[WSBARP] OT - Another Attorney Scam Email

Tue Feb 7 15:28:43 PST 2023

Dear Colleagues:

I just got another unsolicited request for my services and concluded it was a scam based on my past experiences.

In this scheme, the scammer asks for drafting and escrow services for a large purchase.  The attorney sends off the necessary information, including an engagement agreement.  The scammer signs and returns the engagement agreement and they are off and running.  The scammer says that the buyer (and in this case, the lender) will be sending the attorney a check to be deposited into the attorney's trust account.  The monies from that check are to be used toward the attorney retainer and as a down payment to be paid to the seller (probably the buyer in today's case so the buyer can make a down payment to the seller).  Even before the attorney receives the check, the scammer pressures the attorney to tender the down payment promptly because any delay will cause the transaction to fall through.  Attorney deposits the check into trust, waits 1 or 2 days, depending on how soon the bank says the funds will be available, and then pays out of trust as instructed.  Unfortunately, the material used in the check that the scammer sent to the attorney originated from a rubber plant.  But that fact is only discovered after the attorney has obtained a cashier's check and sent it as instructed.  When the deposit does not go through, any other funds being held in trust are used to satisfy the outgoing check, emptying the trust account.  The attorney now has to replenish the trust account to restore other client funds to trust and also needs to satisfy any overage that the attorney's bank may have paid out on the outgoing check.

If you want to know more about today's version of this particular scam, read on.  This is what the message said:

Hello Mark,
Nice meeting you. I was referred to by AnnMichelle Hart. I need the services of your firm to draft a loan agreement and handle the closing for the purchase of 2 Computer Axial Tomography (CAT SCANNERS), by a company located in your state. We will be paying the original seller and securing the machines as collateral once we finalize the approval of the loan. There will be two parties involved in the transaction for the closing, The lender (My company) and the buyer (Borrower/Customer).
The loan will be for 24 months and is set to commence by the first week of March 2023, this is depending on how fast we can negotiate the terms of the loan and finalize a closing date. The repayment will be on a monthly basis with 6.9% interest annually until payment is complete. The loan amount for the equipment is $5,000,000.
I will need the legal expertise of your firm to advise us on how the loan agreement should be drafted, to comply with your state laws, advise on the legal terms to protect our interest, and review all supporting documents from the borrower.
I will provide you with our previous loan agreements that we have used in the past for similar transactions if that will help us save some time and money on the retainer and closing fees. You can bill us based on an hourly rate, I do not foresee us spending more than 15-20 hours on this transaction, the delay may come towards the closing date. Send me your standard retainer agreement which you use for similar cases and kindly include your rate so I can review it with my board. I will schedule to discuss with you after I have reviewed your terms. Let me know if you have any questions, I look forward to your response and working with your firm.
Conflict check information of the Borrower:
RAYUS Radiology
3131 Nassau St Suite #102, Everett, WA 98201
Regards,
Alex Holden
CFO
METRICS INVESTMENT LLC
918-212-4148
210 Park Avenue, Ste 2002-2004,
Oklahoma City, OK 73102.
http://www.metricsinvestmentsllc.com

Here is why I concluded it was a scam:

  *   I have never met nor heard of Alex Holden.
  *   Until I looked her up (she is an attorney licensed to practice in Washington), I had never heard of AnnMichelle Hart.
  *   The tone of the email made it sound as though it was coming from an experienced commercial lender.  If that indeed was the case, they would have already had an in-house attorney or other counsel whom they would have previously engaged for the services.
  *   The email contains some grammatical errors (not conclusive, I agree, but still suspicious).
  *   The transaction involved "a company located in your state."  Similar scam emails have referred to "a company located in your jurisdiction."
  *   The email stated that two parties would be involved in the closing: the lender (the sender of the email) and the buyer/borrower.  Such transactions would properly involve a seller as well.
  *   The sender asked me to "kindly include your rate...."  Every email that I have ever seen that contained the word "kindly" was a scam.
  *   When I called the purported borrower, RAYUS Radiology in Everett, their business office knew nothing about a prospective purchase of 2 CAT scanners.
  *   I looked up the website at the web address given in the email.  I must say it looked quite impressive and on its surface appeared to be legitimate.  But a deeper look at any of the links on that website belied that legitimacy.  For example, one page purports to show this company how this company has been "in the news."  One article, for example, is entitled "Metrics Investment LLC originates $31m self-storage loan."  When you click on the link to that article, the title of it somehow now becomes "Westing Investment Services originates $31m Self-Storage Loan."  Other linked articles similarly don't mention Metrics Investment LLC at all.
  *   The domain " metricsinvestmentsllc.com" was first registered on January 2, 2023, in Florida.  This was a huge indicator, especially in light of the Oklahoma address used in the email.
  *   The website shows in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma address that matches the one in the email.  However, except for the website, there are zero (0) results when I search for "'Metrics Investment LLC' Oklahoma."
  *   When I called the number given for Metrics Investment LLC, I immediately got a voicemail saying that my message was being routed to an automated voicemail system.  Not even "Welcome to Metrics Investments LLC..." Or something like that.

Mark B. Anderson
ANDERSON LAW FIRM PLLC
821 Dock St  Ste 209  PMB 4-12
Tacoma, Washington 98402
+1 253-327-1750
+1 253-327-1751 (fax)
marka at mbaesq.com<mailto:marka at mbaesq.com>
www.mbaesq.com<http://www.mbaesq.com/>
CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE
This transmission is confidential and is intended solely for the use of the individual named recipient. It may be protected by the attorney-client privilege, work product doctrine, or other confidentiality protection. If you are not the intended recipient, or the person responsible to deliver it to the intended recipient, be advised that any dissemination, distribution, or copying of this communication is prohibited. If you have received this transmission in error, please immediately notify the sender via e-mail or by telephone at (253) 327-1750 that you have received the message in error, and then delete it. Thank you.
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