it comes to Immigration. The scammer conveys that he can help expedite the immigration process of a loved one when in fact, he does not possess the ability or legal authority to do so. There have been reports of Spanish speaking immigrants paying over twenty thousand dollars in order to secure “the services” of the Notario to help with an immigration issue. This is especially problematic considering once the scammer takes advantage of the person, he disappears with the money and leaves the victim broke and without recourse.
Because Notario fraud has long been a problem and continues to grow, many state bar associations provide resources for people contemplating “hiring” a notario and for the many unlucky individuals who have already fallen prey to the scam. The rule of thumb when considering hiring someone to provide legal representation is to contact the state bar to confirm the person is certified to practice law in the state.

Links Concerning Notario Fraud and lawyer search page for Arizona
1. http://www.stopnotariofraud.org
2. http://www.americanbar.org/groups/public_services/immigration/projects_initiatives/fightnotariofraud/about_notario_fraud.html
3. http://www.azbar.org/FindALawyer

Feel free to call our office if we can help you with these kinds of issues.