Commercial debt collection scam using the names Hideichiro Takashima and Kyoei Steel
Description of Potential Fraud:
An Ontario firm notified us that they received an email from the purported Hideichiro Takashima of Kyoei Steel looking to retain them with regards to a commercial debt collection.
This appears to be a 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 purchaser (who is part of the fraud).
See our Confirmed Fraud Page for more of an explanation of how these frauds work and other names associated with it , and our Fraud Fact Sheet for a list the red flags of a bogus legal matter that is really a fraud.
Here is the initial contact email sent to the lawyer:
From: Kyoei Steel Co [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: September-30-15 9:39 AM
To:
Subject: Ref: CASE
We appreciate you giving us a chance to discuss our case. We placed an order for some goods from Home Depot Inc back in August, 2014 and the terms of the sales contract requires we to pay 50% of the total cost of the ordered goods before delivery and the balance after we have received the same goods. However, after we made the 50% initial deposit, we did not receive any goods as required. The goods ought to be delivered in September, 2014. More time was given to them to deliver the goods which they were still unable to meet with. Hence, we requested for a refund.
We have made several efforts to have them refund the initial deposit, but to no avail. We have therefore decided to resort to legal means since there is an existing agreement prior to the transaction. Find below details of the supplier for your conflict check.
Home Depot Inc
101 Wicksteed Ave
Toronto, ON M4G 4H9
We have suffered so must loss as a result of this failed transaction and we are ready to proceed with litigation if the need should arise. Let us know the best way to have this issue tackled and we will comply as long as we get results. Furthermore , we have concerns and would like you to respond in detail in your reply.
Are they any foibles you see in this case? If litigation is involved, the distance gives us some concern with regards to court appearances. How can this be handled?
How much is your legal fee? Do you charge on hourly basis or contingency? What should we expect from you? Any guarantees? Provide us with an agreement letter/Fees for our company’s review. The contract document would be provided asap. A quick response will be appreciated.
Hideichiro Takashima
Chairman of the Board
Kyoei Steel
http://www.kyoeisteel.co.jp
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.
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Fraud Fact SheetMore 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, 2015 at 7:12 pm, Carolyn C. Phillips said:
I received the same email, though the address was for Home Depot Inc
2745 Teller Rd Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. I recognized it as a possible scheme and found this website. Thank you for posting these items.
October 21, 2015 at 4:56 pm, Michael R. Daniels said:
I am an attorney and have received two (2) emails from Kyoei Steel. They are worded the same but, name two (2) different alleged defendants, (1) Home Depot Inc at 12185 Carmel Mountain Rd., San Diego, CA Oct. 7, 2015 and (2) Fastenal Company at 14055 Kirkham Way, Ste 101 & 102, Poway, CA Oct. 21, 2015. After doing a little homework on the internet and seeing your site I decided this maybe a fraud and did not respond to engage them. I appreciate your information on your web site. Thank you!!!!!!
October 27, 2015 at 11:05 am, Bernard Weinreb said:
I received a similar email. Thank you for your posting.
October 27, 2015 at 11:42 am, Jeff said:
I received the same email, also with a California defendant. Seems they’re still hard at work.
October 27, 2015 at 8:38 pm, Erin Hayner said:
I received the same email above. The address of the home depot clued me in that this was a scheme as it was an obvious copy and paste job in different font than the name Home Depot. And also because no international company would be cold-soliciting attorney assistance. Thank-you for posting this on your website.
We appreciate you giving us a chance to discuss our case. We placed an order for some goods from Home Depot Inc back in August, 2014 and the terms of the sales contract requires we to pay 50% of the total cost of the ordered goods before delivery and the balance after we have received the same goods. However, after we made the 50% initial deposit, we did not receive any goods as required. The goods ought to be delivered in September, 2014. More time was given to them to deliver the goods which they were still unable to meet with. Hence, we requested for a refund.
We have made several efforts to have them refund the initial deposit, but to no avail. We have therefore decided to resort to legal means since there is an existing agreement prior to the transaction. Find below details of the supplier for your conflict check.
Home Depot Inc
2500 Cambridge Rd
Schenectady, NY 12304
We have suffered so must loss as a result of this failed transaction and we are ready to proceed with litigation if the need should arise. Let us know the best way to have this issue tackled and we will comply as long as we get results. Furthermore , we have concerns and would like you to respond in detail in your reply.
Are they any foibles you see in this case? If litigation is involved, the distance gives us some concern with regards to court appearances. How can this be handled?
How much is your legal fee? Do you charge on hourly basis or contingency? What should we expect from you? Any guarantees? Provide us with an agreement letter/Fees for our company’s review. The contract document would be provided asap. A quick response will be appreciated.
Hideichiro Takashima
Chairman of the Board
October 28, 2015 at 10:29 am, Heidi Slinkard said:
I received the Home Depot claim email with an Indiana Home Depot address, requested additional information to run a conflict check, and received additional documentation which was created to look like emails and a contract with Home Depot, then I did an internet search to determine if it was a scam and found this website.
Thanks!
October 29, 2015 at 7:07 pm, Gunilla Faringer said:
I received several emails accompanied by very authentic-looking copies of a sales contract with Home Depot in Yonkers, NY and equally authentic-looking email exchanges between the purported parties. Thankyou for posting this warning (although I can’t see any reason why a lawyer would wire money to a client, especially a client in Japan).
November 03, 2015 at 12:45 pm, Randall Smith said:
I received virtually an identical e-mail, accusing Fastenal of not delivering after a 50% downpayment. Before reading this string of e-mails, I was extremely skeptical. Now, of course, I am more than merely skeptical.
November 05, 2015 at 4:35 pm, Tiffany Peterson said:
I received an email stating the same thing. It too was for Fastenal located in Gonzales, LA.
I am grateful to have found this site.
Thanks.
November 10, 2015 at 6:22 pm, Tom Maciejewski said:
I just received this email as well. Thank you for posting.
November 11, 2015 at 5:42 pm, Wesley Fenza said:
I received a similar email, naming Fastenal as the defendant who kept a 50% down payment and never delivered goods. I forwarded the emails to [email protected].
November 20, 2015 at 4:37 pm, Jason A said:
Received the same e-mail on November 18, 2015. After tracking their IP address it appears it came from Dallas, Tx.
November 23, 2015 at 2:35 pm, Steven W said:
I received the same type of email, however I was first contacted by someone using the website at the university of Tampa named Lauren M. Bentz asking if I handled breach of contract claims. It was followed up by an email from “[email protected]” asking me to collect from a plumbing company in Visalia California.
November 25, 2015 at 4:13 pm, Anita B said:
We are in Tampa and received the same email but for Ferguson Company and for plumbing items
December 09, 2015 at 1:28 pm, Erick S said:
We are in Orlando and also received the same email for collection against Ferguson Company.
December 14, 2015 at 8:45 am, Peter M said:
I received the same email today. Checked and found this website
We appreciate you giving us a chance to discuss our case. We placed an order for some goods from Ferguson Inc back in August, 2014 and the terms of the sales contract requires we to pay 50% of the total cost of the ordered goods before delivery and the balance after we have received the same goods. However, after we made the 50% initial deposit, we did not receive any goods as required. The goods ought to be delivered in September, 2014. More time was given to them to deliver the goods which they were still unable to meet with. Hence, we requested for a refund.
We have made several efforts to have them refund the initial deposit, but to no avail. We have therefore decided to resort to legal means since there is an existing agreement prior to the transaction. Find below details of the supplier for your conflict check.
FERGUSON INC
1750 Old Okeechobee Rd
West Palm Beach, FL 33409
We have suffered so must loss as a result of this failed transaction and we are ready to proceed with litigation if the need should arise. Let us know the best way to have this issue tackled and we will comply as long as we get results. Furthermore , we have concerns and would like you to respond in detail in your reply.
Are they any foibles you see in this case? If litigation is involved, the distance gives us some concern with regards to court appearances. How can this be handled?
How much is your legal fee? Do you charge on hourly basis or contingency? What should we expect from you? Any guarantees? Provide us with an agreement letter/Fees for our company’s review. The contract document would be provided asap. A quick response will be appreciated.
Mitsuhiro Mori
Thought it was a scam, and of course it is. I previously had a similar scam and played along with them. They sent me an attorney trust account check of $550,000.00 and asked me to deposit, take out my fees, and send the balance. I called the attorneys, and they confirmed it was one of their checks, but not the right amount or payor. Boy it looked real. When I said I would have to wait a month for the check to clear, I never heard back. I reported to FBI, but nothing was done.
December 14, 2015 at 11:04 am, Marla Nobles said:
I received the same thing as Steven, Anita and Erick, above. However, the first email came from one “Kenya Dickerson” at Memphis.edu. I suppose nothing has been done to stop this?
December 14, 2015 at 11:27 am, Marla Nobles said:
Just found out Kenya is a student at The University of Memphis. I suppose these people are preying on students – easy targets with low cash flow and loads of school debt, I suppose. Best part is, Kenya’s twitter handle: “I am a laid back young lady who is waiting for a decent, and God-fearing individual to grace me with their presence and love…:)” Classic.
December 14, 2015 at 11:29 am, TimLemieux said:
What seems to be happening is that university email accounts are being hacked on a wide scale. They seem to have weak password protections, and many students may not even use them or be aware they’ve been hacked.
December 14, 2015 at 3:22 pm, Brett Nemeth said:
I have received a similar attempted scam from Marubeni-Itochu Steel Inc. and they claim to collect a debt from Fastenal Company.
Dear Brett Nemeth,
We appreciate you giving us a chance to discuss our case. We placed an order for some goods from Fastenal Company back in August, 2014 and the terms of the sales contract requires we to pay 50% of the total cost of the ordered goods before delivery and the balance after we have received the same goods. However, after we made the 50% initial deposit, we did not receive any goods as required. The goods ought to be delivered in September, 2014. More time was given to them to deliver the goods which they were still unable to meet with. Hence, we requested for a refund.
We have made several efforts to have them refund the initial deposit, but to no avail. We have therefore decided to resort to legal means since there is an existing agreement prior to the transaction. Find below details of the supplier for your conflict check.
Fastenal Company
18001 Sky Park Circle Bldg 49 Ste Q
Irvine, CA USA 92614
We have suffered so much loss as a result of this failed transaction and we are ready to proceed with litigation if the need should arise. Let us know the best way to have this issue tackled and we will comply as long as we get results. Furthermore , we have concerns and would like you to respond in detail in your reply.
Are they any foibles you see in this case? If litigation is involved, the distance gives us some concern with regards to court appearances. How can this be handled?
How much is your legal fee? Do you charge on hourly basis or contingency? What should we expect from you? Any guarantees? Please advise on your assessment of this case. A quick response will be appreciated.
Regards,
Yasuo Matsuura
President
February 23, 2016 at 9:07 am, Kevin Senich said:
I received the same form letter as did Brett requesting legal services for collection of a commercial debt owed by Fastenal. I requested a correspondence history. The reply correspondence allegedly from Fastenal to Kyoei Steel had the same grammatical errors in English as did the correspondence from Kyoei to Fastenal. Other documents from the allegedly transaction were obviously fake, as well.
February 23, 2016 at 7:33 pm, Marc Jacobs said:
Received the same email today: this is what I got
Tue 2/23/2016 3:20 PM
Raymond Moore
Dear XXXXXXXXX,
We appreciate you giving us a chance to discuss our case. We placed an order for some goods from fastenal Inc back in August, 2015 and the terms of the sales contract requires we to pay 50% of the total cost of the ordered goods before delivery and the balance after we have received the same goods. However, after we made the 50% initial deposit, we did not receive any goods as required. The goods ought to be delivered in September, 2015. More time was given to them to deliver the goods which they were still unable to meet with. Hence, we requested for a refund.
We have made several efforts to have them refund the initial deposit, but to no avail. We have therefore decided to resort to legal means since there is an existing agreement prior to the transaction. Find below details of the supplier for your conflict check.
FASTENAL COMPANY
USA
We have suffered so must loss as a result of this failed transaction and we are ready to proceed with litigation if the need should arise. Let us know the best way to have this issue tackled and we will comply as long as we get results. Furthermore , we have concerns and would like you to respond in detail in your reply.
Are they any foibles you see in this case? If litigation is involved, the distance gives us some concern with regards to court appearances. How can this be handled?
How much is your legal fee? Do you charge on hourly basis or contingency? What should we expect from you? Any guarantees? Provide us with an agreement letter/Fees for our company’s review. The contract document would be provided asap. A quick response will be appreciated.
Raymond Moore
Tel: +81 345 10 1254
[email protected]
March 02, 2016 at 5:52 pm, Robert K said:
http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/fbi_warns_law_firms_beware_of_e-mail_clients_and_counterfeit_settlement_che/
I swear it must be these guys again. Chinese banks, Nigerians, with a Canadian accomplice.
I recognized this right away as I’ve seen this foreign Client scam before. I engaged to find out more. Yep typical method, need debt collection, Fastanel immediately settles and send a fake cashier’s check the next day. Albeit from Canada, with the return address written as if it came from Fastanel in California.
Check to me appears a fake. I just so happen to know what a real cashier’s check from the same bank looks like and they’re close but different. I held on to it as evidence and I told them I deposited it and had to talk in person.
They called from a blocked number. I didn’t pick up the phone call and they called three more times, last one they didn’t mask the caller ID. BOOM Nigeria (+234). I picked up, the guy on the other end of the call sounded Chinese, connection was terrible, and started demanding I transfer the funds to him right away. I said I had to wait and they said, “it is available right away, bank accept, you transfer now”, I said I had to wait for other bank to clear it, he argued, I repeated myself and then he hung up.
March 09, 2021 at 5:08 pm, Julie S said:
This one is alive and well in March 2021. Now the creditor is Escon Construction Group and the debtor is Fastenal. The wording was wonky–who uses “foible” in that context???? We did a confilct check and asked for documentation—and they produced a bunch of docs! A bunch of “emails” which look potentially legit but still there’s something off with the language. Also there’s an email from Mike Thierry, President/CEO, Escon Construction Group asking for my retainer letter. The wording of the intial email is on all fours with exemplars above.