Separation agreement scam using the name Dina Dalton
Date First Reported: May 2014
Primary Name Associated: Dina Dalton
Description of Potential Fraud:
Six lawyers in Ontario and the U.S. have notified us that they received an email from the purported Dina Dalton 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 sent by the fraudster to the lawyer:
From: “Mz. Dina Dalton” [email protected]
Date: May 5, 2014 11:31 AM
Subject: Re: I want to take a legal action against my ex-spouse for breaching the court’s decree with regards to payment of child support,alimony and medical support. Kindly advise,if you are currently taking on
Replying to the email brought this response:
Dear Attorney,
Thank you for your swift responses and to this, i am really grateful for your help and assistance in regards my case with my ex-spouse. Currently I am outside the state, living in Japan for official assignment and Romio Dalton (ex-husband) lives in Absecon, NJ. But with a huge gape to the time difference which is approximately (+13hrs EST) it is a little bit difficult to determine the best time to call you. Following our divorce, we agreed under a negotiated settlement agreement which is incorporated, merged into and made part of the court decree for a onetime cash settlement of $557,000.00 USD for Family support (this includes child support, alimony and medical support).
To his credit, he has paid me $208,000.00 USD from a total of $557,000.00 but still owing $349.000.00 USD and the due time for completion of payment is over. Thus, I request your legal counsel and representation to enforce the final judgment thereby compelling him to remit the balance owed me. He is aware of my intention to seek legal actions. Attached is a copy of the separation agreement, and Final Judgment and I will be pleased to provide further information on this case on request. I desire to retain your law firm, please forward your firm’s retainer fee agreement so that we can proceed. Thank you and have a pleasant day.
Regards,
Dina Dalton
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.
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