Governor Abigail Spanberger will consider a bill to stop fake notaries from targeting Virginia’s Latino community.
Norfolk Democratic Del. Jackie Glass sponsored the legislation and told WHRO that immigrant populations, specifically Latinos in her district, were being taken advantage of by fake notaries.
She received dozens of complaints from constituents who said they spent thousands of dollars on legal advice, ranging from immigration to housing, that turned out to be bogus.
“Enough was enough. I was tired of the text messages and hearing the terrible stories,” Glass said. “I felt like there is an opportunity to sort of make it even harder for those folks that want to be scammers or try to illegally practice law, especially with the deportation risk.”
House Bill 1262 passed the General Assembly and allows the Attorney General to investigate when there is a good reason to believe that a notary public is breaking the law.
The bill specifically targets notary publics who advertise in Spanish or any language other than English. In Virginia, notaries are not allowed to call themselves "Notario," "Notario Publico," or "Licenciado" if they claim to give legal advice or handle immigration matters, unless they are a licensed attorney.
The legislation raises the fines for these violations: first-time offenders can be forced to pay up to $2,500 (instead of $500), and later violations can cost them up to $5,000 (instead of $1,000).
Additionally, the Attorney General can seek a court order to stop the violations and can also recover money owed, cover reasonable costs and pay attorney fees related to the case.
For the Garcia family in Virginia Beach, the feeling of desperation and helplessness is real. They said they were victims of a scam.
The family of five is from Peru and was looking for help with an asylum case, which is used when someone is already in or arriving in the U.S. and seeking protection from persecution in their home country.
The family saw a Facebook advertisement for what appeared to be a law firm, they told WHRO through Patricia Bracknell, Founder and CEO of the Chamber of Hispanic Progress.
The post offered services for immigration issues. After filling out the initial documents, attorneys at the Florida law firm navigated them through the process to help them with an asylum case. The family paid $12,000 in cash and made repeated calls to follow up, but the phone number was no longer in service, and the Facebook advertisements were taken down.
The family couldn’t go into details because their case is now going through the legal process with an attorney found through the Chamber of Hispanic Progress.
The Garcia family said they are now facing financial hardship.
“It is not easy to continue to save money at the same time as raising a family and paying for all living costs,” the Garcia family wrote in a translated email. Plus, they pointed out, it’s difficult to save money for something they thought they already paid for.
Bracknell said scammers often send what appears to be legitimate documents to download from their website to lure victims. She said these advertisements are posted everywhere.
“They can do marketing campaigns for these services. Crooks come in all colors and flavors and sizes and cultures,” Bracknell said.
She said some of the impostors who are also Latino have made it difficult for their community to trust anyone, especially with the threat of ICE growing.
“Some are part of this scheme of knowing that the communities that they're trying to prey on are hard-working communities,” Bracknell said. “They know they have the resources to pay for these services.”
Bracknell advises others who might face a similar situation to find professionals who are trusted in the community and ask for references.