New variation of the bad cheque fraud: Dog bite cases
[First posted May 2019. Updated January 2020]
Several lawyers have notified us of a new variation on the old bad cheque debt collection scam. This scenario involves a dog bite, and the promise of an insurer to pay a settlement for medical expenses. It even comes with gruesome dog bite photos that were apparently taken from a British newspaper story.
As with all bad cheque scams, it 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 other party (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 Cybercrime and Bad Cheque Scams Fraud Fact Sheet lists the red flags of a bogus legal matter that is really a fraud.
Below is a sample of an email received by the lawyers. Other names associated with the scam include Rick Ferguson, Cesar Justicia, Danny Haupt, Aaron Diaz, Anthony Grinner, Mundo Edgardo, Carlos Raul Jack Gregory, Julio Alfonso, and Santos L. Opelanio
From: Eddie barrington [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: April 26, 2019 8:38 AM
Subject: Dog Bite Case
Dear Counsel ,
I will need your service in a personal injury case(Dog Bite).
Please let me know if you handle such cases, so I can send you more details.
Regards,
Eddie Barrington
Replying to the email brought this colourful response:
Thanks for your response.
This incident happened on October 16th, 2018 while on I was on holiday in Saint John, NB with my beautiful wife Rebecca. , when I was attacked by a neighbor Pit bull dog. Am from Bahamas, 2013 i got a job in Dragados Offshore México, since 2013 i base in Mexico.
I was in our Un-fenced back yard getting wood from the wood pile when the dog approached me. So it was a great surprise when this Vicious dog, without provocation or any warning signs at all, attacked my face, biting me and causing gaping wounds near my left eye and and leg and serious scratches to the skin around my eyes (See attached photo). I was standing right next to the wood pile when it happened, as were the owners of the dog who could not control his dog.
With Hands clutching my eye as blood pours from my face completely soaking my clothes , I was rushed to hospital in an ambulance, where I had immediate treatment to stop the bleeding.
It was agreed then with the owner of the dog for a settlement, they agreed to pay the cost of treatment and the out of court settlement amounting to the sum of $120,500.00.
I went to New York for plastic surgery. Despite first-rate treatment at the Hospital, I will be forever scarred my face don’t look the way it was before.
During my surgery I spent a total of $21,300.00 out of my pocket because the dog owner has failed to pay the settlement of $120,500.00 as promised.
I entered this agreement then without a legal representative as I was assured that all costs will be paid in full.
I need your help to get the dog owner and his insurer to pay Settlement sum.
Please note am already in the field, i can’t call or receive call, Let me know when we can speak, i will make myself available.
January 19, 2021 at 2:09 am, Michelle Schill said:
Aaron Diaz contacted us in San Diego February 21, 2020. He reappeared tonight as Rowe Flint. This is the third time he has contacted my office, once per year. I email him every time that we know about this scam and yet he persists.
January 20, 2021 at 4:24 pm, Sherri (paralegal) said:
Our office received two emails in a short period of time from each other, one from Hugo Boriss and the other from Rowe Miguel. Similar wording and the red flags went up immediately.
February 19, 2021 at 10:07 pm, John Covert said:
Aaron Diaz contacted me 2/12/21 for an alleged dog bite in Springfield, Illinois. Same story as posted above, except this time he paid 90,000 for surgery in New York and settled for 300,000 with Jason Schneider. This time he claimed to have left for a job on an oil tanker in Japan. Very convincing con man, watch out.
February 26, 2021 at 7:11 pm, Laleh said:
yup this just happened to me. Very convincing. Even sent me a picture of his ID, before and after pictures. Even sent a check! Reported to the FTC. No money was sent to them as I was weary of the entire situation. WHAT A SCAMMER!
March 17, 2021 at 9:27 am, Brittany said:
New variation:
“James Schenell” contacted us for an alleged pit bull bite in North Topsail, NC. Same story as posted above except:
Occurred on September 16th, 2020
Says he’s from Ecuador lives in Japan and works with JXTG Holdings, Inc.
Says he spent a total of $21,300.00 out of pocket.
We were contacted by him through Avvo.
April 06, 2021 at 5:10 pm, Bonnie J Curtis said:
We were contacted last week by a James Schenell with the exact same story, but the attack came in Cockeysville, MD when he was (oddly enough) standing by a woodpile in an unfenced yard when the vicious dog attacked him. The photos he sent were absolutely shocking. The story details are verbatim from your story.
The dog owner, Cole Schneider, agreed to pay $120,500.00 to Schenell, who is from Ecuador, but works offshore on a rig in Japan. He wanted legal help collecting the settlement to help defray his $90k plastic surgery expenses (also in New York). Red flags everywhere. Signatures on the “settlement agreement” look the same.
A little checking and neither of these people exist. Your website came up with similar scam stories.
April 16, 2021 at 3:30 pm, Allen W. Cohen said:
I was contacted in April 2021 by Vicente Custodio who told me thatIs an Ecuadorian national and was in Odenton, Maryland when he was attacked by a pitbull owned by Richard Atkinson. He was then taken to New York for plastic surgery and incurred medical bills that he paid in the amount of $42,800. He produced a settlement agreement with Mr. Atkinson showing a settlement of $192,800. He also produced gruesome photos of his injuries sustained in September 2020 and a current photo (six months later) showing remarkable healing
Vincente could not speak with me via a zoom meeting because he works on a Japan oil tanker at sea near Tokyo and they didn’t have proper band with for a zoom video.
Mr. Atkinson contacted me via email to make arrangements to provide me with the settlement check but he was not able to call me on the telephone. He could only communicate by email.
The grammar errors in the email from Vicente were very similar to the grammar errors in the email from dog owner Atkinson.
May 10, 2021 at 12:21 pm, Eddie said:
Same scam from Mach Wilson.
June 04, 2021 at 11:29 am, Paul P. Latvis, Esquire said:
My firm received exact verbatim email from Vicente Custodio on June 1, 2021. The email was identical to Allen W. Cohen’s post of April 16, 2021.
Kindly be aware Mr. “Vicente Custodio”, et. alia. are all alive and well and apparently doing business in Ecuador, Japan and points east and west and working diligently at the Japan Drilling Company, Ltd.
Beware and act accordingly.