The Defrauding of Immigrants by “Notarios”

On Monday, the Washington Post ran a story “Some Immigrants Duped by `notarios'” by Travis Loller (click here). It discusses a problem that has existed for quite a while but has received precious little attention. In much of Latin America, most notary publics are also lawyers. In the United States, a notary public is not a lawyer and cannot give legal advice; he can administer oaths and witness signatures, and that’s it. The difference has allowed scam artists to prey on immigrants with limited English skills and little understanding of the American legal system by misrepresenting themselves as lawyers, immigration lawyers say.

A few years ago, law professor Pedro Malavet wrote several thoughtful articles about Latin American notarios that show their important roles in teh  legal systems of many Latin American countries.

KJ