Courthouses lock up judges' signature stamps after forgery arrest

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OGDEN, Utah (AP) -- Officials' signature stamps are being locked up in the wake of accusations that a former court clerk served an eviction notice with a fraudulently applied judge's signature.

Supervisors are now keeping inventory of the stamps in 2nd District Court in Ogden. Stamps are either assigned to an individual clerk or kept locked up.

Maria Gomez is charged with forgery in the January creation of a document bearing an unauthorized recreation of a judge's signature. In charging documents, she is accused of using the notice to try to evict some tenants she was having trouble with. A preliminary hearing is set for April 15.

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Information from: Standard-Examiner