The notary necessarily avoids all consequences if the mortgage itself was genuine.
Absence of guilty knowledge is irrelevant because the conduct is always civil only.
Knowingly making the false certificate supports criminal exposure for forgery-related misconduct, and the conveyance is invalid because the false certification is an essential part.
The certificate is harmless if a county clerk later authenticates the notary’s signature.
Correct Answer
C. Knowingly making the false certificate supports criminal exposure for forgery-related misconduct, and the conveyance is invalid because the false certification is an essential part.
AI Explanation
A knowingly false acknowledgment certificate is treated very seriously. Under the booklet’s discussion preceding “Definitions and General Terms,” false certification of acknowledgment is tied to forgery in the second degree under Penal Law §170.10, and the conveyance of which the false certification is an essential part is treated as invalid. For contrast, lack of guilty knowledge may affect criminal liability, but it does not turn the knowingly false certificate into a harmless irregularity.
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