Notary fraud: an underreported, salient scheme that leaves immigrants in danger

There is one group of people who, for decades, have scammed and profited from thousands of immigrants a year: notarios or notaries. In major states like California, there are thousands of notary fraud complaints each year. Notario fraud, or the unauthorized practice of immigration law, has left many immigrants facing detention or deportation because they fell victim to the scheme, which, for years, has been rapidly growing, especially among Latinos. 

Martha, who decided to provide us only with her first name due to a pending case, fell victim to notary extortion and fraud in 2023. In Spanish, she told CALÒ News she lost thousands of dollars to a notario who presented himself as an immigration attorney.

She met the notario in 2023 after an acquaintance recommended him. Martha said that during the first appointment she had with him, he assured her she had a solid immigration case and that he would handle it successfully. This would cost Martha and her family $14,000.

“For us, that was a lot of money, but we agreed because we believed he would do what he had promised,” she said. “At first, I was in close contact with the man we hired to handle my immigration case, since I frequently called him to check on the progress of my case, but after a few months, he became increasingly rude, eventually telling my husband that I had to stop calling and that he no longer wanted to talk to me.” 

For over a year, Martha said her immigration case became more complicated and the alleged attorney became less responsive. Martha alleged he was not filling out the needed paperwork for her case to move forward and when asked about it, he would get upset and be unresponsive for months.

In 2025, she was notified that she had to come into the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) office for a biometrics appointment tied to an asylum request, one that she never approved of or requested and that later complicated her case. After many calls, Martha said she decided to confront the notario in person. 

“He responded very angrily, shouting at me to go back to Mexico. At that moment, I felt deep sadness and anger and I realized that this was a scam,” she said. “After that, we called and sent him messages, but he would not respond. For weeks, we tried to reach him. Later, he sent a message saying that he had been in an accident and could no longer continue handling my case. We asked him to refund our money so that we could hire another attorney, but since then, we have heard nothing from him.” 

Martha said this has not only left her with economic distress but also a lot of emotional and mental distress, especially around her status in the U.S.

These types of cases are not new. They have been going on for years. 

Over twenty years ago, Veronica and her husband heard an advertisement on a local radio station about “Jerry,” an L.A.-based immigration consultant. Shortly after, they hired him to assist with her husband’s immigration case under the impression that he was an immigration attorney, but they later discovered that he wasn’t. 

Jerry would use a common notary scheme in which he filed an asylum application for Veronica’s husband, even though he was ineligible for such relief. 

When USCIS denied Veronica’s husband’s application, they placed him in deportation proceedings. Jerry then filed Veronica’s husband’s request for “cancellation of removal,” an immigration remedy for which he was not eligible. After the court denied this request, Jerry appealed the decision to the Board of Immigration Appeals and then to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. 

As the appeal process dragged on for years, Jerry charged the couple for legal research, time spent drafting legal briefs, filing fees, document costs and other extra charges, which cost the family more than $100,000. 

Today, Veronica’s husband has still never received lawful immigration status and he now faces an impending deportation after living in California for more than two decades.

Kathleen Rivas, a supervising attorney in Public Counsel’s Immigrants Rights Project, works directly with immigrant survivors of crime, human trafficking and survivors of notary fraud. 

Rivas told CALÓ News that although notary fraud has been going on for years, the growing number of cases of people being scammed has been growing in recent years due to the ICE raids and massive deportations happening in cities like L.A. as well as the Trump administration's anti-immigration policies. 

“Notario fraud, it's always been a problem, but it's getting worse,” Rivas said. “Fraudsters really thrive in this type of environment where there's a lot of fear and uncertainty and people are desperate for legal help. Going to someone who's not licensed could potentially not only cost someone a lot of money, but it also could really put them in a worse-off position. People really are risking a lot if they're not going to licensed attorneys.” 

Despite the growing cases, the fraud remains underreported. Up until today, there is no single coordinated system to aid notario fraud victims or track the cases.

Last summer, California Attorney General Rob Bonta issued guidelines to help California's immigrant communities avoid immigration scams. 

“Families across the country are experiencing fear and uncertainty as a result of President Trump’s inhumane immigration agenda and scammers are paying attention. Immigration scams, including notary fraud, prey on the hopes of safety and stability of our immigrant communities,” Bonta said. “Before hiring someone claiming to offer help with immigration matters or assistance locating a detained loved one, I urge people to familiarize themselves with existing resources that are often available at little or no cost and learn how to check that the individual is qualified to provide immigration help.”

In the guidelines, Bonta explained that only lawyers, accredited representatives and recognized organizations can give someone legal advice or represent them in immigration court. 

Immigration consultants who may call themselves immigration experts, notarios, notaries public or paralegals cannot. 

Rivas said that the vast underreporting of complaints is because many immigrants carry deep shame about having been scammed, something organizations like Public Counsel try to destigmatize. She said in many Latin American countries, notarios públicos are highly educated legal experts who have similar training and professional duties as lawyers, but this is not the case in the U.S.

In the U.S., a notary public is only authorized to witness the signature of forms and may not provide legal advice or services. For years, organizations like Public Counsel have pushed back on the exploitation of what they call a cultural misunderstanding of a notario, who often also advertises themselves as a more affordable and reliable option to expensive licensed attorneys, falsely claiming that an attorney is not necessary in an immigration case.

Rivera said the term “notario” is used as a catch-all term because the fraud is not only happening through a notary public. "We see this in a lot of different ways; sometimes it is someone advertising as a notario, but sometimes it also is someone who's an immigration consultant, a tax preparer or even a priest,” Rivas said. “You should never sign any documents that you don't understand or that weren't explained to you. A lawyer will always explain to you what documents they're submitting on your behalf.”

Apart from shame, for many immigrants, the fear of reporting to law enforcement has only exponentially increased in today’s environment, as many worry that reporting crime will lead to their deportation. 

Rivas said the growing cases of notario fraud have led Public Counsel to launch a statewide campaign which urges state leaders to take bold steps to tackle this problem and protect immigrant communities. The organization recently published “Combating Notario Fraud in California: A Call to Action,” a white paper urging California to strengthen enforcement and close legislative gaps around the unauthorized practice of immigration law.

“There has been a lot of commitment locally to address this issue, but there needs to be more. This is an issue that is so widespread and affects so many parts of California,” Rivas said. “Uniform meaningful change really has to come from a state level. The state government has made commitments to support and protect our immigrant community. We think notary fraud is a key component of that.” 

To tackle this problem, the organization is demanding that both local and state governments prosecute notary fraud. They say entities like the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office and the California Attorney General have the obligation to follow suit and open enforcement actions against other well-known immigration consultants who engage in illegal activities. 

They also call on the state legislature and county governments to allocate more funds and staff resources to investigate and bring enforcement actions against illegal immigration consultants.

In addition, the organization also said it's important for local police agencies across California to ensure that notary fraud is an issue they take seriously and that their agency is prepared to receive reports of this fraud. Rivas said investigators must also emphasize that any victims who come forward should feel confident that their information will not be shared with the Department of Homeland Security.

“There's a really fragmented reporting system that is confusing for victims to navigate. Even advocates I hear from all the time reach out to me and say, ‘I have a client who is a victim of fraud. I don't know where to go,’” Rivas said. “Creating a streamlined system for reporting is important, but also one that is confidential and is very clear to victims that their information will not be shared with ICE if they report, because that can be a huge barrier."

Notarios specifically target immigrant communities, exploiting fear, language barriers and unfamiliarity with the U.S. legal system. 

To report notary fraud or unauthorized practice of law, file a report with the California Secretary of State. For localized criminal enforcement, contact the L.A. County District Attorney's Notary Fraud Unit by calling (213) 974-1452. You can also seek assistance from Public Counsel's Immigrants Rights Project.