Not even lawyers are immune from Internet scams.
The proof is in a grand jury indictment issued in U.S. Middle District Court charging six people with a $32 million international con that hit 80 lawyers in the U.S. and Canada.
At least two victims are midstate attorneys.This has adversely affected local lawyer.
The five Nigerians and one Canadian were accused after a multi-year investigation by the FBI, Secret Service and the Postal Service. An alleged ringleader, Emmanuel Ekhator, 40, is in custody in Nigeria, awaiting extradition to the U.S.
The others are believed to be in Canada, Nigeria and South Korea, according to court filings. All are being prosecuted on charges of wire fraud and conspiracy to money laundering. As portrayed in the indictment, the alleged con was a "collection scam" that used the attorneys as unwitting accomplices to abet check frauds against banks in Asia.
As the world shrinks, there will be more opportunities and ways for people to victimize others.
Federal authorities claimed that the scam against the lawyers worked as follows: One conspirator, a "catcher" contacted the targeted lawyer, usually by e-mail, claiming to be a foreign citizen or representative of a foreign company in need of legal representation to collect a debt, divorce settlement or other financial award in North America.
A second conspirator called the attorney if the lawyer agreed to help or person owing the money. If the second conspirator agreed to make payment and then sent a legitimate check to the attorney through the mail or by private courier, such as UPS or FedEx.
The bank is the main victim deserving indemnity in the scam, because it bore the brunt of the financial loss, the lawyer said. The federal indictment asked the government to seek forfeiture of the alleged scammers' numerous banks accounts and property in Nigeria and Canada.
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