An Oklahoma man who said his name was forged on a loan document is going after the notary who allegedly signed off on the paperwork. Will Grote of Bennington, Oklahoma, said someone forged his signature on a loan to buy two tanker trailers for nearly $160,000 in 2014, according to his lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Fayetteville.
Grote blames the notary, Sabrina C. Cooper, and her employer, Arvest Bank of Fayetteville, for negligence for allegedly notarizing the documents when the signature wasn’t Grote’s.
Grote didn’t realize what had happened until he got a call from the lender, General Electric Capital Corp., according to Grote’s lawsuit, filed by Thomas Buchanan of Little Rock.
It turned out that an acquaintance of Grote forged his name, Buchanan told Whispers. Now the FBI is looking into the case, Buchanan said.
Grote said that a notary is supposed make sure of the identity of the signer of the documents.
In the meantime, Grote arranged to have the trailers returned and paid off the loan, resulting in a loss of more than $120,000, according to the lawsuit.
Grote is seeking an unspecified amount of damages.
An Arvest spokesman said the company doesn’t comment on pending litigation.