I am reading an interesting article that states that an eNotary in Texas offered permission for another individual to forge her signature on an electronically filed Affidavit in Support of Defendant’s Motion for New Trial document. An email was the proof that the notary authorized permission to conduct this act of fraud. I wonder if there was an eJournal entry as evidence in this case too. Read the entire story below.
Stormy Daniels signed a document regarding being paid $130,000 in hush money before the 2016 election. A Texas Notary named Erica Jackson notarized that non-disclosure agreement document concerning the money. But, the State of Texas terminated her Notary commission as a result. The Notary claims she did nothing wrong, yet got canned anyway?
However, the plot thickens. After I watched a video about what had happened, there was a stamp on the signature page, but no notarial certificate verbiage and no notary signature. The notary claimed that the Acknowledgment page which was the third page (that was no longer attached) that stated who was being notarized, etc., was omitted.
Additionally, there was an accusation that the Notary notarized without a signature of the Notary, but the Notary claims that she signed on other pages which were attached.
There was also journal record for the corresponding document, and the journal seemed to have been filled out correctly.
Jeremy’s Comments
If you are a Notary Public, it is quite likely that you could end up on the 6pm national news. So please take your job a little more seriously and get rid of this “I already know it all” attitude, as it is that attitude which prevents you from learning.
This Notary did several things wrong.
1. She stamped the signature page with her Notary seal but omitted Acknowledgment and/or Jurat certificate verbiage. She also omitted a Notary signature to accompany her notary seal which is illegal and she should be terminated if that was the case. It is hard to see what actually happened when you have an inconclusive video.
2. She attached a certificate that was to constitute page three, but that page three ended up missing. Your stamp can not be on page two when the certificate wording is on page three. Those legally have to be on the same page. If the stamp had been on page three where it was supposed to be, she wouldn’t be in a world of trouble.
3. I originally thought (because I prejudged the situation) that the Notary was in trouble because of her association with some dirty business. That was how her improper notarization was discovered, but not why she got in trouble. Interesting in any case.
You might also like:
Stormy Daniels accuses Notary of having intercourse with her
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=20485
Penalties for Notary misconduct and fraud
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=21315
Have you ever stopped to think about the pay differential between a Notary and a hit man? Notaries are always complaining that they don’t get paid enough and don’t get any respect. You would get respect if you were a hit man though. You could even advertise on one of those hit man websites.
Hit man profile (fictional… of course!)
I am responsible and reliable. Once you hire me the job is as good as done. I always confirm my appointments, show up on time, and hire a professional cleaner who I call, “Da cleanuh.” All I ask is to be paid on time, otherwise you might end up being on my list of assignments… capiche? Just make sure you include a return FeDex package with every assignment, and let me know if the job has any special considerations or if you want me to do the job in a particular special way. I’m experienced with guns, knives, clubs, bats, maces, machetes, numchucks, strangulation (for an additional fee), and more. Long distance no problem and we specialize in bilingual hits. Hablamos Espanol y Italiano. Additionally, if you hired the wrong guy to save money and he left work uncompleted, I do clean ups as well.
If you don’t pay a Notary, they just sit and whine. But, if you don’t pay a hit man, guess what happens. Hit men get respect — Notaries don’t. Of course Notaries spend less time in jail in general unless you are like Harry who engaged in Real Estate fraud using his Notary seal – don’t be like Harry.
A Notary can make $20 to $40 average per hour doing signings depending on what the job is, and how far it is. But, a hit man might get $50,000 for a job that might take a few hours to plan and an hour to “execute.” There is more risk involved, and probably more skill. But, look at the bright side, as a hit man, you don’t have to deal with the county recorder or the IRS! A hit man’s salary could be computed as $100 per minute if you work out the math. A good hit man only needs to do two or three jobs per year and the rest of the year can be taken off lounging at an Italian villa, or in a not so Italian jail cell. Such an efficient use of time.
So, the basic break down is 50 cents a minute being a Notary vs. $100 per minute being a hit man with possible jail time. Which do you choose? But, there’s more. Hit men end up in hell making it not worth it no matter what they get paid. Notaries go to whiners purgatory where they whine about not getting paid, but at least don’t get burned in scalding oil every day. So, you are better off being a Notary, so try to learn to be good at it.
You might also like:
How far do you push for payment terms?
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=22590
Payment for jail notary service
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=22145
Notarizing the Mafia at a gelato place
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=22163
Here we cover six important reasons for NOT using an online notary public.
We’re living in an era driven by technological advancements. Today, people are willing to use YouTube as a babysitter and tablets as their kids’ companions. Be it engaging games, interactive tools for education or workflow productivity, technology always lends a helping hand but this gives rise to a few questions: Does technology really help us? Does technology need to disrupt everything? How deep into our personal affairs should we let technology creep?
Here we cover six important reasons for NOT using an online notary public:
Far Less Secure than In-Person
Lack of personal appearance defeats the purpose of notarization. Period. How can a notary properly identify someone in the world of AI when they appear on a computer screen? Audio/Video can be made from anywhere through any means. As I write this article, I did a simple Google search for “video overlay app” and about 152 Million results popped up with detailed instructions.
Huge Potential for Fraud
Here’s the dirty secret that online notaries don’t want you to know. Online notary companies require you to upload a copy of your documents so that they can place their seal on them, you then download your “notarized” documents and print them out. But guess what? A copy of your most important legal documents are now somewhere on the online notary’s datacenter just waiting for a hacker to harvest them. And we all hear the same news story almost weekly, “XYC Company has had their data breached and millions of users data was compromised.” What if you were named the beneficiary in your late relatives estate documents that were notarized by an online notary, but all of a sudden, someone else shows up in court with a copy of those same documents but with their name on them as the beneficiary?!?!
Huge Potential for Identity Theft
Internet security is another big one. If you don’t have huge secure data servers processing the data you’re uploading to the online notary, your personal information (ie. your ID credentials and documents) are being thrown out onto the World Wide Web without recourse. Once that data is internet bound, there is no coming back from a potential cyber attack.
It Costs More
In the State of California, notaries may charge a fee of $15 per signature notarized. Online notaries charge almost twice that at $25 per signature notarized. If you have multiple documents with multiple signers, you’re going to spend a whole lot more with an online notary than with a local notary whom you actually get to meet in person and shake hands with. “Shop Local” also applies to notaries.
You Might Need a Do-Over
The receiving party may not accept an out of state notary seal. A little known fact is that it’s up to the receiving party to decide if they will accept the notarization or not. Online notaries only exist in VA, TX and NV at the moment and the receiving party doesn’t have to accept an out of state seal, particularly if the receiving party is a state government agency. You’ll then need to spend more money getting your document re-notarized by a local notary in your home state.
Unemployment
How are local notaries supposed to make a living? Currently there are approximately 164,000 notaries in California. Now, we have a huge corporate company coming into CA (with the infrastructure already in place) and swallowing up notary jobs leaving thousands out of work. Imagine how hard it will be to find a notary if notaries have been replaced by an app but you can’t get an internet connection!
Conclusion
Technology has brought radical changes to our lives. But, we will end up having more disadvantages than advantages if our society overuses technology. What’s your take on this? We would love to hear your thoughts in the comments section.
Author: Matt G Miller
Contributing Writer: Kyle Eisenberg
I was given permission to publish this article by Matt Miller although it looks like it had already been published on his personal blog.
You might also like:
How Notary work is similar to online dating
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=15763
eNotary – electronic notarizations
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=21344
Can a Notary act as a witness? Yes.
Can a notary be a witness? Yes.
However, there are many types if witnessing that a Notary could engage in.
1. Witnessing an Acknowledged signature
A notary could witness a signature as part of an Acknowledgment in certain states. Most states do not require the Notary to watch the signer sign for an Acknowledged signature, but six states do.
2. Witnessing as an official notary act
Witnessing is an official notarial act in a handful of states. Notaries can get paid a fixed maximum state mandated notary fee for witnessing a signature. Delaware Notary statutes allow this as an official act, other states do not.
3. Witnessing in their individual capacity
Witnessing a document signing as an unofficial act can be done by any person in sound mind who is eighteen years of age or older. However, many prefer to hire a Notary Public to do this in their capacity as an individual simply because people prefer to have a Notary deal with issues relating to signing documents. How much can a notary charge for being a witness? There is no set charge except perhaps in Delaware.
4. Witnessing a Will
Wills can be notarized, however, most Notaries are advised that it is not proper to notarize a will without written instructions from an Attorney. Living Wills are a different story as those function more similarly to a specialized medical power of attorney. Many people like to have a Notary be one of the two witnesses to a will signing. In Vermont I heard that they require three witnesses. For mafia signings regardless of what state it takes place in, they normally prefer — “no witnesses.”
5. Credible Witnesses / Credible Identifying Witnesses
A Notary cannot act as a credible witness if they are notarizing a document for someone. However, they can use the testimonies of one or two credible witnesses depending on the situation in most states. You can learn more about credible witnesses on our blog.
6. What is a subscribing witness?
Notaries typically use subscribing witnesses for Proof of Execution signings and Signature by X or Signature by Mark signings where the signer cannot sign their name. Subscribing means signing, so a subscribing witness is one who witnesses a person signing their name.
7. Which Notary act requires witnessing?
A Jurat requires the signer to sign in the physical presence of the Notary Public as well as swearing or affirming under Oath to the truthfulness of the content of the document in the presence of the Notary. The Notary Public should be watching when the signature is made.
8. Witnessing crimes
It is possible that a Notary might witness a crime during their work hours. It is possible they might observe someone being forced to sign under duress, or even someone being kidnapped. Notaries are often asked to go to jails to notarize criminals, but the criminal would not be in the act of a crime in jail — probably. Signers might ask the notary to falsify a date, and asking the notary to engage in fraud is a crime in itself in many states.
You might also like:
Credible Witnesses — the ins and outs
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19634
Subscribing witnesses explained
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=16707
Witnessing the intake forms in Notary Heaven
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=8832
Types of witnesses in the Notary profession
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=5664
A man from Glendale, CA earned himself a ten year prison sentence by forging a Notary seal in an attempted to conduct a 5.4 million dollar Mortgage fraud scheme. There were two co-conspirators who each served sentences themselves. One was for 6.5 years and the other for 4. years.
The fact that the criminal had altered an “authentication feature,” made the sentencing longer according to federal guidelines. The criminal used falsified documents using his false seal to fool county recorders.
Crimes like this involving Notaries engaging in fraud relating to real property (such as houses, etc.) are the worst crimes that a Notary can commit and normally end up in jail time. There are other things Notaries typically do wrong like falsifying dates on certificates which can also get you in a lot of trouble. Notaries typically do not administer Oaths correctly, or at all which can result in your commission being revoked. As a Notary, you really need to consider the fact that if you fool around with your commission, it can be taken away from you.
There was another case where a Sacramento Notary was involved in a 19 million dollar fraud scheme by impersonating NNA’s 2007 Notary of the Year. The perpetrator fled to Lebanon and was arrested upon re-entering the United States. Sampson, the Notary whose name was fraudulently used protected herself by showing her journal to prove that she had not performed those notarizations.
Let this be a lesson to those who say, and often in a whiny voice, “My state doesn’t require journals.” Without that journal, you could be accused of conspiracy in a 19 million dollar fraud scheme or identity fraud, or worse…
You might also like:
See our string of posts about Notary fraud
http://blog.123notary.com/?s=notary+fraud
California man pleads guilty in stolen Notary ID case.
https://www.nationalnotary.org/notary-bulletin/blog/2012/01/california-guilty-notary-id-case
What is the burden of proof for Notary fraud?
https://www.avvo.com/legal-answers/what-is-a-burden-of-proof-for-a-notary-fraud-in-ca-2629309.html
Notary Public Seal
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=21411
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What is the penalty for notary fraud?
Notary Fraud California
Notary Fraud New York
Notary Fraud Florida
Can a Notary be sued for fraud?
Fraudulent Notarization Pennsylvania
Fraudulent Notarization California
Fraudulent Notarization New York
What is the legal charge for witness and notary for fraudulent signatures
What is the punishment for an attorney notarizing a fraudulent document?
What to do about a fraudulent notary signature
After the whole Trump fiasco, now Stormy Daniels is accusing a California Notary by the name of John Q. Public of giving her hush money not to talk about the secret affair they had twenty years earlier.
STORMY: You know I’m gonna let society know what you did, you little rascal.
JOHN: Have I been a very very bad boy?
STORMY: I have a little dirt on you that I’m going to hold against you.
JOHN: Just like you held me against you?
STORMY: Not exactly the same way. But, you forgot to put a state in your venue, and that is an omission.
JOHN: Are you saying that I didn’t have any ink in my seal, are you saying that I’m shooting blanks? Because I assure you that I’m fully loaded.
STORMY: Well that’s the problem. You were so loaded you couldn’t do your notarization correctly without drifting off in the middle. You also forgot to administer an Oath on my Jurat. That’s fraud baby, and I’m going to report you.
JOHN: How much more hush money do you want? Actually, my commission’s over, so it doesn’t matter anymore.
STORMY: It does on a felony conviction.
JOHN: That was twenty years ago, so the statute of limitations is over. Actually, I need to see my Attorney to verify. I owe her hush money too, so I’ll multi-task.
ATTORNEY: Hey Stormy, you should be embarrassed to have done it with a Notary. You should be paying him hush money.
STORMY: Hmm, I never thought of it that way. Especially since I was thinking about running for office. Maybe you’re right. Let’s just call it even, and make a toast with my brother Jack.
ATTORNEY: Deal. But, calling it even, there are still Attorney fees. Okay. Two bottles of Jack will do it.
STORMY: That’s money down the storm drain — pity, but makes a great pun on my name.
You might also like:
Texas suspends Notary who handled Stormy’s hush money
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=22331
Perhaps Trump will take notary competency more seriously now that he is affected
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=22335
I am not sure how this is going to go, because there are more than a thousand articles on our site. So, wish me luck and I hope this post is valuable.
COURSES
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=20276
Beginner Notaries 103 Course – http://blog.123notary.com/?p=21112
Notary Etiquette 104 – http://blog.123notary.com/?p=21132
TECHNICAL POSTS
Journals — http://blog.123notary.com/?p=20272
Certificates — http://blog.123notary.com/?p=20268
Notary Acts — http://blog.123notary.com/?p=20280
General Notary Information — http://blog.123notary.com/?p=20264
Documents — http://blog.123notary.com/?p=20258
Law Suits & Legal Risks – http://blog.123notary.com/?p=20478
Credible Witnesses – http://blog.123notary.com/?p=20414
Index of posts about Power of Attorney – http://blog.123notary.com/?p=20255
MARKETING
Notary Marketing 102 Course – http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19774
Index of Marketing Posts – http://blog.123notary.com/?p=20284
Snapdocs Compilation – http://blog.123notary.com/?p=21531
Phone Etiquette – http://blog.123notary.com/?p=20505
Compilation of certification posts – http://blog.123notary.com/?p=16264
10 rules for negotiating fees – http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19620
How to write a notes section if you are a beginner – http://blog.123notary.com/?p=16698
PUBLIC INTEREST
Find a Notary – http://blog.123notary.com/?tag=find-a-notary
Posts about fraud – http://blog.123notary.com/?p=21527
GUEST BLOGGERS
String of guest blogs – http://blog.123notary.com/?cat=230
Compilation of guest blogs – http://blog.123notary.com/?p=22472
HUMOROUS & DRAMA POSTS
Best comedy articles 2010 to 2014 – http://blog.123notary.com/?p=20288
Stories on the blog – http://blog.123notary.com/?p=21898
Posts about Notary & Politics – http://blog.123notary.com/?p=20357
Compilation of mafia related posts – http://blog.123notary.com/?p=20352
Best Virtual Comedy Posts to 2018 – http://blog.123notary.com/?p=17693
Notary Restaurant Post Compilation – http://blog.123notary.com/?p=17442
Notary Dating & Romance – http://blog.123notary.com/?p=17451
Compilation of Notary Sit-Com Episodes – http://blog.123notary.com/?p=15949
GENERAL
Best blog posts since 2010 – http://blog.123notary.com/?p=21650
Posts about 123notary – http://blog.123notary.com/?p=20648
COMPREHENSIVE GUIDES
12 questions to ask for hospital notarizations – http://blog.123notary.com/?p=20519
How to make more as a signing agent – http://blog.123notary.com/?p=20418
Notary Public general info – http://blog.123notary.com/?p=20075
How to negotiate signing fees like a pro! – http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19198
When to refuse a notarization – a comprehensive guide – http://blog.123notary.com/?p=18974
10 things a notary can do to screw up a notarization – http://blog.123notary.com/?p=18864
A comprehensive guide to notary organizations – http://blog.123notary.com/?p=17088
A comprehensive guide to notary pricing – http://blog.123notary.com/?p=16504
123notary’s comprehensive guide to getting reviews – http://blog.123notary.com/?p=16290
Everything you need to know about writing a great notes section – http://blog.123notary.com/?p=16074
10 tight points on loose certificates – http://blog.123notary.com/?p=15449
Notary journals from A to Z – http://blog.123notary.com/?p=8348
Notary Seal information from A to Z – http://blog.123notary.com/?p=8337
Signing Agent best practice 63 points – http://blog.123notary.com/?p=4315
Borrower Etiquette from A to Z – http://blog.123notary.com/?p=2995
Backdating from A to Z – http://blog.123notary.com/?p=2424
Mobile Offices from A to Z – http://blog.123notary.com/?p=535
These posts are in order of popularity and quality.
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Funniest things that happen to signing agents
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=55
The signing from hell
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=765
A social media site for Notaries — Affiant
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=6410
Seinfeld episode about a Notary
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=10208
Notary Apps for the iPhone 7 you’ve never dreamed of
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=10977
Vampire Notaries: 24 hour service
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=4094
3 Notaries walk into a bar
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=3660
Family Guy — Peter joins ISIS by mistake & needs Notarized conversion
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=10507
The Notary, The Mafia & The Fedex Drop Box
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=6867
My Date with Jeremy
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=4473
Two and a half Notaries! A Notarization experience
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=8974
Witnessing intake forms for Notary Heaven
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=8832
Welcome to the Notary Hotel
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=8822
Honey, I notarized the kids
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=7030
Two and a Half Notaries — detering Notary fraud
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=10452
Notary Cheers: Sammy gets a name change form notarized
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=10016
Two Notaries assigned the same job
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=1060
A 2nd date with Jeremy
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=7074
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Here is my index of posts about various Notary acts including Acknowledgments, Jurats, Oaths, Affirmations, and more.
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GENERALLY BEST ARTICLES
Notary Public 101 — Basic Notary Acts
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19500
Oaths — how notaries completely screw them up
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19369
Airline meals versus Oaths & Affirmations (very interesting and informative)
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19549
How do I get an Apostille or Authentication?
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=1793
Notary Public 101 — quick review pointers (includes notary act info)
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19679
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AFFIRMATIONS & OATHS
Affirmations — pleasing politically correct people while offending everyone else
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19606
Should you use book wording for Oaths or improvise?
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19660
Oaths and the art of improvisation
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19367
Notary perjury and Oaths
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=6917
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Notary Acknowledgment Wording
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=18858
Notary loses $4000 because fraud adds name to Acknowledgment certificate
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19477
California Acknowledgment Wording explained
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=8459
Optional information on Acknowledgment Certificate
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=4407
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OTHER
Interesting and uncommon Notary acts
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=483
Information about various notary procedures
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=2268
Which Notary act does not require the personal appearance of the signer?
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19668
