# Federal Fraud Investigation?



## Lamplighter (Jul 20, 2010)

Hi

Unfortunately a Company I'm involved with has been subjected to a well-organised fraud/scam whereby a couple of customers with solid credentials have simultaneously disappeared having taken goods against post-dated cheques (which have subsequently bounced).

The general idea as follows:
- fraudsters purchase/take-over a struggling or dormant trading company, including premises, bank accounts etc etc;
- they employ new staff;
- they court suppliers based on their credentials (in this case, trade licence and healthy bank account since 2005/6, no police records);
- maybe they fulfil a couple of small order cycles, including payment;
- they take product against security cheques / forward-dated payments;
- they sell-on such product for lower-priced cash payments (of course, without the supplier knowing);
- they vanish!

The contract and cheque signatories are already in jail, but they are clearly either innocent parties (also having been violated) or willing participants - either way, not big fish. Also, the trigger date was immediately at the start of Ramadan.

Police have cases filed from at least 20 different Companies (totalling over 50 cases), but seem to be doing very little given the above points. The "customers" are in different Emirates, and we're not sure whether connected, although the modus operendii and timings are remarkably similar.

In our case we found some of our product in a couple of locations, with the name painted out and label removed (both amateurishly). We could identify the product in other ways, but the police would not act either to retrieve or at least to quarantine the stolen goods given a) the product had been willing sold against post-dated cheques, b) the present "owner" could show "evidence" of his cash purchase payments, and c) it was a different emirate.

Our amateur investigation work has uncovered a few leads, but we don't know what to do with them now, the police having uninspired us by considering it just "a cheque matter".

Does anyone have any experiences they could share, either on this thread or through PM? I'm particularly keen to know whether UAE has any federal rather than local investigation departments into such matters, as I believe that the CID are linked to the individual Emirates' police departments.

Grateful for any advice/support.

Thanks, Lamp


----------



## BedouGirl (Sep 15, 2011)

I can't help in terms of the legalities but have you thought about approaching a national newspaper to ask them if they'd be interested in investigating and writing an article to expose the scam. If they can and they want to, perhaps that would draw other victims of the scam out and you could all work together to bring some pressure to bear?


----------



## Lamplighter (Jul 20, 2010)

BedouGirl said:


> I can't help in terms of the legalities but have you thought about approaching a national newspaper to ask them if they'd be interested in investigating and writing an article to expose the scam. If they can and they want to, perhaps that would draw other victims of the scam out and you could all work together to bring some pressure to bear?


Hi Bedou. Yes and no!! This is a well-planned scam, and the obvious responses (ie police cases for bounced cheques, discovery of downstream product etc) have been adequately covered.

To be brutally frank, we're not so much interested in punishment or retribution for those involved, a more meaningful measure of success would be to see some of our money back. Given this, a "class action" through the press would be counterproductive, as there are more tactical paths to follow...

But the big frustration is with dealing with individual police forces on a matter spanning multiple Emirates, and to invoke action that this really is something more than just an economic bounced-cheque case (with the zillions of others).


----------



## Stevesolar (Dec 21, 2012)

Hi,
This demonstrates more than ever that the UAE is still more like 7 separate countries - each with their own rules, laws and systems.
I guess the crooks are playing on this fact and take advantage of it.
This type of scam is well known and practised widely the world over.
The Express newspaper covers these type of scams and at known for producing their cartoon like infographics to demonstrate how it works.
I think you have little hope of recovering your money or produce - so maybe an education for others is the most appropriate way forward.
Cheers
Steve


----------



## BedouGirl (Sep 15, 2011)

Stevesolar said:


> Hi, This demonstrates more than ever that the UAE is still more like 7 separate countries - each with their own rules, laws and systems. I guess the crooks are playing on this fact and take advantage of it. This type of scam is well known and practised widely the world over. The Express newspaper covers these type of scams and at known for producing their cartoon like infographics to demonstrate how it works. I think you have little hope of recovering your money or produce - so maybe an education for others is the most appropriate way forward. Cheers Steve


Sadly, I think Steve is probably right about the likelihood of recovering your money. I guess you could think about consulting a lawyer to see if there's any possibility of any recourse or course of action? But I think exposing the culprits could help in terms of preventing others from falling foul of these shysters.


----------



## Edino (Sep 22, 2013)

I think that the system here unfortunately does not look further than the bounced cheque case. As far the police are concerned, that is the case and that is what they are pursuing now.

If enough evidence of other wrong doing, than that could trigger a separate criminal case. I strongly suggest to discuss the matter with an experienced lawyer, and put all facts and suspicions on the table to decide the best steps forward.


----------



## vantage (May 10, 2012)

...

ignore me!
posted in error


----------



## Lamplighter (Jul 20, 2010)

*Beware Fraud...*

No further meaningful updates on the OP, as Stevesolar and BedouGirl predicted, and certainly no recovery of any _fuloos_. Well planned and executed scams, the stooges in custody have counter-cases (eg stolen cheque books) to muddy the waters, the downstream recipients of the goods can show they paid for them (all well and good under local laws), there are questions as to whether the goods are correctly termed "stolen" given that payments were made via cheque readily accepted by the suppliers, and the real perpetrators who were acting under false identities are well gone (with said _fuloos_). Frustrating...

My reason for posting - we recently came across another scam of the same type. This time, aware ab-initio, we followed their game. Observations as follows:

- first contact via mobile phone, expressing interest in product, and requesting quotation.
- requested that the "customer" put their enquiry by email, which they did from a gmail address.
- follow-up contacts via a "purchasing executive" / "purchasing specialist" using a different gmail address.  No standardisation of email footer or Company logo.
- called landline number to speak with receptionist. Asked directions, nearby landmarks, how long it would take from E311 etc, - she couldn't give clear assistance and admitted to being new. We asked for a map - it came 1/2 day later from one of the purchasing guys, not from the receptionist.
- in a separate call, we asked the receptionist if we could speak to a totally made-up name, and instead of saying she didn't recognise it, she said "OK, please wait" then came back after a few minutes to ask about the name again.
- We visited their office for meeting, noticed as follows:- signage in building via A4 printed sheets, not old or tatty
- office seemingly very busy, plenty of people waiting and coming/going, but incoming phone very quiet and receptionist without any work
- no certification or art on walls, and bare picture hooks
- asked receptionist for a compliment slip or letter-head, but she didn't have
- we were shown to an office and left with door open to wait for our meeting
- 3 people walked past the door and back, looking in as they did so
- when our meeting started, we were asked to move chairs (maybe not relevant, but made me smile!)
- our correspondent was very confident on the subject, with some good knowledge, and willing to chat off-topic too - actually, very credible.
- business card was newly printed​- customer story that they wanted product to test in market, looking to pay 20% with order, and 80% on* 7-day PDC* from delivery date, and offered a security cheque for the full amount.
- we submitted an offer, with prices approx 20% higher than market value. The customer told us in a second meeting that the prices were good, despite there being many alternative suppliers for same product undoubtedly at a more realistic price.
- we accepted the terms (for the purposes of seeing what would happen next). Said we would need various company credentials - they provided by email scan copies of business registration, trade licence, owner's passport, etc- trade licence & trade registration certificate reveal a long-established Company, however the documents are* recent reprints stamped and signed in each case as "True Copy"* (_a common feature in the OP cases too_). The expiry date is imminent.
- ID and passports appear genuine
- all documents (jpgs, pdfs) have empty properties fields! No "created by" or other date​- googling the various phone numbers, names, emails etc and putting the same details into facebook yielded very little. The Company had a website, but it was "under construction". A quick WHOIS showed that the domain was recently purchased, despite the Company being 10 years old...

We then did nothing! The Company contacted us a couple of times asking about a site visit or samples, but we didn't follow up.

Then from nowhere came an LPO via email!! Volume was about 3x what had been originally discussed. Payment terms as stated, 20% CDC, 80% PDC on delivery. Again, a pdf document sanitised with no "properties" fields. It seems to be a scanned document with stamp and signature (pixel sizes and alignments match when viewed closely), not photoshopped. However, the "letterhead" is very basic, powerpoint standard block text and image rather than anything professional.

Follow-up phone calls chasing how quickly we could have product ready. We replied that time was not a problem! Said we would come with a Sales and Purchase Agreement for signature, and to collect the advance CDC.

In our final phone call, we arranged to have this meeting. Said we would collect the cheque. They said "No, we will pay the 20% CDC (or cash) at time of delivery" - we said that was not per agreement, and we would not procure raw materials without any up-front commitment. "OH COME ON" was their exasperated reply on the phone 

There followed a couple of emails to confirm our requirement for deposit, and their "chairman's" unwillingness to provide the same. This was last week.

Today, their phones are disconnected and their mobiles switched off.

I wonder how many unfortunate people they have caught  We had discussed how we might use our expectations to prevent people becoming victims, but of course there is no way...

As Stevesolar suggested, perhaps by relating my observations this might protect people in future. Be careful trading in UAE - there are many unscrupulous people playing the short game... (in fact, we are also now dealing with yet another suspected bogus company).

Lamp


----------



## Zeeshan08 (Sep 15, 2013)

Lamplighter said:


> No further meaningful updates on the OP, as Stevesolar and BedouGirl predicted, and certainly no recovery of any _fuloos_. Well planned and executed scams, the stooges in custody have counter-cases (eg stolen cheque books) to muddy the waters, the downstream recipients of the goods can show they paid for them (all well and good under local laws), there are questions as to whether the goods are correctly termed "stolen" given that payments were made via cheque readily accepted by the suppliers, and the real perpetrators who were acting under false identities are well gone (with said _fuloos_). Frustrating...
> 
> My reason for posting - we recently came across another scam of the same type. This time, aware ab-initio, we followed their game. Observations as follows:
> 
> ...


Unfortunately scams and companies gone overnight is something that happens very often in Dubai. I'm in Mobile Phones, and you wouldn't believe the amount of companies that have disappeared with MILLIONS in the last year. There are 3 huge ones I have heard of, each disappeared with over 300 MILLION DIRHAMS worth of product believe it or not. 

And those 3 were in business here 15+ years. Basically, they had been trusted traders in the market for 15+ years...at some point they decided f*ck this and ordered a lot of product from all their suppliers on PDC (which is very common, especially with such an established business). Then, overnight, they're gone, with their product, back to their home country. 

Some may be skeptical about 300 million dirhams, but keep in mind, these are high value products that are extremely easy to move and extremely difficult to trace. For example, each iphone 5s 16gb wholesale is 2350 AED, which comes out to 128,000 iPhones. And these huge wholesalers here deal in large quantity, like 10-30k pieces at a time. so you grab that amount, as you normally do, from 5-7 difference suppliers, and its a done deal. And that's assuming you're just buying 16Gb iphones, when obviously the value of 32 or 64 is higher, and 128gb ipad with 4G is even higher than that....and if you also deal in macbooks then those can get into the range of 10k AED each...so millions add up real fast.

Now, my opinion is this was a domino effect, the first one screwed the other 2 suppliers so bad they had no choice but to pull the same crap on other people...but of course we don't know for sure.

Then when you ask a company that has been screwed "how much did they take you for" they say, "oh us, no, they didn't get anything from us". Why does nobody admit to being screwed? Because they're afraid everyone will stop doing business with them in fear that they will pull that crap also...its a cutthroat business.


----------



## vantage (May 10, 2012)

sounds like you wasted a good chunk of their time (which is good)
a good deed.

I arranged to meet with another cold-calling FA last Thursday in a Starbucks in JLT.
No idea if he showed. i didn't....


----------



## Fat Bhoy Tim (Feb 28, 2013)

vantage said:


> sounds like you wasted a good chunk of their time (which is good)
> a good deed.
> 
> I arranged to meet with another cold-calling FA last Thursday in a Starbucks in JLT.
> No idea if he showed. i didn't....


I got a call from PWS today. No idea if they've called me before, just told them I don't deal with anyone not licensed. 

If the same person calls back several times, then I just agree to a time and don't show. Naturally it's the last time.


----------



## vantage (May 10, 2012)

Fat Bhoy Tim said:


> I got a call from PWS today. No idea if they've called me before, just told them I don't deal with anyone not licensed.
> 
> If the same person calls back several times, then I just agree to a time and don't show. Naturally it's the last time.


i like to set the bait by talking about having tons of cash stuck in an old UK pension.... you can hear the salivating over the phone..


----------



## Lamplighter (Jul 20, 2010)

vantage said:


> sounds like you wasted a good chunk of their time (which is good)
> a good deed.


... and a good deal of _my_ time too. Difficulty is that there _are_ real enquiries between the bull, and due diligence involves a different set of processes in this place.


----------



## londonmandan (Jul 23, 2013)

Fat Bhoy Tim said:


> I got a call from PWS today. No idea if they've called me before, just told them I don't deal with anyone not licensed.
> 
> If the same person calls back several times, then I just agree to a time and don't show. Naturally it's the last time.


This is a good read :lol:

PRESTIGE WEALTH SOLUTIONS Complaints and reviews


----------



## Gavtek (Aug 23, 2009)

PWS certainly had an ESTA licence when I met with one of their advisors a couple of months ago (I was stitched up by a colleague who invited him to our offices). Apparently most of the entries in those blogs are written by employees of competitors, which I can believe, as almost all of the complaints look like they're written the same way - there's even a page dedicated to slagging off one of the Ex-pat forum moderators who works as a financial advisor and have only heard good things about.

Didn't hear from the guy again after I sent him a spreadsheet detailing how much the plan he designed for me would need to grow just to break even and how the profit at the growth rate he claimed he could achieve would be dwarfed by the fees I would end up paying.

First time I've given the time of day to one of these people, and they talk a good game, easy to see why many people are taken in by them. It doesn't take much research to see that every single one of these "offshore pension" plans are utter rubbish though.


----------



## Mr Rossi (May 16, 2009)

Gavtek said:


> It doesn't take much research to see that every single one of these "offshore pension" plans are utter rubbish though.


There's called "offshore pensions" because they're actually illegal in a lot of countries. There's a demand for the likes of Zurich, who offer these policies to pull them altogether. But they're like Tennents Super of the financial world - the companies offer them, make money from them, but won't be marketing or putting anything beyond their name to them anytime soon.


----------



## twowheelsgood (Feb 21, 2013)

Are you aware of the UK government approved offshore pensions ? they are called that because the money is offshore - nothing to do with legal or illegal.

Whats your take on them ?

Here's the HMRC approved list, which doesn't mean they are any good, but it does mean they are legal.

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/pensionschemes/qrops.pdf


----------



## londonmandan (Jul 23, 2013)

Gavtek said:


> PWS certainly had an ESTA licence when I met with one of their advisors a couple of months ago (I was stitched up by a colleague who invited him to our offices). Apparently most of the entries in those blogs are written by employees of competitors, which I can believe, as almost all of the complaints look like they're written the same way - there's even a page dedicated to slagging off one of the Ex-pat forum moderators who works as a financial advisor and have only heard good things about.
> 
> Didn't hear from the guy again after I sent him a spreadsheet detailing how much the plan he designed for me would need to grow just to break even and how the profit at the growth rate he claimed he could achieve would be dwarfed by the fees I would end up paying.
> 
> First time I've given the time of day to one of these people, and they talk a good game, easy to see why many people are taken in by them. It doesn't take much research to see that every single one of these "offshore pension" plans are utter rubbish though.


If it was anytime this year then they didn't have any licence whatsoever and still don't, in fact they shouldn't have been trading as their offices hadn't been signed off and no one had a visa etc etc.....


----------



## Mr Rossi (May 16, 2009)

twowheelsgood said:


> Are you aware of the UK government approved offshore pensions ? they are called that because the money is offshore - nothing to do with legal or illegal.


You're right.

I was confusing offshore pensions with the 25-30 year savings plan/investments these companies push. Not illegal as such, but policies not allowed in UK, Australia, New Zealand etc under financial regulations there.


----------



## Gavtek (Aug 23, 2009)

londonmandan said:


> If it was anytime this year then they didn't have any licence whatsoever and still don't, in fact they shouldn't have been trading as their offices hadn't been signed off and no one had a visa etc etc.....


Unless they've photoshopped one, I have physically seen an ESTA licence with their name on it, about 3/4 months ago.


----------



## Fat Bhoy Tim (Feb 28, 2013)

twowheelsgood said:


> Are you aware of the UK government approved offshore pensions ? they are called that because the money is offshore - nothing to do with legal or illegal.
> 
> Whats your take on them ?
> 
> ...


Dealt with one organisation who tried to flog me this a few months ago. I pulled up the list which was only updated days before, and asked them if they were licensed by HMRC. That ground to a halt fairly quickly.



Gavtek said:


> Unless they've photoshopped one, I have physically seen an ESTA licence with their name on it, about 3/4 months ago.


They told me they weren't based or licensed in the UK, so I left it at that. They tried to spin this as a positive.

None of this however comes close to some dodgy outfit in (I think was) Malaysia that called me about 2 months ago. Claimed some organisation had recently signed a deal with Apple to use their technology but it hadn't been announced yet, and the stock was going to go through the roof in just a day or two. 

Checked the stock and it had dropped in November last year to the current number, other than a momentary spike a few months ago. So I asked the guy straight up is this either a case of blatant insider trading, or given the previous spike if this was just a pump and dump. Told him to call me back when it was announced publicly that the deal had been made, unsurprisingly I never heard back.


----------

