Posted by Donald Smith on 8/2/12 10:18pm
Msg #429177

Safir Signing Agents

STOP!! DO NOT I REPEAT DO NOT TAKE AN ASSIGNMENT FROM SAFIR SIGNINGS YOU WILL NEVER GET PAID. I SHOULD HAVE READ ABOUT THEM BEFORE I TOOK 2 JOBS. AFTER FAXING, CALLING, ETC I AM STILL WAITING FOR 60 DOLLARS FOR MONTHS. SHANNON SMOOT AND KONSTANTINE SAFIIR ARE SCUM BAGS THAT PREY ON NEW NOTARIES. YOU WILL BE SORRY IF YOU TAKE A JOB FROM THEM. THREE THINGS IN LIFE ARE GUARANTEED, TAXES, DEATH, AND IF YOU TAKE A JOB FROM SAFIR SIGNINGS YOU WILL NOT GET PAID UNLESS YOU FIGHT LIKE A PITBULL FOR MONTHS AND MONTHS.

Reply by Les_CO on 8/2/12 10:57pm
Msg #429180

Join the club Don, and I don’t blame you for shouting…..but you did two jobs for $60? $30 each? I hope it was for washing Kosti’s car?

Reply by Jack/AL on 8/2/12 11:02pm
Msg #429181

You don't get out much, do you?

Signing Central is there for a purpose. Obviously, you did/do not read the comments in signing central, plus some posted frequently about those folks. Might I suggest, always check out the companies in Signing Central before accepting assignments, read this forum on a daily basis, and please DO NOT TYPE IN ALL CAPS? The latter is like shouting in writing, and it annoys the heck out of us visual folks. In case you don't know, many posters recommend NOT doing business wih Safir.

Reply by Jack/AL on 8/2/12 11:06pm
Msg #429182

Re: You don't get out much, do you?

If you really want to learn a lot, quickly, click on the orange search tab, and then enter "Safir" into the keywords/phrases field, and press enter. Whoa! Shocking!

Reply by Buddy Young on 8/3/12 5:20pm
Msg #429276

Re: You don't get out much, do you?

After everything that has been posted about Safir signings, I can't believe you took a job from them.

Everyone here on not rot knows about Safir and has read about the scumbags dozens of times, yet some dummys like you still take jobs from them. With all the information available here on not rot about Safir, I would say, you got what you deserved.

Reply by HisHughness on 8/2/12 11:56pm
Msg #429187

Hate to be the curmudgeon here, Donnie ...

... but if you are taking signings for $60 then I not only don't feel sorry that you got stiffed, I actually feel a bit of malicious satisfaction. You not only undercut some signing agent who deserved a respectable fee, you helped keep a real scumbag in business. Notaries like you have pushed this business to the brink of ruination.

Your experience will, however, be useful if it results in two things:

1. You never again accept an assignment from a deadbeat like Safir; and
2. You never again do a signing for a ridiculous fee like $60.

Reply by 101livescan on 8/3/12 12:25am
Msg #429189

Re: Hate to be the curmudgeon here, Donnie ...

Amen, Brother Hugh!

Reply by bfnotary on 8/3/12 8:42am
Msg #429204

Re: Hate to be the curmudgeon here, Donnie ...

I have to totatlly agree with hugh on this matter. $60.00 signings = not cool.

Reply by Janice Thomas on 8/3/12 5:46am
Msg #429193

I second the comment! DO NOT WORK FOR THEM! I did closings for them and they were great for about 6 months, then on June 30, no payment for 2 signings. During the 1st week of July I did more signings and thought the check was late due to the holiday. it is now August 3rd and I haven't received any payment. Phone calls, faxes for the most part have gone ignored. Shannon sent me a followup text in which she asked him to pay me and he said OK, still nothing and now her voice mail is full and his only accepts faxes or text, he never answers. Today, I will be contacting the title company, which is Geniune Title. I'm not sure if he is connected to them or not because I get jobs from others compainies in which Genuine is the title company and I have not had any problem getting paid. Does anyone know another way to contact SSA?

Reply by Lee/AR on 8/3/12 5:56am
Msg #429194

Genuine Title has same bad rep... n/m

Reply by CopperheadVA on 8/3/12 5:59am
Msg #429195

Genuine Title is completely aware of the issue...

Others have had success by contacting the Maryland Bureau of Insurance and filing a complaint against Safir and Genuine Title for failure to fulfill contractual obligations in a real estate transcation.

Reply by bfnotary on 8/3/12 8:45am
Msg #429205

Re: Genuine Title is completely aware of the issue...

am I wrong or isn't safir and genuine title the same people? Either way, I wouldn't touch them with a 10 foot pole. lol.

Reply by cawest/PA on 8/3/12 9:21am
Msg #429210

Re: Genuine Title is completely aware of the issue...

and rumor is that they have started to use a third name ... Sharon Smooth called a Notary in my area using a different last name, it is when the email came in that she linked the two and turned it back.

Reply by Donald Smith on 8/3/12 10:05pm
Msg #429300

Re: Genuine Title is completely aware of the issue...

Thanks to all who have replied. The two jobs I did for Safir signings were mortgage applications which are still about 100 pages and you have to pick up copies of the docs such as w-2, insurance dec page etc, etc. They pay 60 to 65 which is normal in my area the only difference is that Safir signings does not pay. They will never ask you for a W-9 because they know your not getting paid. My friend in PA also had the same experience with them. It is hard to believe they are in business. Their business model is simple and profibable. Look for new notaries give them as many jobs as fast as possible and by the time they realize their not getting paid Safir has made some good money. I will be paying attention to what people say in these posts from now on. Shannon and Konstantine may you rot in hell where you belong.

Reply by Notary1/CO on 8/4/12 12:39am
Msg #429309

Collections and Wire Fraud

If someone uses interstate communications, including telephone, fax, and email, as part of a planned scheme to cheat people out of money, those are the basic elements of Federal wire fraud, 18 USC 1343. Using the US Mail or common carriers such as FedEx or UPS, as part of a scheme, is mail fraud, 18 USC 1341.

It does not matter whether the victims eventually receive their money or not, if there is evidence that a planned scheme with criminal intent was used. If there are many victims, over a period of time, that is more evidence.

A single instance of late payment, due to an error or omission, may simply be a mistake, if there was no criminal intent. Depending on contract and payment terms, the creditor may be entitled to add late fees and collection costs.

Develop an effective credit and collection policy. Do some reading and research on fraud. See the US Attorneys Manual at http://www.justice.gov/usao/eousa/foia_reading_room/usam/title9/43mcrm.htm

If you suspect you are a victim of fraud, you may choose to contact law enforcement, including your local FBI office for interstate crime. If you just need help with collections, learn to write effective collection letters or talk to a collections attorney or agency. Best strategy is to perform due diligence and investigate a company's history and reputation to estimate your business risk, before you do business with them.

Reply by Les_CO on 8/4/12 10:26am
Msg #429338

Re: Collections and Wire Fraud

Unfortunately it is basically not illegal to not pay someone in this country. In the case of these guys that contract our services, and don’t pay, I honestly and truthfully believe it is ‘intentional fraud.’ But to ‘prove’ fraud one must prove intent, and that isn’t easy. They just say, Oh, we pay, we just forgot; or we didn’t get an invoice; or we sent a check it must have been lost in the mail; or we’re a little short on cash this week……any excuse. Now if you could get depositions from a hundred or so NSA’s to state that they have asked for payment many times in writing, and prove the recipient received the demand for payment, and did not pay…perhaps you could show that this is SOP for these crooks, and therefore show that they regularly do business with the intention of not paying those they contract with. The DA (if you could make that case) may look into it. Without that, and for a couple of hundred bucks, they are not going to bother. A civil suit to do this would cost many thousands, and even if you were to win, a flake like Kosti is most likely judgment proof, and Genuine Title that, is licensed, and does have money can probably prove that they DID pay Kosti, he just didn’t pay you. A convenient arrangement, no? So am I going to spend thousands trying to collect hundreds? Not a chance. Even if I collect court costs, and get a judgment, what good is it against someone/thing/company with no assets? So with these guys it’s probably small claims court or nothing, and I don’t know about MD law but I’d guess you must appear in the court jurisdiction where they, their business Genuine Title, if hired by them directly (doubtful) or if by one of Kosti’s SS LLC’s, where they are located. That leaves most of us out. (I’d bet they pay all the local notaries they hire) Virtually the only recourse for us is to never work for them, and to shout it from the rooftops…which many of us have done…to little avail. By keeping all the notary/signing/closing fees these guys are making a lot of money and can afford to make a lot of calls, and with new uninformed NNA notaries out there every week, desperate for that ‘first’ OJT job, I predict a long and profitable future for them, and their ilk ,as disgusting as that may be….JMO

Reply by Notary1/CO on 8/5/12 8:45pm
Msg #429440

Re: Collections and Wire Fraud

See US Attorneys Manual http://www.justice.gov/usao/eousa/foia_reading_room/usam/title9/43mcrm.htm

9-43.100 Prosecution Policy Relating to Mail Fraud and Wire Fraud
Prosecutions of fraud ordinarily should not be undertaken if the scheme employed consists of some isolated transactions between individuals, involving minor loss to the victims, in which case the parties should be left to settle their differences by civil or criminal litigation in the state courts. Serious consideration, however, should be given to the prosecution of any scheme which in its nature is directed to defrauding a class of persons, or the general public, with a substantial pattern of conduct.

See US Attorneys Manual http://www.justice.gov/usao/eousa/foia_reading_room/usam/title9/crm00949.htm

949 Proof of Fraudulent Intent
In many cases, this requirement poses no additional obstacle for the government. When the "necessary result" of the actor's scheme is to injure others, fraudulent intent may be inferred from the scheme itself.

"The requisite intent under the federal mail and wire fraud statutes may be inferred from the totality of the circumstances and need not be proven by direct evidence." United States v. Alston, 609 F.2d 531, 538 (D.C. Cir. 1979).

Thus, intent can be inferred from statements and conduct. United States v. Cusino, 694 F.2d 185, 187 (9th Cir. 1982).

Impression testimony, that is, testimony of victims as to how they had been misled by defendants, is admissible to show an intent to defraud. See Phillips v. United States, 356 F.2d 297, 307 (9th Cir. 1965).

Also consider complaint letters received by defendants as relevant to the issue of intent to defraud. The inference might be drawn that, since the defendant knew victims were being misled by solicitation literature and other representations, the continued operation of the business despite this knowledge showed the existence of a scheme to defraud.

http://www.justice.gov/usao/eousa/foia_reading_room/usam/title9/crm00967.htm

967 Venue in Wire Fraud
Unlike the mail fraud statute, the fraud by wire statute makes no reference to the venue of the offense. Accordingly, the provisions of § 3237(a) apply, and prosecutions may be instituted in any district in which an interstate or foreign transmission was issued or terminated.

Reply by cawest/PA on 8/3/12 9:20am
Msg #429208

Are you taking closings from Nations Direct as well??? They hold the 60$ range as well.
Do I feel bad you did not get paid? I cannot say I do! Working at 60$ is undermining the ones that have been for a long time in the field and know what they do! The one that knows what he/she does first at all will lookup the company offering a job, will be smart enough to know that 60$ is working at loss ... perhaps you should send a check to Safir to cover his fees of contacting you (use of phone and internet)

Reply by Frank/NC on 8/3/12 9:44am
Msg #429216

You deserve everything you got for accepting $60 signings. Everyone who accepts those paltry sums takes this profession one step closer to non existence.

Reply by Linda Neel on 8/3/12 12:44pm
Msg #429255

You might try going to your State Dept. of Insurance regarding this issue. I am in Calif, But you can file a complaint, and it is very effective. I have done it twice, and prevailed and got my money both times!!