Just goes to show, justice is relative huh. Or perhaps there ain't no justice fer the connected. Something like that, LOL.

Thu Dec 21, 2006 7:46 pm (PST)

December 21, 2006 12:50 am

By KEITH EPPS

A notary public who allowed another woman to use her seal in a phony-document scam pleaded guilty to two charges yesterday in Fredericksburg Circuit Court.

Lizette Hagen, 42, of Ashland pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit notary fraud and conspiracy to forge a public document. A third conspiracy charge was dropped.

She will be facing a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison when she is sentenced in April, but will probably get nowhere near that amount of time, a prosecutor said.

Hagen was allowed to remain free on bond until her sentencing.

According to the evidence, Hagen loaned her notary stamp to Claudia Maria Zuluga-Agudelo, who authorities said used the stamp in performing illegal document transactions for Spanish-speaking customers at her Fredericksburg business.

The business, "Tramites La Guadalupana, " was located in Westwood Office Park off Plank Road. It was shut down earlier this year when police raided it.

Zuluga-Agudelo, 39, is charged with 32 offenses in connection with the operation. She skipped a scheduled trial last month and authorities believe she has returned to Colombia, her native country.

Prosecutor Travis Bird said that Hagen was a pawn in Zuluga-Agudelo' s scheme and apparently benefited little from the operation.

He said giving Zuluga-Agudelo her stamp "was a dumb--and criminal--thing to do."

Court records show that an investigation into Zuluga-Agudelo' s business began Jan. 30 when a woman told city police that the business was performing illegal document transactions.

During the second week of February, investigators sent an informant to purchase an international driver's license. The informant was given $200 and told to request the license and to ask about other services advertised on a flier.

Investigators had the business under surveillance as the informant paid $133 for the license and was told to pick it up in a week. Employees did not ask for a passport or visa. The informant returned and got the license.

The informant was later charged $50 to fill out a state business license application and was offered an IRS employer identification number for $400, according to the affidavit.

Zuluga-Agudelo also offered to put false information on the informant's tax return for a $2,000 fee, court records state.