Commercial debt collectin scam by Sebastian Aksel of JSC Tosmare Shipyard
Date First Reported: April 2013
Primary Name Associated: Sebastian Aksel
Description of Potential Fraud:
Six lawyers in Canada and the U.S. have notified us that they’ve received an email from the purported Sebastian Aksel looking to retain them with regards to a breach of a business loan agreement. This is similar to other frauds of this kind we have seen. For a full description of how this fraud works and to see other names attached to it, see our Confirmed Fraud page that deals with business loan frauds.
Here is the initial email:
From: Sebastian Aksel [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: April-08-13 10:17 AM
Subject: Loan Default Case
Dear Attorney,
I am contacting you in regards to a loan default case that require immediate attention in your state and I believe you are capable of handling this matter. Please let me know if you are available to take on this case, as more information will be given to you upon your confirmation of availability. I await your prompt response.
Sincerely,
Sebastian Aksel.
Some lawyers receive an email from the “secretary” of Sebastian Aksel:
From: Lilian Naves [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: May 7, 2013 5:03 AM
Subject: Debt Case
Dear Counsel,
We are seeking for a lawyer to assist in a collection case that requires immediate attention. If this is within your line of practice please contact me at your
earliest convenience ([email protected]). I will also need a referral if this is not within your line of practice.
Sincerely,
Lilian Naves
Secretary to
Sebastian Aksel
P.S. Do not respond via this email address. Contact me directly on ([email protected]).
A lawyer who replied got this response:
Thank you for responding to our request, in regards to your firm representing our company. Find below our debtor information for a conflict check.
Bulgarian Energy Holding EAD (BEH EAD)
Sofia – 1000,16, Vesletz Street
We sold a 3000 Tonne oil tanker vessel to this company. During the process of this transaction, they made it clear to us that they did not have the money in full which was 4,500,000 US Dollars. They requested to make a payment of 3 million dollars upfront and the balance 1.5 million will be paid ninety days after the vessel has been delivered to the United States. We figured this will not be a problem as they were willing to sign an MOU from our legal department. We felt comfortable because, we did a back ground check on this company and we had dealt with lots of clients this way in the past without any problem. It’s now been 180 days late in remitting the money been owed. I believe with the help of your firm they will treat this matter as urgent. We have all supporting documents like the wire transfer of Three million dollars, Bill of lading, Sales contract, vessel information, Memorandum of understanding signed by the debtor and Email correspondence between our sales department and the buyer. I believe you are familiar with such default cases and you will need all the supporting documents to proceed with the case, but before moving forward I will like to review your retainer agreement either on hourly bases or contingency. Once your agreement has been reviewed, I will furnish you with all the necessary documents and also schedule a conference call if necessary. I hope to hear from you soon.
Sincerely,
Sebastian Aksel
Vice President
JSC Tosmare Shipyard
42/44, Generala Baloza Str.
Liepaja, LV-3414, Latvia
Phone: +37168405806
E-mail: [email protected]
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 Sheet More 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.
May 17, 2013 at 10:37 am, thomas valkenet said:
I just received the same e-mail, but from “edvard Christoffer.” E-mail address [email protected] .
I asked for the name of all parties to run a conflict check, and he identified the local adverse party as Ame Oil & Gas Corp, with a residential address very near to my office. That entity also is not registered to do business in Maryland.
June 18, 2013 at 12:56 pm, William Breedlove said:
Our office received similar requests from Stefans Nikolajs which also used a local company to bolster believability.
June 19, 2013 at 1:27 pm, Barry P. King said:
Dear Sir/Madam:
I compliment your fine site. Every lawyer should read your publication and in addition go to the following links:
http://www.iardc.org/information/alert.html
http://ethics.calbar.ca.gov/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=z8N90vbh088%3d&tabid=834 (California Bar)
http://www.calbarjournal.com/January2012/TopHeadlines/TH6.aspx (California Bar)
I received an email from “Sebastian Aksel” this morning and immediately forwarded to you.
I was also contacted two weeks ago by “Luigi’s Lawyer” (see your previous posts on this one) also known as Pablo Franco. In his email, “Pablo” suggested that Howard Appliances owed his company, Iaco Eletronnica $450,000US. I requested their back up documentation, just to see how sophisticated they were. (This documentation is similar to “Iwashima Electronics” posted 27 September 2012 at your site- Notice the invoice has under ten items, all very expensive and the sum total is an even number).
After reviewing the supporting “invoice” I declared them fraudulent. The invoices are the give-away. No invoice will have tax, shipping and customs add up to an even amount such as $450,000!
Surprisingly, notwithstanding my reply, Franco’s “team” sent me a cashier’s check purporting to be the debtor, Howard Appliance. It was made out to me for $450,000.00, as partial settlement payment on Iaco’s claim. Why they would do that after I identified them as fraudulent, I can only guess. So I have the original check, the envelope and the letter, which I have preserved for the FBI, if they want it. Very high quality forgeries.
Why I have brought this to your attention is that the check from Franco as well as a previous check involving a Manuba Uchida, last September, were both sent via Royal Post (Canada). It seems in looking over your reports, that much of this is taking place in Canada?
Thank you for your time,
BARRY P. KING
June 27, 2013 at 9:36 pm, KMP Sarmiento said:
We received an email from Sebastian Aksel, too, on April 4, 2013 using a siit.tu.ac.th email address.