by FraudInfo

Date First Reported: January 2016

Primary Name Associated: Kevin Asta

Description of Potential Fraud:

fraud-warning

A number of firms in Ontario and the U.S. have notified us that they received an email from the purported Coast Machinery Ltd 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).

Names associated with this fraud are:
Kevin Asta: [email protected]
James Greger: [email protected]
Daniel Casper: [email protected]
Joseph Dag: [email protected]
Fredrik Enok: [email protected]

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:

From: Kevin Asta [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Friday, November 27, 2015 12:10 PM
Subject: Legal Inquiry

Please respond if you have experience in drafting Bill of sales and purchase agreements.

Replying to the email brought this response:

Thank you for responding so swiftly. My company is disposing some of our equipment and have a potential buyer looking to purchase a crane which details i have attached to this email. You will find below buyers details for your conflict search.

United Rentals, Inc
3407 N Main St
East Peoria, IL 61611

Kindly respond with your fee structure if you can help us draft the agreements mentioned in my prior email. After reviewing the terms of your engagement , I’d like us to discuss this matter further over the phone. I hope to hear from soonest.

Regards,

Kevin Asta
Business Manager
Coast Machinery ltd
Torshamnsgatan 71 Kista 364 83
Stockholm,Sweden
Tel:+46 9 359 24 754

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.

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. 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.