Walk through the streets of most Latino neighborhoods in the United States and you are likely to see advertisements offering the services of notarios. While notary publics in the United States are authorized only to serve as a witness to the signing of forms, in most of Latin America, notarios often provide many more services including legal representation. Unfortunately, many Latinos in the United States fall prey to unscrupulous notarios who claim to provide a full range of legal services even though they lack the licenses to do so. Not surprisingly, cases of fraud are rampant among notarios.
During the week of May 9th, Hispanic Federation will partner with Telemundo to raise awareness about Notario Fraud in New York. During our campaign, Telemundo will be promoting HF’s hotline, 1-866-HF-AYUDA, and trained HF volunteers will answer callers’ questions and help callers to report Notario Fraud.
“The fraudulent practices of these notarios have a terrible effect on our communities,” said HF Director of Immigration and Civic Engagement Jessica Orozco. “We have cases of immigrant families who have spent thousands of dollars paying notarios only to have their naturalization process ruined. We’re pleased to partner with Telemundo to get the word out about these deceptive practices and, more importantly, to offer Latinos guidance on where they might get reputable and reliable legal help.
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