April 1, 2009 -- An email scam targeting attorneys has been reported by a Wisconsin lawyer.
Thomas Kubasta of Kubasta, Rathjen, Rickford & Lorenson, LLP in Wautoma received on Jan. 26 an email purportedly from “Martin J. Arbus,” a New Jersey lawyer. In the email, “Arbus” explains that he represents a Chinese company trying to collect $558,205 owed in the state of the email recipient. “Arbus” says that he is only licensed in New Jersey and so he seeks local counsel.
Kubasta said that the named Chinese company and “Martin J. Arbus” actually exist and the email appeared to be a legitimate solicitation.
After agreeing to participate in the debt collection, Kubasta said that he received an email on Jan. 29 purportedly from the Chinese company “client.” In that email, the “client” discloses the name of the alleged debtor so that Kubasta can run a conflict check before entering into a retainer agreement. The “client” predicts that once the alleged debtor is told local counsel has agreed to assist, the alleged debtor will likely pay up “to avoid legal action and litigation.”
Kubasta said his next contact was in the form of a cashier’s check received by his office around March 10. The check – supposedly for the amount owed by the debtor – was a fake. The hope of the fraudsters was that Kubasta would deposit the check and then disburse funds from a client account to “Arbus” before realizing the check was worthless.
Fortunately, Kubasta did not play along.
Internet research turned up a Jan. 21 article on Law.com reporting this to be an international scam targeting attorneys. Lawyers in Texas, Oklahoma, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, California, and the Virgin Islands have received the email, according to the article.
The Law.com article stated that the real Martin Arbus is a municipal attorney in New Jersey. “The fake emails seem to have been sent to lawyers who do mediation work, and at least one person who contacted Arbus was a nonlawyer mediator,” the Law.com article said.
“Arbus handles alternative dispute resolution, as do both New Jersey lawyers who called him after receiving the fake emails,” the article continued. “That leads Arbus to believe the names might have been obtained from a roster of mediators.”
Keith Sellen of the Office of Lawyer Regulation advises any lawyer who receives this type of email to exercise caution and only disburse funds from an account after the check is actually honored.
“Anytime a person wants their money really quickly, it’s time for a lawyer to reflect and do some due diligence,” Sellen said.
Lawyers in receipt of such an email should also contact appropriate law enforcement, he added. The Trade and Consumer Protection division of the Department of Agriculture receives complaints of internet fraud at 1-800-422-7128 or (608) 224-4953.
Alex De Grand is the legal writer for the State Bar of Wisconsin.
Related story: Sophisticated scams target attorneys
