by FraudInfo

Date First Reported: February 2012

Primary Name Associated: Stephany Kiyoshi

Description of Potential Fraud:

fraud-warning

Since February 2012, over 80 lawyers in Canada and the U.S. have notified us that they have been contacted by the purported Stephany Kiyoshi with regards to a collaborative family law agreement dispute. This is a fraud we have seen before under several other names and similar scenarios. For details on how this fraud works and a full list of names attached to it see our Confirmed Fraud page.

Here is the initial email:

First Name : Stephany
Last Name : Kiyoshi
Email : [email protected]
Mobile Phone : 1800926932
Comments : Dear Counsel, My name is Stephany Kiyoshi. I am contacting your firm in regards to a divorce settlement with my ex husband Naoki Kazuo who resides in your jurisdiction. I am currently on assignment in S.Korea. We had an out of court agreement (Collaborative Law Agreement) for him to pay $496,500.00 plus legal fees. He has only paid me $183,500 since. I am hereby seeking your firm’s assistance in collecting the balance from him. He has agreed already to pay me the balance but it is my belief that a Law firm like yours is needed to help me collect/enforce payment from my ex-husband or litigate this matter if he fails to pay as promised.

How to handle a real or suspected fraud

If you have been targeted by any of these frauds, please forward any of the emails and supporting documents that you have received to [email protected].

If you suspect you are acting on a matter that might be a fraud, call LAWPRO at 1-800-410-1013 (416-598-5899). We will talk you through the common fraud scenarios we are seeing and help you spot red flags that may indicate you are being duped. This will help you ask appropriate questions of your client to determine if the matter is legitimate or not. If the matter you are acting on turns out to be a fraud and there is a potential claim, we will work with you to prevent the fraud and minimize potential claims costs.

If you have been successfully duped, please immediately notify LAWPRO as there may be a claim against you.

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Fraud Fact SheetMore fraud prevention information and resources are available on the practicePRO Fraud page, including the Fraud Fact Sheet, a handy reference for lawyers and law firm staff that describes the common frauds and the red flags that can help identify them.