Commercial debt collection scam using the names Masaru Osamu and Daisuke Holdings
Date First Reported: October 2014
Primary Name Associated: Masaru Osamu
Description of Potential Fraud:
25 firms in Ontario and the U.S. have notified us that they received an email from the purported Masaru Osamu of Daisuke Holdings looking to retain them with regards to a commercial debt collection.
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 from the fraudster to the lawyer:
From: MASARU OSAMU [email protected]
Date: Tue, Oct 14, 2014 at 9:46 AM
Subject: Inquiry
To: “..”@localhost
I wish to request for your legal services and possible representation on a legal matter involving failure to fulfill contractual obligations. Please do let me know if your office is currently accepting new clients.
Regards,
Masaru Osama
Replying to the email brought this response:
Thank you for your promptly response. Attached is a copy of the sales contract, payment receipt for the deposit and our email correspondence with Ferguson Enterprise with regards to this transaction.
Following our request for a refund, they appealed to setup payment in 2 installments within a month interval, of which the first installment was paid on the 22nd of November, 2013 in the amount of $270,000.00 after so much reminder and threat of involving a lawyer (payment receipt attached also). The balance was due in December, 2013 and since then, all our efforts to have them remit funds proved abortive. Detailed are all contained in our attached correspondence with Ferguson.
In summary;
Total amount of goods ordered: $2,540,891.00
Initial deposit made to Ferguson (i.e. 50% of the total amount): $1,270,445.00
Amount refunded (on the 22nd of November, 2013): $270,000.00
Balance amount due to DAISUKE HOLDINGS, LTD: $1,000,445.00
Prior to retaining you, please forward a copy of your retainer agreement for our review and signature. We wait to hear from you.
Best Regards,
Masaru Osamu
Director of Operations
DAISUKE HOLDINGS, LTD
4-6-8 Nakamachi, Machida-shi, Tokyo 194-0021, Japan
Tel: +81 345 789 127
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.
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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.
October 20, 2014 at 10:43 am, Miami Mike said:
I just received a spam email from the same sender and I am in South Florida.
October 20, 2014 at 4:53 pm, Andrew in NYC said:
I also received one this morning. Sender [email protected]
October 29, 2014 at 3:41 pm, Margaret said:
I received the Daisuke inquiry in New Orleans.
November 05, 2014 at 12:25 pm, Micah said:
I just received the same email in California, but using [email protected].
November 05, 2014 at 5:26 pm, Lisa said:
Received a message today from Masaru Osamu – I am in Utah.
November 11, 2014 at 8:53 pm, Mike said:
I received a similar message as that above, indicating a debt of $1,000,000 was still owed by Ferguson Enterprises, Inc. of Albuquerque, NM to Pact Co., Ltd. Ferguson is indeed a company in Albuquerque. The contact from Daisuke Holdings was first said to be John Peart, then Masaru Osamu sent several more emails and some attachments. This started on Sept. 9, 2014. I did not pursue it but have emails.
November 12, 2014 at 1:40 pm, John said:
I just received a similar letter with the same names but different wording/specifics and no supporting documentation. I’m on the north shore in Louisiana. [email protected]
November 17, 2014 at 10:55 am, TimLemieux said:
The main things that tip us off that it’s a scam are the fact that the email is sent to so many people at once, and the wording and scenario match so many other scams out there.