Notary Fraud Gets Escrow Officer and Accomplice Arrested
Why would a real estate professional risk their license and their freedom to make literally, a few dollars?
Apparently that’s what Christi Fry, aka Christi Martin, might have done. Fry, of West Covina, was arrested at Seller’s Choice Escrow earlier this week and charged by the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office, just one day short of the statute of limitations expiring, according to investigator Martin Landrum. She and her alleged co-conspirator, Omar Paz, of Rancho Cucamonga, are being held in lieu of $450,000 and $850,000 bonds respectively.
The events leading to the arrests began when Omar Paz and his wife divorced. Paz sold his home and Fry handled both the escrow and notary duties for the sale. Paz later transferred most of the money from the joint account he held with his wife that were the profits from the sale into an account he alone held. The fraud was discovered during the divorce proceedings, when Paz’ ex-wife noticed that her name had been forged on disclosure forms, escrow instructions and the grant deed to the new buyers.
Notarizing a document as containing an original signature requires the presence of the signer and positive identification. Probably because she overlooked that not-so-minor detail, Fry’s notary license was revoked after a separate investigation by the California Secretary of State’s Office.
Read the Full Article in the San Bernardino Sun by Frank C. Girardot.
