Divorce settlement fraud using the name Liu Adelson
Date First Reported: September 2016
Primary Name Associated: Liu Adelson
Description of Potential Fraud:

Two Ontario firms notified us that they received an email from the purported Liu Adelson looking to retain them with regards to a collecting overdue payments resulting from a separation agreement.
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 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 email received by the lawyer after the initial contact:
From: Liu Adelson [email protected]
Date: Thu, Sep 22, 2016 at 9:13 AM
Subject: Separation Agreement
To: [email protected]
Dear Manjit Singh,
Thank you for your prompt response. Am currently on an official assignment outside the states and Phil Adelson (ex-husband) lives in Brampton, ON. Due to the time difference (+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 one-time payment of $823,500.00 for Family support (this includes child support, alimony and medical support). To his credit, he has paid me $499,500.00 USD but still owing $324,000.00 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,
Liu Adelson
68 Tung Lo Wan Hill Rd,
Sha Tin, Hong Kong
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.
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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.
October 05, 2016 at 12:27 pm, Thomas Plupek said:
I am a sole practitioner in Alberta and this week received this email request for Liu Adelson, which came from an initial contact name Hidetaka Mihara, it was a simple email Do you do divorces? When we replied that we did, this person advised Ms. Adelson would be in touch. Two days later we received the scam email from Adelson. What was to our advantage was that in July of this year we had received the exact same email from Marlene Cox, which we had determined to be a scam and after receiving a fraudulent cheque that we returned to the bank for their further fraud investigation.
November 10, 2016 at 10:18 am, Iva Hirsch said:
She is now reaching out into Arizona
November 17, 2016 at 4:14 pm, GD said:
She is now reaching in New Jersey
December 06, 2016 at 10:58 am, DBH said:
Today, she reached North Carolina
December 07, 2016 at 4:29 pm, EMC said:
Texas.
May 04, 2022 at 1:37 pm, Jeffrey Cogan said:
She is now in Las Vegas.
June 30, 2022 at 7:40 pm, Michael Campbell said:
I was contacted by a person claiming to be Yumiko Adelson, but all the other facts were exactly the same: the amounts, the name Phil Adelson as ex-husband, the divorce decree from Hong Kong, etc. The only difference, in other words, is that “Liu” is now also using the name of “Yumiko.”
June 30, 2022 at 7:41 pm, Michael Campbell said:
I am in Tacoma, Washington.
July 12, 2022 at 7:45 am, NSC said:
Long Island, New York
July 26, 2022 at 1:30 pm, Shaun P. Kenney said:
I was contacted by a person claiming to be Yumiko Adelson and, as in the case concerning Michael Campbell herein above on June 30, 2022 at 7:40 p.m., all of the other facts were precisely the same: the amounts, the name Phil Adelson as ex-husband, the divorce decree from Hong Kong, etc. The only difference is that “Liu” is now also using the name “Yumiko.”
August 11, 2022 at 10:58 am, Keith Hofmann said:
Thank you all for posting this information. Ms. Adelson is back at it again, now using the name Yumiko Adelson. My firm is in Princeton. Getting lazy since they are using the same well known facts as set forth years ago, mentioned above.
August 22, 2022 at 3:44 pm, Lyle T Millham said:
Salt Lake City, Utah. I was contacted by Yumiko Adelson using the same email text on or about August 6, 2022.
October 12, 2022 at 10:48 am, Steven Koense said:
“Yumiko Adelson” has now reach as far as Pennsylvania
October 17, 2022 at 10:41 am, Erik W said:
Seattle, WA.
She goes by “Yumiko” now, as Shaun P. Kenney mentioned back in July.
October 22, 2022 at 4:58 pm, William Kuykendall said:
Now scam is being tried in Texas. Same modus operandi. [email protected].