The three notaries charged in a binational scam to cash fraudulently obtained federal tax refund checks weren’t knowingly part of a conspiracy, Doña Ana County Clerk Lynn Ellins says he believes.
Courtesy photo
Doña Ana County Clerk Lynn Ellins
A former document technician in the office, Maria Ceniceros, is facing felony charges for allegedly coordinating the scam. Three other former employees — Reena Rodriguez, Nadia Martinez and Emilia S. Gomez — are facing charges of conspiracy to commit forgery and violation of notary requirements.
The four are no longer employed by the county.
Gomez, Martinez and Rodriguez allegedly notarized forged signatures for $20 apiece. Ellins says he believes the notaries thought the signatures were valid.
“I don’t think that there was a conspiracy between those three and Maria Ceniceros,” he told NMPolitics.net. “I think they just notarized because a friend (Ceniceros) came to them and said, ‘Do me a favor,’ and they did a favor, a stupid favor.”
Ellins noted that even if the conspiracy charge against the women doesn’t stick, violation of notary requirements is a misdemeanor crime. Chief Deputy Clerk Scott Krahling told NMPolitics.net such action is unacceptable.
“They knew it was against the law,” Krahling said. “If you’re going to break the law while you’re on the clock, you’re going to be held accountable, and you should.”
This article has been updated to clarify that those facing charges are no longer employed by the county.