Date First Reported: July 2012

Primary Name Associated: Francis Dusana

Description of Potential Fraud:

fraud-warning

Lawyers in Ontario, BC, Alberta and New York have notified us that they’ve received an email from the purported Francis Dusana looking to retain them with regards to a breach of a business loan agreement. This is similar to other frauds of this kind we have seen. For a full description of how this fraud works and to see other names attached to it, see our Confirmed Fraud page that deals with business loan frauds.

Here is the email:

From: Francis Dusana [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Monday, July 02, 2012 01:07 AM
To: lawyer name
Subject: New message

Counsel,

I aminquiring about the possibility of your firm representing me in the litigation of a breach of payment agreement.If this falls within the scope of your practice get back to me so that I can send the copies of our agreements and more information.

Regards

Francis Dusana
Tel:1-650-212-6041
Email: [email protected]

A lawyer who replied got his response and copy of a loan agreement:

Thank you for your prompt response. Sorry for the delay in replying you back. I had some family emergency and was out of town. Attached is a copy of the agreement for your perusal. I found your firm via the web search engine (www. Google.com)

Below is the information of the borrower for your conflicts check, thanks.

Name: Mrs. WENDY LEWIS

895 Don Mills Rd.

Toronto, Ontario M3C 1W3 , Canada

Mrs. LEWIS is a very good friend of me and my family. And she and her late Husband were people I have known and done business with in the pass without any issues. And we are also in the same business sector (HEAVEY DUTY CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENTS RENTAL AND SALES).

In March 10th 2011 I gave Mrs. LEWIS a loan for $315,000.00 to assist her business, with an annual interest of 5.25% on any unpaid balance. The entire outstanding amount shall become immediately payable on or before March 10th 2012.

She has only paid $65,000 out of a total ($315,000) with a balance of $250,000.00 plus interest still outstanding till this day. I am in constant contact with her and even though she has promised to pay the balance, I think the threat or possibility of litigation would serve as a catalyst to make her pay sooner rather than later.

I am prepared to pay a reasonable retainer or collection costs for this service as soon as I get an engagement letter from your firm. I expect this to be a non-litigation collection from the borrower but I am prepared to litigate this matter if Mrs. LEWIS is not ready to pay the balance owed on the loan agreement.

I have attached to this mail a PDF version of the loan agreement promissory note for your perusal. Please send me a copy engagement letter so that we can proceed with this issue with Mrs. LEWIS. I want to also let you know that as an owner of a small business, this loan that I gave to Mrs. LEWIS has caused considerable strain on my operational capital.

Dusana AGREEMENT NOTE FOR LOAN

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.