Commercial debt collection scam using the names Kioshi Nakahara and Wu Lee Steel Co. Ltd
Date First Reported: January 2015
Primary Name Associated: Kioshi Nakahara
Description of Potential Fraud:

Firms in Michigan, Washington state and California notified us that they received an email from the purported Kioshi Nakahara of Wu Lee Steel Co. Ltd 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:
On Tue, Jan 6, 2015 at 4:24 PM, Browne, Haley [[email protected]] wrote:
Do you handle breach of contract cases?
Kioshi
Replying to the email brought this response:
Thank you for responding to our email. With regard to the above subject matter, we placed an order for some goods from Airgas, Inc. back in August, 2013 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 paid the initial deposit, we did not receive any goods as required. The goods ought to be delivered in September, 2013. 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.
Airgas, Inc.
110 W. Ann Arbor Trail
Plymouth, MI 48170-1640
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.
Best Regards,
Kioshi Nakahara
Purchasing Manager
Wu Lee Steel Co. Ltd
18th Floor, Block “A”, New Trade Plaza,
6 On Ping Street, Tokyo, Japan
Tel: +81 (0) 345 209 228
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.
What can you do to help put a stop to the fraud attempt? You can simply stop replying to the fraudster’s emails or inform them that you suspect fraud and will not act on the matter (or will take no further actions on the matter). You can report the fraudsters email addresses to the email hosting company. If you have a fraudulent cheque you can destroy it or send it to the fraud department of the financial institution, which may wish to see it. In Canada, you can report the fraud to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.
We are often asked if it is worthwhile to report the fraud attempt to the police in the hopes of helping catch the fraudsters. You can certainly report the fraud to your local or federal law enforcement agencies, but unfortunately it is often difficult, expensive and time consuming for them to attempt to shut down these online fraud perpetrators (though there are some successes).
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.
January 22, 2015 at 2:59 pm, Danny Smith said:
Thank you for posting this. I received a similar solicitation from the same person(s) and my instinct told me it was a scam. A quick search of the internet led me to this website article. This information is excellent; again, thank you! Here is the message I received from the same scammer:
Dear Danny,
Thank you for responding to our email. With regard to the above subject matter, we placed an order for some goods from Airgas, Inc. back in August, 2013 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 paid the initial deposit, we did not receive any goods as required. The goods ought to be delivered in September, 2013. 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.
Airgas, Inc.
7615 W. Lemhi Street
Boise, ID 83709
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.
Best Regards,
Kioshi Nakahara
Purchasing Manager
Wu Lee Steel Co. Ltd
18th Floor, Block “A”, New Trade Plaza,
6 On Ping Street, Tokyo, Japan
Tel: +81 (0) 345 209 228
February 06, 2015 at 12:46 am, Wm. D. McGregor said:
On January 20, 2015 we received an inquiry from Wu Lee Steel from a Kioshi Nakahara regarding Airgas in Salt Lake City. We responded that we were not a law firm but had an associated business consulting company. Ultimately we provided Nakahara with a Retainer Agreement and other supporting documents that would establish a genuine business relationship.
I had researched Wu Lee Steel and found it appeared to be an existing business using the same address as Nakahara. This evening I decided to do further investigation into the solicitation and discovered LawPro’s page.
Needless to say we have terminated contact with Nakahara.
August 16, 2016 at 7:52 pm, Brad said:
I recieved a similiar scam I believe…
Dear Brad,
This is to acknowledge the receipt of your email. Your information has been deemed satisfactory after verification. Attached to this email is the Memorandum of Understanding document. You are to review, sign and return via email attachment. As soon as we get the signed copy of the MOU, your first file will be assigned to you. Subsequently you will get detailed information of a customer with an outstanding debt for follow up. We await the signed contract agreement to proceed.
Kindest Regards,
Joseph Long
Wo Lee Steel Group Co., Ltd
G/F., 81-87 Tung Chau Street, Tai Kok Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong., Hong Kong
Tel: +852 5808 8505
—- On Wed, 03 Aug 2016 08:02:56 -0700 Brad wrote —-
Sorry I didn’t get back to you sooner, I have been out of town. See information requested below. Let me know if you need anything more from me!
Make it a great day!
Brad
—–Original Message—–
From: Joseph Long
To: Brad
Sent: Fri, Jul 29, 2016 5:54 am
Subject: Re: LinkedIn
Dear Brad,
Thank you for your email and interest in becoming our Representative/AR agent. We will be glad to work with you and will provide you with guidelines/directions as we proceed. However, to enable us complete the registration process and forward you the contract agreement, you are to provide us with the information below;
Full Names:
Full Contact/Postal Address:
Company Name:
Position Held:
Tel and Fax Number:
Postal Address:
Bank Name:
Largest Deposit:
Upon receipt and verification of the above information, a contract agreement will be forwarded to you to sign. I want you to understand that you wouldnt be calling any delinquent account. Regarding your payment method we can either send you a cheque or wire transfer. Most payments that would be sent to you by our customers is going to be inform of cheque payment. Also instructions will be give to you regarding where to send the payment to as soon as you have it.
Kindest Regards,
Joseph Long
Operations Manager
Wo Lee Steel Group Co., Ltd
G/F., 81-87 Tung Chau Street, Tai Kok Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong., Hong Kong
Tel: +852 5808 8505
—- On Thu, 28 Jul 2016 14:56:32 -0700 Brad wrote —-
You’ve got my attention! Where are the account located?
Make it a great day!
Brad
—–Original Message—–
From: Joseph Long
To: Brad
Sent: Wed, Jul 27, 2016 5:10 am
Subject: Re: LinkedIn
Hello Brad,
Thank you for your email. Please see attachment for details.
We hope to hear from you soonest.
Kindest Regards,
Joseph Long
Operations Manager
Wo Lee Steel Group Co., Ltd
G/F., 81-87 Tung Chau Street, Tai Kok Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong., Hong Kong
Tel: +852 5808 8505
—- On Tue, 26 Jul 2016 13:24:11 -0700 Brad wrote —-
Can you please provide me more information on what you are looking for? I am in Miami, FL
Make it a great day!
—–Original Message—–
From: Joseph Long
To:
Sent: Mon, Jul 25, 2016 6:54 pm
Subject: Re: LinkedIn
Hello Brad,
My name is Joseph Long, the operations manager of Wo Lee Steel Group. You were contacted previously by Steve Whitaker(Recruiter/Announcer) of Wo Lee Steel Group. We are currently recruiting companies/individuals on behalf of Wo lee Steel Group Co., Ltd located in Hong Kong for a number of account receivable agents in North America (USA and Canada only). As an Account Receivable agent, you will be responsible for collection of all account receivables due to the Steel Company in North America to directly support sales operations.
This position does not affect your current job or business operations. Please email us if interested in the role or have any questions on the role.
Regards,
Joseph Long
Operations Manager
Wo Lee Steel Group Co., Ltd
G/F., 81-87 Tung Chau Street, Tai Kok Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong., Hong Kong
Tel: +852 5808 8505
September 21, 2019 at 6:24 pm, Sherlene Roker said:
Hello Brad, May I ask what became of this situation? I recently got a similar email about a week ago.