by FraudInfo

Date First Reported: August 2015

Primary Name Associated: Eden West

Description of Potential Fraud:

fraud-warning

An Ontario firm notified us that they received an email from the purported Eden West of Dredging & Marine Equipment looking to retain them with regards to making a large commercial purchase.

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 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 contact email sent to the lawyer:

From: western eden [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: August-15-15 12:48 AM
Subject: purchase & sale transactions and agreement

Does your firm handle business purchase & sale transactions and agreements?
If not, a referral will be appreciated.

Eden West
Dredging and Marine Equipment

Replying to the email brought this response:

Thank your for the reply. My company is about selling a dredger to a buyer located in your area. We would like to have an attorney to help us draft a purchase and sale agreement for the transaction.
agreement for the transaction. Attached are some of the necessary
details of the dredger for your review, please advise on your rate,
retainer fee and forward to me your retainer agreement to sign. The
sales price of this equipment’s is Two Million Nine Hundred and Fifty
Thousand Dollars ($2,950,000.00).

You can send us your retainer fees and terms for my company to study,
once we agree with the terms, we will sign them and send it back to you.
I will be looking forward to hearing from you soonest.

Find below the name of the proposed buyer for your conflict check.
270 Monarch Ave, Ajax,
ON L1S 2G6

Thanks,
Eden West
Dredging and Marine Equipment

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.

For more immediate updates on fraud and claims prevention, subscribe to the email or RSS feed updates from LAWPRO’s AvoidAClaim blog.

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.