Separation agreement scam by Sharon (or Betty) Trump
Date First Reported: March 2013
Primary Name Associated: Sharon (or Betty) Trump
Description of Potential Fraud:
Over 160 lawyers in Ontario and the U.S. have notified us that they’ve been contacted by the purported Sharon (or Betty) Trump 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:
Subject: Enforcement Action
From:
To: <(none)>
Date: Monday, 03/04/2013 9:21 AM
I wish to file an enforcement petition against my ex-spouse for breaching
the court’s decree with regards to payment of property settlement. If you
are available for such case Kindly reply to me via ([email protected]).
Regards,
Sharon Trump
A lawyer who replied got this response and counterfeit documentation:
Thanks for your prompt response. Am residing in Japan for an assignment at present and my ex-spouse Herman Trump now lives in Palo Alto, California. As a result of time difference it is a little bit difficult to reach you. We were divorced in Singapore. My ex-husband Herman Trump is a US citizen. We both agreed under a Property Settlement Agreement incorporated, merged into and made part of the Final Judgment for a onetime settlement of Family Support and Property Division in the amount of $1,038,500, he has paid me $186,000.00USD but still owing $852.500.00USD and the stipulated time for completion of payment has long elapsed. This is the reason why I contacted you as there is already an agreement in place. I know for sure my ex-husband has the financial means to pay the unpaid balance set forth in our settlement agreement. Thus, I request your legal services with regards to compelling him to remit balance owed me. Attached is a copy of the property settlement agreement and the Final Judgment. I will be pleased to provide further information on this case on request and I expect this to be resolved in a timely manner.
Furthermore, I seek to retain your firm for this purpose, please send me a copy of your retainer agreement and if the terms are acceptable I will sign so we can commence the process without delay. Thank you for your anticipated cooperation and professionalism.
Regards,
Sharon Trump
Address: K-1 Bldg.2F, 1-2-13. Azabu-juban Minato-ku. Tokyo 106-0045 JAPAN
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.
May 01, 2013 at 3:38 am, ay said:
He’s in Indianapolis, IN today
May 01, 2013 at 10:30 am, A. Washington said:
I too received an email very similar to the one above. But Mr. Bloomberg now lives in Baton Rouge, LA. Thats for keeping us in the know regarding this scam!
May 03, 2013 at 11:25 am, Tim Garlick said:
Got the email in Bush, LA, back and frothed a few times and then started searching online and declined the representation.
Regards,
Tim
May 10, 2013 at 1:13 pm, T. Walker said:
‘Ms. Crystal” has made her way to Illinois. She is again requesting legal services for an enforcement of property settlement agreement against her ex-husband. She is using a live.com e-mail address. In this email, she does not send the husband’s name or the jurisdiction information. She does, however, provide a telephone number which when called is a Spanish speaking recording. As I do not speak Spanish, I have no idea the contents of the recording. Total scam!
May 15, 2013 at 1:48 pm, Laurinda Voelcker, Esquire said:
Here is a new e-mail for Ms. Trump/Hokkien: Crystal Hokkien [[email protected]]
Dear Counsel,
Thanks for your mail. I agree to pay your retainer fee. Am currently working in Japan for the past 6 months now and my ex- spouse lives in your region. Due to the time difference (+13hrs EST) it is a little bit difficult to determine the best time to call you. We agreed under a property settlement Agreement attached to this mail for a onetime cash settlement of $786,920.00 USD and $271,600.00 USD for property division and Family support respectively. To his credit, he has paid me $200,000.00 USD from a total of $1,058,520 but still owing $800,520.00 USD. Hence, I need your counsel in order to collect the balance owed to me under the settlement agreement.
The Final judgment of dissolution of marriage also attached makes reference to a Settlement Agreement being attached to and incorporated therein. He is aware of my intention to seek legal actions by retaining your firm. Please send me your firm’s retainer agreement letter via email attachment so that we can proceed. Thank you for your help and have a pleasant day.
Regards,
Crystal H
Address: Sumida-ku, Arka Central Building, 89F Tokyo Japan
Name change! Mr. Trump’s name has been changed to Mr. Hokkien and is living in central Pennsylvania. Thank you this website! The information was very helpful.
May 16, 2013 at 12:26 pm, Jim Goza said:
THANK YOU for this scam alert! I received an identically worded request scheme from an alias of ‘Nina Walton’ from Fukuoka, Japan on May 10, 2013. Attached to the request were PDF files containing copies of an actual Japanese passport with Nina Walton’s picture, and an actual address in Fukuoka, along with either an authentic (or expertly forged) Japanese Decree Of Divorce and Settlement Agreement. I was eager to get started on her case!!! Thank you so much for saving me from this mess!!!
May 20, 2013 at 3:50 pm, Deborah Gregory said:
Mr. Hokkien is now living in Alabama.
May 23, 2013 at 10:41 am, Robert Ingalls said:
I have him in Charlotte, NC.
May 30, 2013 at 5:00 pm, David Perry Davis said:
Publish this far and wide.
Immediate red flags:
1. Emails addressed to “undisclosed recipients”
2. The claim that the case is “in your jurisdiction”
3. No indication of how “prospective client” got your name.
4. This same scenario with minor variations: “prospective client” has a settlement agreement he/she needs enforced. Other party has the ability to pay.
This is how the scam runs from here for any who respond.
5. The “prospective client” says you can either take a % of the collected funds or deduct your fees when the settlement is paid, but they need the funds that they are to receive wired to them.
6. You contact the other party. They agree to comply. A check is FedEx’ed to you for the full amount. You deposit it.
7. Your bank tells you the check cleared. You will then often get an urgent call or email saying a medical crisis has arisen and they need the funds wired immediately. Since your bank told you the check cleared, you send them the funds.
10 days to 2 weeks later, you are informed by your bank that the check was a forgery (either drawn on a legitimate account and now disavowed by the account owner or on a non-existent account).
You are on the hook for whatever funds are at issue. GET THAT – YOU ARE ON THE HOOK, NOT THE BANK.
Other variant: The client sends you a check for a $25,000 retainer. Days later, they call and say the case was resolved and they want the retainer returned, minus $2500 (or whatever) for whatever time you put in. Go to #7 above – same from there on out.
** Do not ever, ever wire funds to someone you do not know very well. Include in your retainer agreement that all funds must be deposited for 30 days before any refund or settlement will be sent. BE EXTREMELY SUSPICIOUS OF ANY SOLICITATIONS FOR RETAIN YOU VIA EMAIL.
June 06, 2013 at 11:15 am, Sam said:
I was an attempted victim of a similar scam a couple of years ago. I went along because I knew I wasn’t going to be send anyone any money inappropriately, so I wasn’t worried about being victimized and if it was real, hey, it was a good sum of money for a case. Anyway, I was mailed a fraudulent check for about $400K. I told the bank I suspected the check was fake, but I couldn’t be sure. The client, of course, wanted the money right away. I told them that it would take several weeks for the check to clear, since it was an international check (from Canada to the US and the client was supposedly in England). I told him it was a violation of ethics laws to forward the money before it cleared into the account, even if the bank made it available to me. I told him if he wanted the money faster, we could try to get a wire transfer to replace the check.
That was the last time I spoke to the client. Sure enough, the check was fake.
I just received the above e-mail this morning. I’m not even going to bother following up this time.
June 06, 2013 at 12:08 pm, Stephanie said:
I received a couple of these emails from Crystal. the IP Address ‘she’ is using for both emails came up with the following:
IP Address City Country Flag DMA Code
65.49.14.70 Fremont 807
Provider State (Code) Latitude Area Code
Hurricane Electric California (CA) 37.5155 510
Hostname Country Longitude Postal Code
65.49.14.70 United States -121.8962 94539
Timezone Continent TLD GMT Offset
America/Los_Angeles America US -7
August 02, 2013 at 11:16 am, Lynn said:
Yes, Young Shin is in Washington.
I get at least one or two of these a week.
Different names , same scam
September 05, 2013 at 1:35 pm, emily said:
…and now Shin Young is in South GA:
I live in South Korea while my ex spouse “Shin Young” lives in Tifton, State of Georgia. As a result of time difference it is a little bit difficult to reach you. We were married and divorced in South Korea but my ex husband Shin Young relocated to the America. He is a citizen. We both agreed under a Separation Agreement incorporated into the Court’s order and is a part of the decree of divorce for a settlement of $941,100.00 for Child Support, Spousal Support, and Medical support, he has paid me $270,500.00 but still owing $670,600.00 and the stipulated time for completion of payment has long elapsed…