by FraudInfo

Description of Potential Fraud:

fraud-warning

A Virginia firm reported to us that they’ve been contacted by the purported Gan Robin of Bioway Corporation with regards to retaining their services to collect on a breach of a copyright 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 party in breach of the agreement (who is also 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 contact email sent by the fraudster to the lawyer:

From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Thursday, May 01, 2014 6:51 AM
To:
Subject: Trade Mark Infringment

Dear Attorney,

I am contacting you in regards to a breach of license agreement, unfair competition, and trademark infringement with a client in your locale. Our client was granted an exclusive license to use and modify our Japanese language software products to create and manufacture English language versions of the Products and derivative products in the English language, and the exclusive rights to distribute the English language versions of the Products throughout the USA. However, it was later uncovered that our client was equally manufacturing the Spanish language of our product without license. In addition, our client was equally distributing the unauthorized products within and to other regions outside USA and this is a complete violation of our agreed terms.
On behalf of my company, I will like to enforce our intellectual property rights with respect to the unauthorized production of the versions of our products in Spanish language and the unauthorized distribution of the products within and to other regions outside USA . If these falls under the scope of your practice and my request could be reasonably accommodated, please contact me as soon as possible so that I can provide you with further details. Otherwise, if you are not in a position to assist on these issues, your advice on the appropriate measures to take could be of assistance.
I will appreciate your prompt response. Thank you.
Warmest regards,

GAN ROBIN
President/Ceo
BIOWAY CORPORATION.
Address: 3rd FLOOR, NO. 169-6, SEC
CHANGAN EAST ROAD IN TAIPEI 2 TAIWAN
TELL: 02-2771-2196
FAX: 02-2741-3770
WEBSITE: http://www.bioway.com.tw

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. Instructions on how to report a claim are here.

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.