A person who has never been appointed uses the title “notario” in ads so the public will think he is authorized to act. Under Executive Law §135-a, the conduct is:

AI Explanation

Holding oneself out as entitled to act without appointment is criminalized. Executive Law §135-a makes it a misdemeanor for a person to hold himself out as a notary public or commissioner of deeds, or use equivalent terms in any language, without appointment. For contrast, §135-b separately regulates foreign-language advertising by actual notaries; §135-a reaches the impostor problem itself.