Date First Reported: September 2012

Primary Name Associated: Abraham Yuzuki

Description of Potential Fraud:

fraud-warning

[updated Sept 2013]

Twenty lawyers in Ontario and the U.S. have notified us that they’ve received an email from the purported Abraham Yuzuki 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: ABRAHAM .J. YUZUKI [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Wednesday, September 05, 2012 9:18 AM
Subject: Legal Service Needed!

I need your legal assistance. I provided a friend of mine Mr Brian Caldwell a business loan in the amount of $350,000. He needed this loan to complete an ongoing project he was handling in 2009. Mr Brian is well based in your city and the loan was for 24 months and interest rate of 7.85%. The capital and interest were supposed to be paid on April 15th,
2011 but Mr Brian has only paid $50,000.

Please let me know if this falls within the scope of your practice so that I can provide you with the loan documents and any further information you need to know. My email is: [email protected]

Thanks,

Abraham J .Yuzuki

When one of the Canadian lawyers replied, he received this further correspondence, and the two documents provided as links below:

His address is: 87 Wellesley Street East, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Thank you for your response to my mail, please find attached a PDF version of the Loan agreement Promissory note and receipt.

I expect this to be a non-litigation collection from the borrower but I am prepared to litigate this matter if he is not ready to pay the balance owed on the loan agreement. Note that this loan is not in dispute. The present economic down turn has been cited as the reason for delayed payment, He has continually requested for more time, we strongly believe that the introduction of legal pressure may initiate immediate payment from him. Send me the engagement letter so that we can proceed with this issue with him. I want to also let you know that as an owner of a business, this loan that I gave to Brian (Who I know very well) has caused considerable strain on my operation capital.

Note that this loan is not in dispute.

I am open to either an hourly or contingency fee basis. Please advice

which works better for you.

Abraham J Yuzuki

YUZUKI ELECTRICAL & TRADING COMPANY LTD

Saitamashi,Saitamaken.

Minamiku, Tuji, Japan

Phone: 81-80-41655392.

Receipt - Yuzuki (1)

Agreement – Abraham

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 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.