by FraudInfo

Date First Reported: August 2015

Primary Name Associated: Bradly Martinez

Description of Potential Fraud:

fraud-warning

An Ontario firm notified us that they received an email from the purported Bradly Martinez of Hitachi High-Electronics looking to retain them with regards to making a large commercial purchase.

This appears to be a 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 purchaser (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 to the lawyer:

Hi
My company needs an attorney that could represent us in a Purchase and Sales Transaction. Does your firm practice that area of law? A referral 
would be appreciated too if possible. Thank you 

Thanks.
Bradly Martinez
[email protected]

Replying to the message brought this response:

Thank you for the reply. I have gone through the email and the amount quoted falls within the budget provision my company appropriated for this transaction. How ever, my company is in the process of selling a dredger to a buyer residing in your area. We need an attorney to help me draft a purchase and sale agreement for the transaction. I have attached some necessary details of the dredger for your review. Find below the name of the proposed buyer for your conflict check. The manufacturer and the total expenditure amount is Two Million Nine Hundred and Fifty Thousand dollars(2,950,000.00). Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
I look forward to reading from you today and hopefully getting your retainer documents for my company to study the terms, once we are clear with the details. It will be signed and send back to your attention for us to get started.
 
Proposed Buyer:
Lake Services Inc
2951 Jefferson Davis Highway
Stafford, VA 22554
 
Bradly Martinez
Hitachi High-Technologies Inc
89 Galaxy Blvd,
Etobicoke, ON Canada M9W 6A4
Phone:2267008534
Fax: 2268380993

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 SheetMore 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.