Separation agreement scam by Heather Kobayashi Brogren
Date First Reported: October 2012
Primary Name Associated: Heather Brogren
Description of Potential Fraud:
A lawyer in Ontario and one in California have notified us that they’ve been contacted by the purported Heather Kobayashi Brogren with regards to a 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:
From: Heather Kobayashi Brogren
Subject: Good Morning
Date: October 8, 2012 2:39:27 PM EDT
To: lawyer email
Dear Counsel,
I would like to file a petition against my ex-husband for failure to comply with court-ordered payments of child, spousal and medical support.
Please let me know if you handle such cases.
Heather Kobayashi Brogren
[email protected]
One lawyer who replied got this response:
Thank you for your prompt response. Am residing in South Korea for an assignment at present and my ex-spouse and Kelvin Brogren(ex-spouse) lives in San Jose,CA .
Due to the time difference (+13hrs EST), it is a little bit difficult to determine the best time to call you.
Following my previous mail, My ex-spouse and I agreed under a Collaborative Law Agreement which incorporated by reference was approved, merged into and made part of the court order for a cash settlement of $698,000.00USD, for child support, spousal support, etc, To his credit, he has paid me $260,500.00USD but still owing $437.500.00USD and the stipulated time for completion of payment has long elapsed.
Therefore, breaching the court’s decree with regards to payment of divorce settlement. He is aware of my intention to seek legal actions.
Attached is a copy of the Collaborative Law Agreement, Entitlement Settlement Agreement and the Court’s Decree (i.e. Divorce Decree) and I will be pleased to provide further information on this case on request. I have already advised him I am planning on retaining your firm.
Kindly send me your firm’s retainer fee agreement so that we can proceed. Thank you and I await your email with the retainer agreement.
Thanks,
Heather Brogren
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.
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October 17, 2012 at 2:30 pm, Fred Gagliardini said:
Going to email what I believe is fraud. Replied in two emails indicating I needed more information on husband to serve him properly. Received reply he was surgeon. No such surgeon in California, I have stopped any further response.