by FraudInfo

Date First Reported: October 2014

Primary Name Associated: Andreas Foglar

Description of Potential Fraud:

fraud-warning

Firms in Ontario and New Mexico notified us that they received an email from the purported Andreas Foglar of Eisen-Dorn 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: ANDREAS DEINHARDSTEIN [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Thursday, October 09, 2014 8:35 AM
To:
Subject: CONTRACT NEGOTIATION

I am soliciting for your assistance for legal representation on behalf of my Client [EISEN DORN] in a breach of contract case in your jurisdiction.

DR ANDREAS FOGLAR-DEINHARDSTEIN * PARTNER FOGLAR-DEINHARDSTEIN PLANKENGASSE 7 * A-1015 VIENNA * AUSTRIA P.O. BOX 38 * WWW.FDBLAWYERS.COM DIRECT TELEPHONE: 612-610-03956 * FACSIMILE: 612-601-3959

Replying to the email brought this response:

We would like to thank you for your response to our inquiry for legal services. However, We wish to inform you that we would be needing your firms legal help to assist us with a breach of contract matter and also retrieve funds owed to our company. The contract of sales was signed on the 7th March 2014, Seller [ACE HARDWARE] was suppose to deliver to us the buyer on or before 2rd April 2014. However, ACE HARDWARE delivered some of the product to us on the 2rd April 2014 and promised to have the balance product delivered to us within 2weeks, because they had issues in the manufacturing of the balance product. The deadline date for the balance delivery was extended to 16th April 2014 as requested by ACE HARDWARE. Quite unfortunately, the extended deadline was not honoured.
We ordered hardware device from ACE HARDWARE, the total contract sum of $947,697was paid in full for the goods to be delivered to us. Parts of the products we order were delivered leaving a balance goods what $659,548 undelivered, up till date the remaining product were not delivered. We decided to call off the delivery of the balance product and requested for refunds but they have refused to make the refund to us. The amount in dispute is $647,697
We had a cordial and successful business relationship with ACE HARDWARE over the years, We are hoping to maintain this relationship after settling this issue.
If retained our expectation from your firm will be within the scenario of an engagement letter to our client. We believe this will trigger a positive response from them towards amicable settlement otherwise we will not hesitate to go into court litigation. We are prepared to pay your retainer fees and any other fees incurred during the course of this mater.
ACE HARDWARE
8201 Golf Course Rd NW # E Albuquerque, NM 87120
See attached documents relating to this transaction for your review. Please send to me your standard retainer agreement and address the retainer agreement to Will Kommen the Chief Executive Officer.

Regards,
Marilyn Lester
Accounts Payable Manager
Eisen Dorn
Praterstr. 9
1020 Vienna, Austria
Eisendorn.at
Tel: 612-617-20249
Fax: 612-610-83541

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.