Commercial debt collection scam using the names Edward Boyle, Mikio Takeuchi and Sojitz Aerospace Corp
Description of Potential Fraud:
A German firm notified us that they received an email from the purported Edward Boyle, on behalf of Mikio Takeuchi of Sojitz Aerospace Corp, looking to retain them with regards to a commercial debt collection.
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 to see other names associated with it. Our Fraud Fact Sheet lists 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:
Von: Edward Boyle [mailto:[email protected]]
Gesendet: Montag, 20. Januar 2014 15:02
An:
Betreff: Dear Counsel
Dear Counsel,
I am sending this email as a referral.
Mr Mikio Takeuchi is a director of Sojitz Aerospace Corporation, Japan/South Korea. They are a manufacturing company of Aeronautical equipments. The company is being owed some payments on a shipment that they made to a customer here in March 2013. They are now seeking advice and possible representation in litigation against the non-paying company.
I am unable to handle this matter at this time because I’m on vacation. I have represented this company in the past. You can contact Mr. Takeuchi if you are interested in representing.
Below is his contact information:
Mikio Takeuchi
Sojitz Aerospace Corporation
[email protected]
I encourage you to contact one another to see if this is a situation where you can work together.
Sincerely,
Edward Boyle
Attorney At Law
[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 26, 2017 at 2:51 pm, Jeffrey H. Boiler said:
i’ am a lawyer in private practice in a rural area of the State of Oregon, USA, I’ve received a version of the scam above at my office email address, and did not respond. When i read your article above to check the referral, i thought you might want to know the scam is still in play and now using a debt due in March, 2015, vs. 2013, as in the text above. The name Boyle was still being used, along with Mikio Takeuchi as above. This isn’t the first time either. Good luck policing this scam, older attorneys like me might not recognize the indicators of scam that this one clearly presents. Thanks. Jeff Boiler