Commercial equipment purchase scam using the names Vernon Price and Lawrence Marine & Dredging
Date First Reported: November 2015
Primary Name Associated: Vernon Price
Description of Potential Fraud:
Firms in Florida and New York have notified us that they received an email from the purported Vernon Price of Lawrence Marine & Dredging 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 email received by the lawyer:
From: Vernon Price [email protected]
Date: Mon, Nov 16, 2015 at 2:16 PM
Subject: Legal Rep
To:
—
Sir,
I run a Canada based private Marine Construction firm and we need an
attorney to assist us in drafting a purchase and Sales agreement with
a buyer in your area . Are you able to take this matter? If not, a
referral will be appreciated
Regards,
Vernon Price.
Replying to the email brought this response:
Good speaking with you sir, just to bring you up to speed,We have been negotiating the sale of a dredger to a buyer in your state and have made some progress in price agreement. At this point we need an attorney that would draft a purchase and
sales agreement for the transaction.
Our buyer is
Cavache Inc.
280 NW 12th Ave
Pompano Beach, FL 33069 .
I also attached details of the dredging equipment and a copy of the LOI for your review and I would like to know your rate and your retainer fee. Please send me your engagement letter if our buyer clears your conflict check.
Regards,
Vernon Price
Managing Director Veepcorp Inc
Lawrence Marine & Dredging
87 Fitzsimmons Rd
Lansdowne, ON Canada
647-687-7367.
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]. We use this information for the warnings we post on AvoidAClaim. We do not disclose the names of firms that have provided us with information.
Ontario Lawyers - Call LAWPRO
If you are an Ontario lawyer acting on a matter that you suspect might be a fraud, call LAWPRO at 1-800-410-1013 (416-598-5899). One of our Fraud Team members 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, we will work with you to prevent the fraud and minimize potential claims costs.
What can you do to help put a stop to the fraud attempt?
You can simply stop replying to the fraudster’s emails or inform them that you suspect fraud and will not act on the matter. You can report the fraudsters’ email addresses to the email hosting company. If you have a fraudulent cheque you can destroy it or send it to the fraud department of the financial institution it is drawn upon. In Canada, you can report the fraud to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.
We are often asked if it is worthwhile to report the fraud attempt to the police in the hopes of helping catch the fraudsters. You can certainly report the fraud to your local or federal law enforcement agencies, but unfortunately it is often difficult, expensive and time consuming for them to attempt to shut down these online fraud perpetrators (though there are some successes).
What if the fraud has been successful?
If you have been successfully duped, please immediately notify LAWPRO as there may be a claim against you. See the LAWPRO website for instructions on how to report a claim.
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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. To proactively prevent trust account shortfalls and malpractice claims, LAWPRO encourages firms to teach their lawyers and staff about fraud and how to recognize fraud attempts.
November 18, 2015 at 3:04 pm, John Moroun said:
This scam shows the importance of reading e-mails carefully. A google search shows a legitimate business in the town. phone number is wrong and one would expect that if the business can build the website that it has, it would not be using an gmail e-mail address.