Asheville lawyer charged with notary fraud scheduled for probable cause hearing
ASHEVILLE - A local lawyer facing multiple felony notary fraud charges is scheduled for an important court appearance.
Ilesanmi Olaseni Adaramola, 37, of Arden is scheduled for a probable cause hearing in Buncombe County District Court on Sept. 9.
Probable cause hearings allow the court to determine whether reason exists to prosecute a defendant, ensuring that defendant is not unjustifiably tried.
Adaramola is a suspect in an alleged scheme to defraud older homeowners, Black residents, and others of their houses. Nonprofit news organization Asheville Watchdog first reported the alleged scheme in which she, alongside others, is said to have exploited partition law.
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Arrest warrants filed by the North Carolina Department of the Secretary of State and obtained by the Citizen Times in June say that while acting as a "duly commissioned notary public," Adaramola took acknowledgments she knew to be false or fraudulent. She did so in 2017 and 2018, according to the warrants.
An acknowledgment verifies someone's identity to a notary and shows that they are doing so willingly.
Adaramola was scheduled to appear in court on Aug. 10. In court, her lawyer, James Mills, said she had been excused.
Mills declined to comment on the afternoon of Aug. 10.
District Court Judge Edwin Clontz presided over the courtroom.
Adaramola did not respond to a request for comment left with her law office.
Ryan Oehrli is the breaking news and social justice reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times. Send tips to coehrli@citizentimes.com.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Asheville lawyer charged with fraud, probable cause hearing scheduled
