Law firm foils $489K fake-check scheme, provides details to warn others
A potential international client who contacted a Texas law firm by email for help with a contract matter involving a local company in the Dallas-Fort Worth area initially seemed like he might be legitimate.
But red flags prompted the McCown law firm to check further before depositing a $489,500 payment for legal expenses and refunding the difference, as requested, reports KXAS. They included the would-be client’s hotmail address and a difference between one company’s official name and the corporate name given in the email.
In follow-up communication, the purported executive provided a number of seemingly legitimate legal documents. But when the law firm checked with the prospective client’s American headquarters, the fraud scheme became apparent.
“They had wire transfer documents, they had a contract, they also had a purchase order all with company letterheads,” said attorney Meghan Doades of the McCown firm. “This is a sophisticated operation. It was clear that they knew what the American legal system entailed.”
A federal judge in Pennsylvania last year sentenced Nigerian man to a 100-month prison term for participating in such schemes. Prosecutors said he was the ringleader of a group that scammed law firms in the U.S. and Canada out of some $70 million.
See also:
ABAJournal.com: “Law Firms Still Victimized in Fake-Check Web Scams; Trial Looms for Nigerian Accused in $32M Swindle”
ABAJournal.com : “Sued by bank, lawyer says he was also victimized by client’s $297K check scam”
ABAJournal.com: “Bank sues attorney and others over $570K wired to Japan in alleged Internet fraud by ‘client’”
ABAJournal.com: “Lawyer who tried to cash scammer’s $280K check loses appeal of conviction; he said he was joking”
