Category: In the News

In a not so good development, a Seattle based mailing service had theft occur against them. Among the items were notary seals.

Lake Union Mail saw mail, credit cards and notary seals stolen. Stealing mail is a federal offense, making the break in a high stakes endeavor.

Notary Seals

But, let’s focus on the notary seals. Replacements can be offered, but that does not put the seals completely out of the woods.

Video footage shows two offenders breaking in with a crowbar and grabbing whatever they can. Since the store has packages everywhere, they seemed to grab the easiest of the pickings.

The question that has not been answered so far is if the notary seals were for employees or if other notaries were affected. If other notaries were affected, it could cause more problems.

Why?

If we don’t know whose seals were stolen, how are they to be tracked down? Of course, individual notaries who have not received their expected seal should contact the proper authorities in the state to report the suspected incident.

What About the Meantime?

Of course, the signings of the affected notaries will have to be audited. Will they be used in future endeavors of the thieves, or maybe they sell them off to someone who can better use them. The more we don’t know who is involved, the more complicated the problem may be.

Then there is the issue of backdating documents. If you remember, in the housing crisis of 2007, many backdated documents became the center of attention.

Are we too Weary?

The fact of the matter, with such little information, it is tough to report on.

Are we being over reactive? Maybe.

But, we want to make sure notaries understand the possibilities here. May some of them not apply? We don’t know. But, if we don’t give you the whole picture, then we might be missing a crucial piece of information.

And the sour part is if it happened to them, it could happen to you in the future.

Here is to hoping the suspects are caught and convicted.

The state of California, in this case San Francisco, received another court ruling in favor of the state dealing with notarios. After suing a notario for a third time, they’ve won a ruling for over $600,000.

The notario offered legal services to immigrants, in some cases fleecing them for thousands of dollars, the court found.

Legal Advice

These cases stretch all the way back to 2017, when the notary was ordered to stop offering legal advice, as they were not licensed to do so. Blatantly, the notary ignored that, and continued their actions.

This process was again re-iterated in 2022.

It appears the notary should have given themselves some legal advice.

We won’t delve into the history of the cases brought against the notary, as we covered that earlier.

What is a Notario?

A notario is a notary, plain and simple.

What differs is they offer services that are illegal. In this case, we are talking legal advice, which is aimed at immigrants who do not know better. See, in many countries notaries have different duties, one of which is they can offer legal advice in certain situations.

Who we call Notarios in the United States take advantage of that fact, and provide services not legal in the United States. They prey on people new to the country who do not know better. They often take all of their income or savings (or both), all for a service that will not help the immigrants.

Notarios give notaries a bad name and are shunned in the industry.

Back to the Case

Over $600,000 has been declared in civil penalties and legal costs, a huge sum for the average notary. The are also barred from offering immigration services for the next five years.

The notary has kept their mouth shut since the verdict.

City Attorney David Chiu said in a statement that Lacayo flouted past rulings, showing “zero regard for the law.”

San Francisco Chronicle

Nonprofit ‘La Raza Centro Legal’ said they have multiple clients who have been victims of [the notary]. Some people paid him thousands of dollars and are now at risk of deportation.

“[The notary] is a fraud. [They have] been operating I believe since before 2017, but we have been seeing that he has really being causing irreparable harm in the community to missed deadlines, to deportation or removal orders,” said April Calvo-Perez, attorney at La Raza Centro Legal.

ABC 7 News

The notary’s defense is that they have never provided illegal services and that they would be in jail if they did so.

The notary denied offering legal services for immigration. They said they mainly do taxes and that they do not file any immigration paperwork since the original injunction in 2017.

The court did not agree with the argument.

“I don’t have a penny to my name. I don’t have money. If I were swindling and defrauding people, I would have millions of dollars. I don’t have them because I don’t charge anything because I don’t do anything,” said the notary.

Notarios put a bad name to all notaries, and we are sure almost all of you are happy with the conclusion.

August 2025

Woah. It seems notarios are at the top of our list of stories lately. Maybe even dominating them.

We think people understand why this is such big news in our current environment, which is why we want to stay on top of the situation.

If you want to check out our earlier articles on the subject, you can find them here:

• Florida Lawmakers File Bill
• Desantis Surprises and Approves Bill

The new regulations started on July 1st.

The bill aims to reduce confusion among immigrants. Notario Publicos, in many countries, are highly trained individuals that can give legal advice. Some are even lawyers.

But, in the United States that is not the case. This befuddles many, opening the door for fraud.

A new law (HB 915) will prohibit Florida notaries without the appropriate law license from misrepresenting their legal experience when advertising their services, and bars them from using terms such as “immigration specialist”, “notario público” and “immigration consultant.”

Yahoo

In a rarity, the bill received bi-partisan support. Whether Governor Ron Desantis would approve the measure was up in the air. In the end he did, which we go over in the link at the top of our article.

Unless they are really attorneys, notaries are now required to post a disclaimer. This should describe their role and that they are not immigration consultants and cannot represent people in immigration matters.

“This bill is about protecting vulnerable communities, about advertisement, misleading advertisement, and unauthorized legal practices,” Marie Paule Woodson said. “It’s about transparency and accountability.”

At least dozens, if not hundreds, of cases are reported each month.

This bill is a step in the right direction. As a notary, it is imperative to provide a seamless transaction and to not offer advice to either side of the signing. Anything beyond that is not acceptable.

That people that target immigrants, mainly hispanic, need to be disbanded, as they make the industry look bad, especially because it is in the news so often right now.

Sunshine Signing works with the best notaries in the industry, all across the United States. You can always be assured that your signing will be done the right way, every time.

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August 2025

Wow.

The notario situation has completely blown up. Why it is so difficult for a notary not to provide legal advice? Easy, it is a great way to get the uninformed in the door and make some money in the process.

We recently brought up the issue of Notarios in California, an issue that is most prominent in Florida, but is gaining traction wherever immigrant populations are prevalent.

Of note, in this circumstance this notary did not call himself a notario. Instead he opened a business that sounds legitimate for the situation. Some may also think the name sounds like a lawyer.

But, it is not.

This goes way back to 2017 when an injunction was placed on the notary for the same behavior. The notary was charging thousands of dollars for illegitimate legal advice.

Again, in 2022, the notary was hit with a court order to emphasize the injunction, as it was ignored the first time.

In the case, the court found, during those four years, the notary filed at least 400 documents to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services.

But, it appears the notary has not stopped. They do not have a law degree, but offer legal services. They hide all the activity by mainly advertising themselves as a tax preparation service.

It stinks when a notary tries to give everyone else a bad name. Note in this case, the “notario” appeared not to be one, which is why this has been lingering for at least 8 years.

August 2025

A new lawsuit has hit Mobile Notary Zone for a breach of data. Mobile Notary Zone is a mobile notary service based out of Nevada.

In June, Mobile Notary Zone informed at least one client that their data had been breached. The breach was successful, gaining access to valuable client information. It was the full data set.

Things like social security numbers and financial information were breached. Pretty much any information held by Mobile Notary Zone was accessible in the hack.

As of this date, Mobile Notary Zone has not released how many clients were affected, but if you have received a data breach letter in the mail from them, you should assume your personal information was part of the hack.

Mobile Notary Zone uses a third party for data security. New American Funding LLC. They have launched an internal investigation on how the hack happened. So far, they’ve only said an unauthorized user gained access to its systems containing personal data.

If you are a client, you may want to move on and look at us, Sunshine Signing. We provide nationwide services for mobile notaries and remote online notarizations. Our notaries are the best in the business, and our in house online notarizations are done by experts in the field.

For notaries, information about the leak has not been confirmed, but is likely.

Anyone working for or with Mobile Notary Zone may be compensated for not only any fraud, harm or inconvenience committed to them, but also reasonable expenses to protect themselves. Please make note that most people saying you may receive compensation are lawyers trying to drum up business. So please, take it with a grain of salt. But, if one lawsuit is successful, many others will follow.

So, what can you do to protect yourself?

You can sign up for a credit monitoring service. Some are free. Mobile Notary Zone may also be required to pay for one for you for a specified time. This is depending on how the early legal process plays out, or if the company wants to be proactive in protecting clients and notaries that work with them.

You need to monitor all of your accounts closely. Look for anything that does not belong and notify your bank immediately if you find any discrepancies.

Get in contact with the credit bureaus. You can get a free credit report from them once a year, but you can also place a Fraud Alert with them. This informs creditors to take extra steps in verifying if someone is not who they say they are.

You can work with your bank to update card or account numbers. They will know what to do to make things as easy as possible for you. Make sure you have a full conversation with them, as any direct deposits or payments from these accounts may be affected. You may also need new checks or other things. Don’t take our word for it, get it right from the horses mouth if you need to do anything to protect yourself, and by extension, your bank.

Finally, if it comes to it (which we hope not), seek legal help. If Mobile Notary Zone makes a list or notifies you that you are affected, that may be the best route, especially if any fraud was made in your name.

This is one of the worst things that can happen to a notary, or a business that uses a notary service. With financial information being compromised, it is a dangerous situation. Once again, Sunshine Signing welcomes anyone who would like to move to a new (and better) notary signing service.

July 2025

Well, next time South Dakota notaries renew (new ones too) they will no longer have to post a surety bond. Up until July 1st it was necessary, but House Bill 1133 changed that.

If you are currently under commission you must keep your bond until the end of the commission. But, when you renew your commission the surety bond no longer needs to be renewed.

For those out of the loop, a surety bond:

A surety bond is a three-party contract that guarantees a party (the principal) will fulfill their obligations to another party (the obligee), according to the Surety & Fidelity Association of America (SFAA). The surety, often an insurance or bonding company, provides a financial guarantee that the obligee will be compensated if the principal fails to perform their obligations.

No other major changes were made. Everything else in the new or renewal for a notary remains untouched.

Secretary of State Monae L. Johnson commented on the new legislation, stating, “This legislation streamlines the notary process and removes a barrier that often caused confusion or delay. We are committed to making public services as accessible and efficient as possible.”

It is always a positive to see new legislation make a notary’s life easier. Saving a little money on a bond is a bonus as well.

Want to know how to become a notary in South Dakota? We’d recommend this page on “How to Become a Notary”.

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“While we normally never give a notary’s name, we will in this case, as the notary is running for governor. His name is going to be plastered everywhere, so we feel we should break our rule in this instance.”

July 2025

The Nebraska saga takes another strange.

Jacy Todd, accused of 24 counts of improper notarization. has thrown his hat into a run for governor. For the record, he does deny the charges.

We’ve been covering this story for a while. If you want to catch up, we recommend you read our previous stories.

• They Asked for it, They Got It
• Nebraska Notary Saga Goes On
• Nebraska Notary Case Back On

As you can see, it has been a roller coaster ride up to this point. And in a lot of ways, it is just getting started. Some might even say it is bizarre.

Todd is a Republican who has signed up for the 2026 primary, facing off against current Governor Jim PIllen. He is the first one to challenge the incumbent. The primary is in May 2026.

This is garnering a lot of attention, not only because of the pending charges, but also because Todd is a big supporter of legal marijuana. The owner of a CBD health and wellness store has placed himself in the spotlight.

Todd faces some huge hurdles to win the primary. The incumbent Governor Pillen already had 3.7 million dollars in campaign donations. For his part, Todd said he will travel the state and out-voice PIllen. He also looks forward to Governor debates to close the gap between his new rival.

It is a truly grassroots campaign, that aims to target Nebraskans looking for change.

“I think that Nebraska is a powerful enough state that we could grass root this all the way to the Capitol and clean house up there,” Todd said.

There is anger amongst many Nebraskans, who passed the medical marijuana bill by a vote of over 70%. The state legislature is ignoring the will of the voters, and is stalling the voters’ intentions. In many eyes this is an abandonment of their duties to the voters.

Regarding the charges, Todd says he was purposefully targeted. Since he was a prominent proponent and volunteer for the initiative, he says he was singled out by the state.

We could pore over all of the legal details of the story, but we recommend you check out this story from the Nebraska Examiner for more details.

Todd is not the first person to become a notary for a cause important to them, and he won’t be the last. He didn’t do it for the money, he did it for health reasons.

A combat veteran and a sufferer of PTSD, Todd found no solace in the loads of medications given to him. It was not until he discovered marijuana on a trip to Colorado that he found his answer. He said it worked and give him his first good night sleep in years.

Since then, he has become an ardent supporter of legalized marijuana, and has tried his best to help people who need or want to try CBD.

We wish Jacy Todd the best.

We’ve talked extensively about deed fraud and a notary or fake notary’s role in it. (or non involvement in a case like forgery and forged stamps)

Well, Oklahoma has just passed a bill aimed at reducing or eliminating the possibility of deed fraud in the state. The bill, SB 1028, is set to go into action on January 1st, 2026.

This has some disappointed it is taking so long, as deed fraud has expanded across the state. But, the Oklahoma State’s Clerks Office wants to pull it off with as few hitches as possible. They cite a smooth transition for both individuals and businesses.

What Does a Notary Have to Do?

There is always something the notary is responsible for, am a right?

First, let’s start with the basics. The fee to get a commission or renew one will change from $20 and $15 to $50 (new notary) and $45 (renewal). The bond to become a new or renewed notary moves from $1,000 to $10,000. Most would use an insurance agent for this, but there are other edge methods we won’t go into, as they are part of current law. Upon filing of the bond, there will be a $25 fee, which is up from the $10 previous fee.

Beyond that, the new bill requires notaries to go through a background check and partake in fingerprinting. This will be administered through the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation.

It sounds good in theory, but since there are so many forgeries, who knows how well it will perform in practice.

Can I Help Protect a Signer?

In short, yes.

You can give them a link to the Property Alert Service. There you can register to receive updates if there is a transaction involving your home. You can also give them a phone number to call, 405-713-1865, where they can receive more information.

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In a scam going back to 2017, the state of Pennsylvania has finally charged the notary at the center of the story, though more than one notary was alleged to be part of some of the transactions.

We have kept our eye on this story, following it with baited breath. The alleged actions of the notary are unconscionable and led to the loss of more than 20 loans in a scam that lasted almost a decade.

To catch up, please check out our previous stories about the Philly Fiasco. We already have three of them to get caught up on the situation. Here is our original reporting on the Philly Fiasco. Here is a follow up to the fiasco, including the state’s remedy to the issue moving forward. Finally, an aspect of the Philly Fiasco went worldwide.

The city came up with a solution called Fraud Guard. It’s website can be found here. It allows both homeowners and notaries to receive email follow ups to any change in status or signing. This allows a back up system for home owners and notaries to stay safe.

The only downside is you must sign up for this service (we understand why). How can they contact you if you don’t give your information? But, it still leaves some wiggle room for those not aware of, or signed up to Fraud Guard.

The biggest change since we last touched this subject is that the notary is not alleged to just being duped or mildly involved. They have now been identified as the ringleader, in a scam that lost owners more than twenty homes.

In 2018, staff at the city’s Department of Records noticed anomalies in deeds connected to [the notary]. In many instances, [the notary] had backdated notarized documents making it appear as though the homeowners had approved the transaction of their properties before they died, prosecutors said. Investigators also found patterns among [the notary’s] documents, such as using fraudulent stamps to indicate [they] had witnessed signatures, and some properties allegedly had been priced below market value to avoid higher tax bills.

Philly Voice

“A notary public is supposed to be someone whose very job is to act as a gatekeeper – to prevent fraud in these cases,” Assistant DA Kimberly Esack said.

This saga has gone on for years. It took a long time to put together charges the state thinks will stick. They even have a list, and map, of the specific properties the notary is being charged with. For brevity, and to stop you from taking a nap, we will not list them all. Additionally, prosecutors said they are not done, and additional deeds are under scrutiny.

The notary has been charged with a litany of charges, totaling 31. These include conspiracy, theft by deception, identity theft, among others. They are also still chasing co-conspirators, who have yet to be identified.

While some home owners have been able to recoup their homes, others are still pending in civil court. Can you imagine being ousted for your homes and then having to take years to get it back? We mean, how long does it take to figure this out, and to dole out justice. Most importantly, getting home owners back into their homes.

As always, we’ll keep you updated as this very slow process moves along.

April 2025

We talked about this Nebraska court case recently, after the district attorney’s office appealed dropped charges against a notary. This all goes back to alleged fraudulent signatures regarding getting legal medical marijuana.

When we last wrote about the topic, the court had dropped charges against the notary. The district attorney appealed.

Well, that appeal is done.

The charges against the notary are back on. All twenty-four of them.

The court ruled that the lower court erred in dropping the charges. This all goes back to a medical marijuana initiative, and the notary was charged in regards to ninety-eight ballots. They are alleged to have egregious errors, including incorrect birth date, among other details.

The charges accuse the notary of official misconduct.

The case is around the definition of official misconduct. Judge Corey. He found that under state law, a notary public is not a public official, and therefore cannot be charged with official misconduct.

But, judge Andrew Butler, the Hall County District Court Judge did not concur.

Butler wrote, “This language clearly shows that a notary public is public servant as an officer.”

He reinstated the charges and ordered that the prosecution proceed in Hall County Court.

Both medical marijuana initiatives — one legalizing medical cannabis and one regulating it — made it onto the ballot.

Nebraska Now – KLKN

Both initiatives still made the ballot and passed. A Nebraska judge found there was not enough fraud to stop the initiative, even with the alleged violations of the notary.

Again, we will keep you updated as new information comes forth. But, just because this appeal went quickly, the remaining process may take some time.

We thank you for reading Sunshine Signing for your most recent notary news.