Debt collection scam by Akihiro Hotaka
Description of Potential Fraud:

Three Ontario lawyers have notified us that they’ve received an email from the purported Akihiro Hotaka looking to retain them with regards to a breach of a 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:
Subject: I know you will be able to assist me because i went through your profile.
Date: Tue, 3 Jul 2012 09:48:23 -0700 (PDT)
From: Mr akihiro Hotaka
Reply-To: Mr akihiro Hotaka
To: lawyer email
Please i am in need of your legal assistance i lent a family friend money and he has refused to pay back the balance of the money,and i hope you will be able to assist me.because i checked your profile.
Below is my email address.
Thanks,
Mr Akihiro Hotaka
A lawyer who replied got this response and copy of the loan agreement:
Thanks for your reply and sorry for the delay it was due to my failing health ,I tried calling you but it was not connecting.Please i need you to help me enforce an agreement with a family friend.i lent him money and he has paid me part of the money and has been promising to pay me the balance and up till date he has not.please i also want to know how much its going to cost me. (your legal fee). i lent him $470 000 00 and has paid me $168 000 00 the balance is $302 000 00.He resides in Toronto.
please i will be very grateful if you can kindly assist me because i am in need of the money now to settle my bills.most especially my medical bill.
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.
July 22, 2012 at 7:46 pm, James said:
Hi,
We just received an email in our spam inbox regarding this chap as well regarding money that was lent to a family member.
Seems his/her/it’s reach has now extended to Australia.
All the best,
James
October 25, 2012 at 7:14 pm, shao said:
Hi,
Agree with James, our law firm also received this guy’s email as well. It’s a scam~!
I just don’t get it what he wants from a law firm, but thanks a lot for posted this article. It helps a lot!
Best regards,
Shao
October 26, 2012 at 10:20 am, TimLemieux said:
He wants to to accept a counterfeit cheque from the fake “debtor”, cash it to your trust account, and wire the funds (minus your fees) overseas. By the time the bank would spot the fake cheque, your money would be long gone.
December 17, 2012 at 11:47 pm, MAL said:
We too received an email from this wacko, regarding money that was lent to a family member. “Richard Alfred” (yeah right, I wonder what part of the family he would be ?)
I played him along and sure enuf a “bank chq” for $295,500 arrived. (not even good enuf for rs paper)
Yes he has extended to Australia.
“He wants you to accept a counterfeit cheque from the fake “debtor”, cash it to your trust account, and wire the funds (minus your fees) overseas. By the time the bank would spot the fake cheque, your money would be long gone”
Really ? who would be that stupid ??
Regards
Mal