by FraudInfo

Date First Reported: December 2013

Primary Name Associated: Yaichi Kimura

Description of Potential Fraud:

fraud-warning

A Colorado firm notified us that they received an email from the purported Yaichi Kimura looking to retain them with regards to a breach of a business loan agreement.

This is a classic bad cheque scam that presents as legal matter requiring the assistance of a lawyer. In this scam lawyers will be duped into wiring real funds from their trust accounts after depositing a fake cheque received as payment from the debtor (who is part of the fraud). See our Confirmed Fraud Page for more of an explanation of how these frauds work and other names associated with it , and our Fraud Fact Sheet for a list the red flags of a bogus legal matter that is really a fraud.

Here is the initial contact email sent by the fraudster to the lawyer, subsequent response, and fake documentation:

From: YAICHI KIMURA [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Monday, October 28, 2013 7:29 PM
To:
Subject: Legal Issue

A partner of mine breached the trust / agreement we entered into . Is this within your expertise ? Otherwise I would be glad to get a referral .
Looking forward to hearing from you .

Y.KIMURA

Replying to the email brought this response:

Thanks for the response to my email. I provided a friend of mine John Humphrey a business loan in the amount of $500,000 while He was on a business visit me in Japan. He needed this loan to complete/facilitate payment & purchase of farm machinery and equipment . From our last correspondence He currently resides in your city. The loan was for 5 years and interest rate of 5% . The capital and interest were supposed to be paid on June 27th, 2012 but He has only paid $50,000 and has an outstanding balance of about $450,000 AND interest too.

I have known him for over 4 years prior to granting him the loan. We have also done business in the past without any issues. I am in constant contact with him and even though He has promised to pay the balance, I think the threat or possibility of litigation would serve as a catalyst to make him pay soon . Find attached the Loan Agreement and Payment note .

I expect this to be a non-litigation collection from the borrower but I am prepared to litigate this matter if He is not ready to pay the balance owed . This loan is not in dispute. The present economic down turn has been cited by him as the reason for delayed payment. He has continually requested for more time, however I strongly believe that the introduction of legal pressure may initiate immediate payment from him.

I know there is a lawyer-client retainer fee that may be paid in the process of the exercise, pending your conditions. Kindly, send me an engagement letter so that we can proceed with this issue with him. I want to also let you know that as a business owner this loan I gave to him has caused some strain on my capital. I am open to either an hourly or contingency fee basis. Please advice which works better for you.

Yaichi Ryo Kimura
1-1-1, Kita-Aoyama 2-chome, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-0061 Japan

Kimura Loan Agreement

Kimura Payment promissory Note

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.

For more immediate updates on fraud and claims prevention, subscribe to the email or RSS feed updates from LAWPRO’s AvoidAClaim blog.

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.