Separation agreement scam using the name Akemi Baker
Date First Reported: September 2013
Primary Name Associated: Akemi Baker
Description of Potential Fraud:
Twenty six lawyers in Ontario and the U.S. have notified us that they received an email from the purported Akemi Baker looking to retain them with regards to a collecting overdue payments resulting from a separation agreement.
This is a classic 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 debtor (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 initial email, subsequent replies and fake documentation sent by the fraudster to the lawyer:
From: Akemi Baker [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Wednesday, September 04, 2013 2:41 AM
Subject: Please advise
Dear Counsel,
Pardon my mode of communication, I have gone through your profile and am pleased with your reputation. I would want you to help me file a contempt petition against my ex-spouse for failure to make court ordered payments of Child Support and Medical support.Please advise ASAP
Replying to the email brought this response:
Thank you very much for your prompt response to my email inquiry. I am Ms. Akemi Baker, I live in Japan, while my ex husband, Miller Baker, lives in Russell Springs, KY. It’s a little bit difficult to reach your office on phone as a result of time difference. Our Marriage was dissolved in Japan, but my ex husband, relocated to the United States. He is a citizen. We both agreed under a payment of family settlement incorporated, merged into and made part of the court decree for a Settlement. He has paid $188,600.00 from the total amount of $691,800.00 but still owing $503,200.00 and the stipulated time for completion of payment has long elapsed.
In the light of this, I had to contact your firm to request your legal services to enforce the court order compelling him to remit balance owned to me. Please find a copy of the terms of Separation Agreement and Decree of Divorce attached. I expect this to be resolved in a timely manner.
Finally, kindly send me a copy of your retainer agreement and if the terms are acceptable, I will sign so we can commence the process without delay.
Again, thank you for your anticipated cooperation and professionalism. God bless you.
Yours truly,
Akemi
+81345789544
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.
September 16, 2013 at 6:35 am, Paladin Investigations said:
They tried to get to me as well. Because I am in legal social media circles I also get the same solicitations as attorneys because the scammers can’t define the difference. I have a blog about it with the email and the passport used in the communication.
September 17, 2013 at 4:02 pm, OhioPrivateEye.com said:
This person continues to use this scam. Below is a copy of a recently received follow-up e-mail:
e-mails used:
[email protected]
[email protected]
————–
Thank you very much for your prompt response to my email inquiry. I am Ms. Akemi Baker, I live in Japan, while my ex husband, Miller Baker, lives in Medina, OH. It’s a little bit difficult to reach your office on phone as a result of time difference. Our Marriage was dissolved in Japan, but my ex husband, relocated to the United States. He is a citizen. We both agreed under a payment of family settlement incorporated, merged into and made part of the court decree for a Settlement. He has paid $188,600.00 from the total amount of $691,800.00 but still owing $503,200.00 and the stipulated time for completion of payment has long elapsed.
In the light of this, I had to contact your firm to request your legal services to enforce the court order compelling him to remit balance owned to me. Please find a copy of the terms of Separation Agreement and Decree of Divorce attached. I expect this to be resolved in a timely manner.
Finally, kindly send me a copy of your retainer agreement and if the terms are acceptable, I will sign so we can commence the process without delay.
Again, thank you for your anticipated cooperation and professionalism. God bless you.
Yours truly,
Akemi
+81345789544
September 25, 2013 at 11:01 am, Bart Gernander said:
We’ve gotten this inquiry, as well. After a response, we received the attachment above, along with purported copies of a decree and of an agreement. Let me know if you want copies.
September 26, 2013 at 10:34 am, John Brewington said:
I have the copies and likely others here as well. In English no less. I can’t imagine a bigger waste of time spent on these scammers because there’s another 2 minutes away.
October 16, 2013 at 5:20 am, Balmore Rene Esquivel said:
I just got this email like an hour ago and here is what the email says.
Ordered Payment
@iprimus.com.au – 1:12 am
to
My ex-husband violated court ordered payment of Child, Spousal and Medical
Support. If you handle such case, reply to: [email protected]
Ms. Akemi
October 25, 2013 at 12:46 pm, Kendy said:
We received the same email as well. Here it is.
On October 25, 2013 at 11:08 AM akemibaker2 wrote:
My name is Akemi Baker and I am currently in Japan for an assignment. Thanks for your response to me email inquiry. My ex husband Miller Baker and I were divorced in Japan but he has since relocated to the United States (Chicago, Illinois). He is a citizen.
The legal description of my case involved both of us agreeing under a Property and Settlement agreement incorporated, merged into and made part of the final judgment of dissolution of marriage for a settlement of child support, spousal support, and medical support of $691,800.00, of which $188,600 has been remitted by him leaving a balance of $503,200.00 to be paid. This is the reason why I contacted your firm as there is already an agreement in place. I know for sure my ex husband has the financial means to pay for balance he owes me.
Thus, I request your legal services to enforce the court order compelling him to remit balance owed me. Attached for your perusal is a copy of the Property settlement agreement, and the Court’s Decree and I will be pleased to provide further information on this case on request. I expect this to be resolved in a timely manner. If you want to take up this case, kindly send me a copy of your draft agreement and if the terms are acceptable I will sign so we can commence the process without delay.
Thank you for your anticipated cooperation and professionalism.
Yours truly,
Ms. Akemi Baker
—————— Original ——————
Sender: “[email protected]”;
Send time: Thursday, Oct 24, 2013 11:14 PM
To: “r534728”;
Subject: Re: Seeking Legal Counsel
Please provide details of the case/matter, and we will be able to determine if we can help you.
On October 24, 2013 at 3:03 AM [email protected] wrote:
> I am contacting your law firm to inquire if you can enforce an agreement
> between my ex husband and I. Let me know if you are interested so I will
> furnish more details.
>
November 04, 2013 at 4:01 pm, Tim Coleman said:
I got the same email and documents. I wrote back and told her I needed a $50,000 non refundable retainer, that I would not accept personal checks, but needed wire transfer for that large and amount, that she would have to front all costs, and that any recovery made would only be transfered after my bank had verified the funds were available, that the account on which the check was drawn on was a valid account, and that I would only disburse any recovery via check, not wire transfer. That seems to have stopped the emails.
November 04, 2013 at 5:37 pm, Shannon Nelson said:
I have received this solicitation and follow up emails from her. She has sent documents “translated” etc. However, when I asked her about inconsistencies in the documents she seemed to back off.
Anyway – I am glad your website had this posted.
Shannon
March 11, 2014 at 3:30 pm, A. Quintana said:
Same situation basically as written above. E-mail from Akemi Baker – [email protected]
E-mail stated as follows:
After much agitation, I came to a conclusion to your legal services with regards to compelling Baker to remit balance court settlements of child support/medical support funds owed to me. We Had a Property Settlement Agreement for a one-time settlement of Family Support and Property Division in the amount of $691, 800, 00, he has paid me $188,600.00 but still owing $503, 200, 00 and the stipulated time for completion of payment has long elapsed. Baker has got the financial means to pay the balance set forth in our settlement agreement attached but consistently failed in every effort I employed into make sure he remits the balance. Practically will not be able to come for an in-person consultation reason been my absence, My ex still lives in Las Vegas, Nevada while myself and the kids lives in Beijing.
If you will send a copy of your daft retainer agreement I will have a preview of your terms and fees so we can commence the process without delay.I will also be pleased to provide more information on this case; I expect this to be resolved in a timely manner.