Commercial debt collection scam using the names Yoshika Joya and New Japan Chemical Company
Date First Reported: July 2014
Primary Name Associated: Yoshika Joya
Description of Potential Fraud:
[Updated Aug 2014]
An Ontario firm notified us that they received an email from the purported Yoshika Joya and New Japan Chemical Company 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 sent by the fraudster to the lawyer:
From: Yoshika Joya [email protected]
Date: July 1, 2014 at 4:22:33 PM EDT
To:
Subject: Debt collection/ Representation
My name is Yoshika Joya, the Director of overseas operations of New Japan Chemical Company Limited of Japan.
I have been directed by management to engage your firm to assist our company in debt collection matters.
This is coming after a careful review of your profile.
Please, confirm asap, the receipt of this email if you are in a position to represent our company in matters of delinquent accounts collections.
Management is of the opinion that a reputable debt collection firm like yours is required to represent us in Canada in order for us to recover monies due to our organization by our customers within your jurisdiction.
Once more thank you so much for your kind attention and expected co-operation.
I remain,
Yours sincerely,
YOSHIKA JOYA
Dir: Overseas Division
New Japan Chemical Company Ltd
2-1-8, Bingomachi, Chuo-ku, Osaka
www.nj-chem.co.jp
The same name also appears in a real estate bad cheque scam:
From: Yoshika Joya
Date: Wednesday, August 6, 2014 at 5:49 AM
To:
Subject: Residential Home
Good day, My name is Yoshika Joya. I am interested in purchasing a property with this specification, A Residential Home with 4-5 Bedrooms, 4-5 Bathrooms, 2 car garages with or without swimming pool, single family, with the price ranges of $500,000-$1.0 m. Please, forward your listings to me at
[email protected]
Best Regards,
Yoshika Joya
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.
October 20, 2014 at 2:37 pm, Debra Cooper said:
Thank goodness for your website about this scam involving Yoshika Joya. I received the exact email but did manage to find your information after researching the name and “scam” on the internet. Thankfully no monies have traded hands nor has any purchase agreement been written. I will contact my local association of realtors to let them know of the scam. Do you recommend I contact anyone else?
July 29, 2015 at 4:22 pm, Mike said:
I was contacted by this Yoshika Joya in the same manner telling me they are due $2.8 million from company s here in Texas. At first i believed it but then i looked up this Yoshika Joya to find out it’s a scam. They just had someone from the UK e mail me to tell me they are going to have the debtor send me a check. As soon as I get there check I am going to file a police report.