May 31, 08

NEWS / Bogus Stamps Used In Complex Mortgage Scam

By NNA Staff
publications@nationalnotary.org
March 27, 2008


A trio of California real estate agents faces prison sentences for orchestrating a mortgage fraud scheme using fake Notary stamps.

The 68-count indictment from the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s office accuses Eric Braun, Noah Yates and Doug Wallick of stealing more than $2 million from lenders by filing false documents with the county clerk-recorder’s office, according to local media reports.

Braun allegedly bought Notary stamps and copies of land records downloaded from a public computer at the Stanislaus County Recorder’s office to create bogus documents for transactions involving several different homes in the Modesto area. In California, legitimate Notary stamps can only be purchased from authorized vendors if the customer has written authorization from the Secretary of State’s office.

Braun, Wallick and Yates also reportedly created a fictitious individual named “Seth Davis,” obtaining a cell phone and renting a Menlo Park office under that name, to serve as a scapegoat if the scheme fell apart.
Sources: http://www.nationalnotary.org/news/index.cfm?Text=newsNotary&newsID=1376

Tags: notary, secretary of state, document,