[RPPTL-constructionlaw] FW: CLIENT SCAM ALERT RELATING TO CONSTRUCTION ATTORNEYS (FROM Broward County Bar Association Real Property Section)

Thu Oct 6 12:30:16 PDT 2011

Sincerely yours,
Randall Gilbert, Esq.
Board Certified Construction Lawyer

[cid:image001.jpg at 01CC843C.D968A5C0][cid:image002.gif at 01CC843C.D968A5C0]

From: Gary M. Singer [mailto:gary at gardenhometitle.ccsend.com] On Behalf Of Gary M. Singer
Sent: Thursday, October 06, 2011 2:46 PM
To: Randall Gilbert
Subject: Broward County Bar Association Real Property Section

Having trouble viewing this email? Click here <http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?llr=qwjhovcab&v=001B7Ca3ME3LkKSDqhadjrplEvEs8ovoV2yE7kNSu3I3pvcyJJfxLQkgUK-cCVarmk_HKy16sjDn7wYraePplOJyiaCIuhrUy-xF1F7UzLY2zLyOdMjmpOu_f3bsh6kg6eyALnjyAdr0EpUnfosHKVHyAnr0YaH4V9DyT882_EcJ-GdYhYJ-KVafKnZBdWmTMXt67EfBr2CF7kagoT9Q5-fisjwIXZ8wllBfubHWjOdCbs%3D>

Broward County Bar Association

Attention: Real Property Section Members

Thanks to M. Scott Kleiman of Kalis & Kleiman for bringing this scam to our attention and allowing us to share it with you.

[http://ih.constantcontact.com/fs002/1102378673872/img/122.jpg]

My office was contacted through Avvo, a professional social networking site about a matter which is a London-based scam. In this very well constructed scam, an alleged architect by the name of Ken Greig is claiming that he is due about $100,000.00 for design work done for a Coral Gables couple, Bruno Gorgatti and Julianne Pavageau. Gorgatti and Pavageau are real people living in Coral Gables. Greig provides significant and detailed information about how he met Gorgatti and Pavageau, the work he contracted to do, how Gorgatti and Pavageau paid for the work, etc. There is a signed contract for the work for about $200,000. The information on the property and how Gorgatti and Pavageau acquired it - a purchase from a bank after a foreclosure is entirely accurate. There is even a professional multipage website for the architectural firm that performed the work.  All emails are signed:

Ken Greig

 Greig & Stephenson
St. Margaret's House
18-20 Southwark Street
London SE1 1TJ
M: +44 (0) 702 4043235 (Mobile)
 T / +44 (0)20 3286 9866 (Office)
F / +44 (0)20 3286 9888  (Office Fax)

Company No: 310 1088

VAT No:672306934

 Directions / Greig & Stephenson is on the corner of Southwark Street and Stoney Street close to London Bridge with its numerous bus and mainline train services. The Northern (City Branch) and Jubilee tube lines both serve the nearby London Bridge underground station. Leave the platforms following the signs to Borough High Street - the steps up to the right after the barriers bring you almost to the door.

--

Greig wants to retain you so he can use your office's name as "local counsel" in the effort to collect the remaining amounts. He then notifies you that he has contacting Gorgatti, who will be delivering a check to pay the balance and, for the use of your name, you can retain a disproportionate fee, in the case with my office, he proposed $5,000.00 as a legal fee for less than an hour of work. A few days later a cashier's check drawn on SunTrust arrives payable to your firm. It is an actual SunTrust cashier's check; however, it has been "washed" so as to alter the amounts, the payee and the memo information.  In the case involving my office, the cashier's check had been issued 4 months earlier for $9500.00. SunTrust indicated that there were other minor alterations as well.  I gathered that information by taking the  a copy of the check to a local branch. It was not until 3 days later that SunTrust gave actual notification that the check was not good.

There were telling signs after the initial contact that this could be a scam. The consistent refusal of Greig to permit any contact with Gorgatti or Pavageau was one. Some of the subsequent emails had those "catch" phrases you find in the clear scam emails - such as closing with "greetings to" or "my best to you and your family", and "my hopes that you have a good day."  The email in which the fact that a check will be arriving notes that it will be arriving by United States Postal Service and then it shows up by FedEx International from London. As soon as the check arrives, Greig begins calling looking for disbursement by wire.

These individual factors were enough to question the legitimacy of this matter, even before the check arrived. The Secret Service indicated that this was one of the better constructed scams targeting attorneys. Several South Florida firms were contacted by Greig. Apparently, some losses were suffered by Atlanta attorneys who failed to wait on the clearance of the cashier's check prior to wiring out funds in a similar scam run there.

This and the other examples provided are good reasons to have funds wired to you instead of delivered by cashier's check, particularly where banks are not clearing those funds immediately.

M. Scott Kleiman, Esq.
Kalis & Kleiman, P.A.
7320 Griffin Road, Suite 109
Davie, Florida 33314
Telephone: 954-791-0477
Office Fax : 954-791-0506
Direct E-Mail: SKleiman at KalisKleiman.com
Office E-Mail: KalisKleiman at KalisKleiman.com
Website:  www.Kaliskleiman.com<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=qwjhovcab&et=1108005598703&s=2253&e=001yY-udZF794QXHa-Xo8rCd8QeUEPjWqGuUYrA5HPYEKMm44JGYgYdvLLHkoOV2SWcm3rXx2Q1bMSVOJpfwOtIN7Eut7ky5HCK-R-5-eu0q1pQKbF3do_kUw==>

Best Regards,

Gary M. Singer

Serving Families and Businesses

Law Firm of Gary M. Singer, P.A.

4577 Nob Hill Road

Suite 206

Sunrise, FL 33351

ph. 954-851-1448

fax 954-252-2189

www.GarySingerLaw.com<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=qwjhovcab&et=1108005598703&s=2253&e=001yY-udZF794S7S4uAGD3y0hNKQU1Kr9WLAh132PTMgGQljq9WslU8nVNCfxJNzMN_IOHkfKYMwGc25BX6y6pCVUiFUyYWsHh1SeFNLLd7vc6yjbmTlFqMnA==>

[https://imgssl.constantcontact.com/ui/images1/btn_fbk_160_a.png]<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=qwjhovcab&et=1108005598703&s=2253&e=001yY-udZF794QVYnhsnj_sST6bL7VfEWVMF2P3IlY9riptn27rpp1vTeKuokGWYdSGm9WrNzEwr5vp6XzpBj-8tMG0dw5QjLHv_sB8s55B1G8WTTj7f1aK0gmAtRc2_1mR7a53yNajM3E=>

[https://imgssl.constantcontact.com/ui/images1/btn_twit_160.png]<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=qwjhovcab&et=1108005598703&s=2253&e=001yY-udZF794QbGo5g9jOoe732yFlffnf7iSYGI7_wWCxmrmg8C1eCxN7FBm6ekI3jsNlY53TFAhFkxrFxfwQFnT8KFL50zOg6IwPTG3YxjW_QbWNyT5GzxWg7ys_oEdq1>

[https://imgssl.constantcontact.com/ui/images1/btn_lkdin_160.png]<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=qwjhovcab&et=1108005598703&s=2253&e=001yY-udZF794RFcHMqHYXiljmFskjwDgrYAH8oBFIWsx-lViUt_Ge0rfFMjNq9htwipHi05zFWDQ_TpsvY_tovBJrvJt6e52JWE7NHEKfk5RgO_XdQ_btsLxDSSKCsqZwnFnIvN8ejk88=>

Forward email<http://ui.constantcontact.com/sa/fwtf.jsp?llr=qwjhovcab&m=1102378673872&ea=rgilbert%40theconstructionlawyers.com&a=1108005598703>
[http://img.constantcontact.com/letters/images/SafeUnsubscribe_Footer_Logo_New.png]<http://visitor.constantcontact.com/do?p=un&mse=001I2RsqMRJGm-hqGIictFVD7WKJ0uThzQ-&t=001VFO4_Q--be52QChdsTKf1g%3D%3D&llr=qwjhovcab>

[http://img.constantcontact.com/letters/images/CC_Footer_Logo_New.png]<http://www.constantcontact.com/index.jsp?cc=TEM_OFR_004>

This email was sent to rgilbert at theconstructionlawyers.com by gary at gardenhometitle.com<mailto:gary at gardenhometitle.com> |
Update Profile/Email Address<http://visitor.constantcontact.com/do?p=oo&mse=001I2RsqMRJGm-hqGIictFVD7WKJ0uThzQ-&t=001VFO4_Q--be52QChdsTKf1g%3D%3D&llr=qwjhovcab> | Instant removal with SafeUnsubscribe<http://visitor.constantcontact.com/do?p=un&mse=001I2RsqMRJGm-hqGIictFVD7WKJ0uThzQ-&t=001VFO4_Q--be52QChdsTKf1g%3D%3D&llr=qwjhovcab>(tm) | Privacy Policy<http://ui.constantcontact.com/roving/CCPrivacyPolicy.jsp>.

Garden Home Title | 4577 Nob Hill Road | Suite 206 | Sunrise | FL | 33351

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.fsr.com/pipermail/constructionlaw/attachments/20111006/458d2982/attachment.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image001.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 65970 bytes
Desc: image001.jpg
URL: <http://mailman.fsr.com/pipermail/constructionlaw/attachments/20111006/458d2982/image001.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image002.gif
Type: image/gif
Size: 4337 bytes
Desc: image002.gif
URL: <http://mailman.fsr.com/pipermail/constructionlaw/attachments/20111006/458d2982/image002.gif>