by Structured Settlement Watchdog®
On December 2, 2014, Earle Berghman submitted an affidavit supporting his petition to transfer structured settlement payment rights to Novation Funding LLC, operating as Novation Settlement Solutions, with a 48.69% effective discount rate. The affidavit was e-filed by Jose Manuel Camacho Jr. to the Broward County Court Clerk under the name Earle B.
It was pretty strange that the notary’s name was “Jack K.” As per Florida Law 117.05(3)(a), a notary public seal must be affixed to all notarized paper documents, be of the rubber stamp type, and include the words “Notary Public-State of Florida.” The seal should also have the notary public’s name, the expiration date of their commission, and their commission number.
From examining the notary section of Earl Berghman’s affidavit, as reproduced from the Broward County records, it is clear that the notary’s signature, printed name, and stamp have been altered. The printed last name of the notary and the commission number are missing. However, like an inept tailor, the person who made the alterations covered the expiry date on the stamp but left the commission expiry date visible. This detail became the key clue, through a process of elimination, that identifies Jack Karuzas of Port St. Lucie, Florida, as the notary.
I contacted Mr. Karuzas for a comment and finally reached him on January 25, 2016, at 9:40 AM. Although Jack Karuzas couldn’t specifically remember the Earle Berghman case (or Earle B case), he mentioned that he always signs and prints his full name on notarized documents. He also stated that his stamp includes his full name, the expiration date of his notary commission, and his commission number.
117.107 Prohibited acts.—
- So who did the altering of the notary signature and the notary stamp on this court submitted document?
- Who authorized the alteration of the document?
- If a notarized signature is not in compliance with Florida State Statutes how does that affect the viability of the court approval of a transfer?
- How does an investor in structured settlement payment rights rely on notarized documents that have been altered?
- If a more extensive investigation were done how many other structured settlement transfer documents would be found to be altered?
The structured settlement transfer process is supposed to be transparent and honest and one would like to believe for the most part it is. Unfortunately the Jose Manuel Camacho Jr. structured settlement transfer forgery is a scandal that impugns the integrity of the Florida structured settlement transfer market. The cover up of this scandal is startling. I wonder what else will be found in the next layer of the onion.