Separation agreement scam using the name Mika Kennedy
Description of Potential Fraud:
Twenty five lawyers in Canada, the U.S. and overseas have notified us that they received an email from the purported Mika Kennedy 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: Mika Kennedy
To:
Date: August 29, 2013 at 5:37 AM
Subject: Enforcement Matter.
Please i wish to file a contempt petition against my ex-spouse for breaching the court’s judgment (decree) with regards to payment of Child Support, Spousal Support, and Medical support. Please advise if you handle such case, if not please refer me.
Faithfully Yours,
Mika Kennedy.
Replying to the email brought this response:
Thank you for your response to my email. I would have visited your office if I was in the states but I live in Japan while my ex spouse Louis Kennedy who is a citizen of USA lives in your jurisdiction. I and my ex spouse fell in love during His UN deployment visit to Japan 1996 and got married 23rd of May, 1997, at Kumamoto Family Court. He is a medical practitioner for the UN. Due to my hearing problem (Disability) it is diffucult to talk to you on phone, would have loved to discuss this matter on phone, but i can read and write very well. If need be it to testify in the United States i will make myself available at that time.
I and my ex spouse agreed under a separation agreement incorporated, merged into and made part of the court order for a settlement of Child Support, Spouse Support and Medical Support of $918,500.00 USD he has only paid $245,600.00 January 28th,2013 but still owing $672,900.00 and the stipulated time for the completion of payment April 17th, 2013 has long elapsed.
This is the reason why I contacted your firm as there is already an agreement in place. Find Attached in my ID, in PDF Court Order and Seperation Agreement. Thus, I request your firm’s legal service to enforce the court order compelling him to remit balance owed me. Kindly send me a copy of your attorney-client retainer agreement and if the terms are acceptable I will sign so we can commence the process without delay, Immediately I recieve the retainer agreement I will Sign and return.
Yours Faithfully,
Mika Kennedy.
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.
May 13, 2019 at 11:22 am, Ilene Belinsky said:
I have been contacted by Mika Kennedy twice in the past 10 days. Thank you for confirming my gut reaction.
August 28, 2019 at 3:00 am, Mishka said:
Mika looks like she needs representation today in Cape Town, South Africa.
Classic 419 scam
November 06, 2019 at 12:04 pm, Tere said:
I’m an attorney in Montana and received the identical phishing email. Even went so far as to forward a check for ankh $146,000 ( not mailed through post office so a local participant) should I contact the local police?
October 21, 2021 at 2:43 am, Beth said:
Wow, the scam is still going, I just got the email in NSW, Australia.
June 01, 2022 at 10:15 am, Deb said:
Just got it in Vermont