Jesse Scheckner
A bill to protect primarily Spanish-speaking people in Florida from scamsters is now one vote away from clearing the Legislature’s upper chamber.
Members of the Senate Rules Committee voted to advance SB 846, which would set clear guidelines for how notaries public can describe themselves and advertise their services in the Sunshine State.
“Notario fraud occurs when unscrupulous individuals, often presenting themselves as notarios of immigration consultants, offer legal services they are not qualified to provide,” said Boca Raton Democratic Sen. Tina Polsky, the bill’s sponsor.
“The bill will address this problem by setting clear disclosure requirements for non-attorneys offering immigration-related services and setting a process for civil action and injunctive relief.”
In Hispanic countries, a “notario público” is a highly trained legal professional similar to a lawyer who provides legal advice and can draft legal documents, according to the National Notary Association.
But in the United States, a notary public is a state-commissioned official with narrow witnessing duties and far less discretion. In many cases, their authority begins and ends with signing a document stating they witnessed others signing it.
In areas of the state with large Hispanic communities, particularly South Florida, many Spanish speakers and those for whom English is either a second or foreign language have been misled into thinking they are dealing with legitimate legal experts. Some unscrupulous people have capitalized on the misunderstanding, accepting payment for services they are neither trained nor authorized to perform and then improperly handling and filing visas, green cards, work permits and citizenship applications.
“This linguistic misunderstanding creates a dangerous gap that fraudsters exploit,” Polsky said Wednesday, when she amended her bill to match the House version (HB 915) by Democratic Reps. Johanna López of Orlando and Marie Woodson of Hollywood.
If passed, the measure would prohibit notaries from referring to themselves as a “notario,” “notario público,” immigration consultant or any other title suggesting that they possess professional legal skills in immigration law.
It would also require people or businesses to clearly notify customers that they are not licensed immigration law practitioners, and provides prosecutors and victims of fraud legal paths to seek monetary damages against fraudsters.
Noncompliance would open wrongdoers up to civil causes of action, including injunctive relief and monetary damages.
Several lawmakers have tried recently to address notary fraud. Last year, Hialeah Gardens Republican Sen. Bryan Ávila carried a proposal to stiffen penalties against wrongdoers while hiking record-keeping and recording strictures. The bill passed unanimously in the Senate before stalling out in the House, where Miami Republican Rep. Juan Porras carried a similar companion measure.
The legislation followed several notary-related fraud cases, including ones involving Miami’s then-City Attorney, a pair arrested in Monroe County on forgery charges and other, similar schemes across the state aimed at stealing homes from the elderly.
While SB 846 awaits a Senate floor vote, HB 915 pends a hearing before its last committee stop in the House.
