Commercial equipment purchase scam using the names John Lee and Universal Machinery and Equipment
Description of Potential Fraud:
Over 40 Ontario firms have notified us that they received an email from the purported John Lee of Universal Machinery & Equipment looking to retain them with regards to making a large commercial purchase. (There is a real company that is being impersonated here. The websites www.dredgesbroker.com and www.universalmachineryandequipments.com mirror the real site, except that the contact information has been altered. The above names being used in this scam are also real people who have been impersonated.)
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: John Lee [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Tuesday, March 15, 2016 11:10 AM
Subject:
I need an attorney to help me draft a purchase and sale agreement for a fast transaction. A referral would be appreciated if this is not your field. Kindly get back to me for more details
Replying to the email brought this response:
My Company is in the process of selling a dredger to a buyer residing in your area. I need an Attorney to help me draft a purchase and sale agreement for the transaction. I have attached some necessary details of the dredger for your view, please advice on your rate, retainer fee and forward to me your retainer agreement to sign. Find below the name of the proposed buyer for your conflict check. The manufacturer and the total expenditure amount is One Million Nine Hundred and seventy Thousand dollars
Proposed Buyer: Paul Fred
1855 Barton Street East Hamilton, ON L8H 2Y7
Thanks, looking forward to your prompt responses.
John Lee
Deputy Director of Sales
Replying to the email brought this response:
My Company is in the process of selling a dredger to a buyer residing in your area. I need an Attorney to help me draft a purchase and sale agreement for the transaction. I have attached some necessary details of the dredger for your view, please advice on your rate, retainer fee and forward to me your retainer agreement to sign. Find below the name of the proposed buyer for your conflict check. The manufacturer and the total expenditure amount is One Million Nine Hundred and seventy Thousand dollars
Proposed Buyer: Jiorgini Agamormdue
Beaver Dredging Company Ltd.
101 6th Avenue S.w. Suite 650, Calgary, AB T2P3P4
Thanks, looking forward to your prompt responses.
John Lee
Deputy Director of Sales
Universal Machinery and Equipment, INC
20893 Fraser Hwy,
Langley, BC V3A 4G7
Toll free: 1-888-857-8225
Telephone: 1-226-926-2393
Fax: 2269969973
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]. We use this information for the warnings we post on AvoidAClaim. We do not disclose the names of firms that have provided us with information.
Ontario Lawyers - Call LAWPRO
If you are an Ontario lawyer acting on a matter that you suspect might be a fraud, call LAWPRO at 1-800-410-1013 (416-598-5899). One of our Fraud Team members 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, 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. 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 it is drawn upon. 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).
What if the fraud has been successful?
If you have been successfully duped, please immediately notify LAWPRO as there may be a claim against you. See the LAWPRO website for instructions on how to report a claim.
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. To proactively prevent trust account shortfalls and malpractice claims, LAWPRO encourages firms to teach their lawyers and staff about fraud and how to recognize fraud attempts.
March 30, 2016 at 11:43 am, Eric Marshall said:
Thank you for this posting. We received a similar email, and your posting helped us to avoid the problem.