Avoid Donald Dunaway and State Farm Insurance in Washington State
MW Creel 27 June 2014 - Recently I’ve had the great displeasure of dealing with State Farm Insurance after a Memorial Weekend driver, Mr. Kam K. Yu of Newcastle, WA. Drove his vehicle over the curb and sidewalk behind a home I own in Newcastle Washington’s Olympus neighborhood.
Mr. Yu destroyed the wooden fence of three separate homes, landing finally in my back yard. Mr. Yu then offered up his auto insurance information to cover and repair the damage, which for just two of the homes was approximately $20,000.
After one month, State Farm hasn’t paid one dime for the damage to our property, and Mr. Kam Yu has essentially walked away from the matter, and has been unresponsive to all efforts to communicate with him other than poorly written emails he sent the first week.
Upon learning his insurance policy wasn’t worth the paper it is written on, Mr. Yu simply tucked tail and ran. He has left his neighbors with thousands in damages to their properties and feels no obligation to personally compensate them for those damages, or even clean up the mess of broken lumber strewn across their properties.
Click to Access Forum
Personally, I’ve had little experience with insurance companies so this dodging of payment by State Farm isn’t something I expected. The claim was assigned to an independent adjust named Donald Dunaway (donald.dunaway.uui8@statefarm.com), who has done little to nothing to resolve the matter.
Now that one month has passed I have been forced to claim the damage on my homeowner’s policy, which is ironically also State Farm. I’m not optimistic that I will fare any better by going this route, but we shall see.
As I’ve come to realize that State Farms is obviously a less than reputable insurer, I’ve spent a little time on the net to see if my experience is unique, and what I’ve learned is that what’s happened to me and my neighbor, is essentially standard operating procedure for State Farm. I will of course be changing companies once this matter is resolved one way or the other.
Below are a few of the complaints I’ve run across on the net, and if you click the link attached to the image above, you will see that there are hundreds, if not thousands such complaints against State Farm. In my opinion, this is a company to be avoided.
kam yu
I understand your frustration. Are you emailing the right email address? The email is: pacn.clms-autoec.339o15@statefarm.com I will give the claim rep a call today and see if he has any answers. Last i spoke with him, he complained that he has been leaving voice messages and emails, and did not get any contact back from you guys. I told him i doubt that, but he assured me he left messages. Again, i understand your frustration. But, please dont threaten me with law suits. Just ask me to give them a call, please. Also, the previous email did not have a fence estimate attachment. So, please send me another email of the estimate and i will make sure state farm gets it. I am not trying to avoid you, this i promise.
State Farm Customer Complaints
We have had State Farm auto insurance on three vehicles and two of our houses for many years. I had two vehicle accidents in three years, one where I couldn't see a steel post in an alley where it crushed a fender and about three years later, while backing out of my driveway, I struck an on-coming car, which I could not see. The car saw me backing, could have stopped but didn't, he could have prevented the accident. Porches sound like crumbling beer cans when struck. My auto insurance about doubled.
We had one of our vehicles broken in, State Farm settled with us, but didn't pay the replacement costs. If you don't purchase an equivalent item, like the same camera model, they don't give you the replacement value, they know how to save money. More than three years later, we have a house fire just before Christmas, caused by ashes in the trash can. It was weeks before we ever saw a representative, I ended up boarding up the fence and garage wall myself. They finally settled, did not cover all of the fire damage and what they did pay, would not cover a commercial contractor's cost, I did some of the work myself.
Prior to filing the claim, I asked my agent if it would raise my rates, as I considered just having the repairs done at my cost. First they said it would raise my rates, then eventually they said it wouldn't because the previous theft was beyond three years. After I cashed the settlement check, I got a letter in the mail where they are advising me that my deductible is increasing from $500 to $5000.00. I had my deductible raised from $100 to $500 just to reduce the price of premiums.
At $5000 deductible, I may as well only have major catastrophic insurance at a lower premium, if there is such a thing. After speaking with the agent, he claims they were going to cancel my insurance but he convinced them keep me, but raise my deductible. That sounds like a bait and switch. Looks like I didn't ask the right questions before filing the claim, I should have asked not only about my rates going up, but would anything else change in my policy. How would I know to ask "will my deductible go up?" I guess you have to have an attorney look over one's policy before signing on. Nothing like the fine print.
I will be cancelling all of my State Farm policies and moving on to a more respectable insurance company. I would advise anyone with State Farm to inquire with them before filing a claim as to how it may affect the policy
California woman loses $300G after falling for Nigerian scammer on dating site
A San Jose woman has been duped of $300,000 after falling for a Nigerian scam artist on the dating website ChristianMingle.com.
Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Cherie Bourlard said Wednesday that the man, posing as “David Holmes,” an Irish citizen working on a Scottish oil rig, wooed the 66-year-old woman with flowers, phone calls and text messages.
“You get the love drug in you and you end up getting duped,” Bourlard said “But they never met in person.”
The man – who, according to Bourlard, used a picture of a male model on his profile – convinced the woman to invest $500,000 into the fake oil rig.
She had to dip into her retirement account and refinance her house to afford the payments, the The scammer was busted when his Skype and email addresses were traced back to Nigeria, Bourlard said.
The woman was able to recover $200,000 she wired to a Turkish bank after receiving help from the Santa Clara County district attorney's office. A man named Wisdom Onokpite – an associate of the scammer who entered Turkey using a false passport – was arrested and jailed when he tried to withdraw the funds, Bourlard told the San Jose Mercury News.
The scammer is still at large.
Convicted Con Man Yves Cauvin Back in Custody
On Tuesday, December 10th, 2013, AllReaders.net obtained records showing that Yves Cauvin was detained by Lane County Oregon officials. Based on Oregon records obtained, Cauvin was jailed Monday on a court hold as a Fugitive. Cauvin currently faces numerous fraud charges in Washington State and was recently incarcerated in Nevada for stealing a rental car.
It's unclear at this time if the Fugitive warrant is based on Cauvins legal issues with Nevada, Washington, or both. Nevertheless, Cauvin spent yet another Christmas behind bars. Click on the image to learn more about this scam artist and his history of crimes.
Oregon Mugshot
DELTA SkyRewards Scam Letters
Scam Letter Being Mailed to Victims
24 Sept 2013
Currently hundreds of letters such as the one featured above are being sent to the mail boxes of unsuspected Delta customers. If you get such a letter, do not respond to it, it is fraudulent. This is very rare for scammers to resort to hard mail tactics, but perhaps because of sites such as this the numebr of online victims has dwindled. Delta's program is in fact known as Delta SkyMiles, not Sky Rewards.
Mother-Daughter Duo Sentenced in Fake Soldier Internet Romance Scam
Click Here to Read Romance Scam Emails
30 August 2013
A mother and daughter who tricked hundreds of people into sending money to individuals they thought were U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan were sentenced to prison for their role in the "romance scam," Colorado's attorney general announced Wednesday.
Prosecutors said the pair helped funnel money to Nigeria after their accomplices lured women on online dating sites into becoming romantically involved with and giving thousands of dollars to people they thought were members of the military. The two stole more than $1 million, ultimately roping in 374 victims in more than 40 countries, the attorney general said.
The mostly female victims were looking for love on the Internet, but instead had their hearts broken when they realized the soldiers weren't real, prosecutors said in their indictment last year.
They fell victim to the scheme on dating and social networking sites, including Facebook, prosecutors said. The perpetrators sent photographs and military documents to the victims to convince them they were soldiers, then asked the victims to wire money to pay for satellite phones or travel expenses so they could visit, prosecutors said.
Tracy Vasseur and her mother, Karen Vasseur, acted as agents who received those payments and passed them on to Nigeria, prosecutors said, and now they each face a dozen or more years of prison time after pleading guilty to violating the Colorado Organized Crime Control Act, the attorney general's office said. Prosecutors accused them of posing as "agents" who opened 20 bank accounts and wired money from the victims to individuals in Nigeria from 2009 to 2012.
Colorado Attorney General John W. Suthers told ABC News the scam was the first he dealt with in which the perpetrators invoked the military to win over victims. Exploiting the military led to particularly harsh sentences, he said.
"The military angle was something that was very offensive to us, and we were able to convey that to the court, and they were similarly repulsed by it," Suthers said.
The mother-daughter team sent the money to 94 locations in Nigeria, and an ongoing investigation by the U.S. Secret Service and others has yet to pinpoint the people who directed the Vasseurs, Suthers said. The pair also sent money to Ecuador, Great Britain, India, the United Arab Emirates and elsewhere in the United States, last year's indictment read.
Suthers said the way in which the duo become involved in the fraud in the first place remained a "loose end" that had yet to be resolved.
Tracy Vasseur admitted to investigators that she used her 16-year-old daughter to send and receive tens of thousands of dollars in the wire transfers, prosecutors said in their indictment of the pair last year.
She was sentenced on Monday to 15 years in jail and five years parole in the Internet scam case. She also received a four-year sentence for crimes she committed while free on bond.
Her mother was sentenced in July to 12 years in jail and five years parole for her role in the scam, in addition to a 10-year sentence for stealing money by promising loans that never materialized.
Washington State Scam Artist Busted In Las Vegas!
July 15, 2013 - Yves Julian Cauvin has finally been captured having evaded police for years after scamming Washington banks out of hundreds of thousands of dollars through fraudulent loan scams he perpetrated while working at a small loan company in Seattle as the Vice President. He was in fact wanted by Nevada at the time he was working in the lending business. At the time, no license was required to write loans. Last year Cauvin had rented a car in Nevada which he failed to return, he was driving it at the time of his arrest.
In 2008 Cauvin scammed a Washington resident through a straw mortgage scheme through the purchase of a home for $500,000, in which he pocketed almost $100,000 on. Cauvin then left the woman holding the home and a monthly note of almost $4,000 a month after US Marshals arrested him and returned him to Nevada on a fugitive warrant. The home turned out to be worth a little over $300,000 and was sold via a short-sale by the lender Countrywide, a company that went broke later that year.
Cauvin is now Inmate # 01164967
Last Arrest Date: July 13, 2013
Age 48
1.
Registration Violations
Counts: 1
Bond: $1,610.00
2.
Unlawful Acts Financial Responsibility
Counts: 2
Bond: $0.00
3.
Embz Of Auto, $3500+
Counts: 1
Bond: $20,000.00
4.
Speeding 11 To 20 Mph Over Limit
Counts: 1
Bond: $1,775.00
5.
No Registration In Vehicle
Counts: 1
Bond: $0.00
Click Image to Read More
Beware of FOX Rental Cars
UPDATE! FOX refunds overcharged amount, we are now square.
Click image to learn more
11 May 2013
It's not often I actually fall prey to an internet scam, but this time I did. I recently used an online booking company called EconomyBookings.com, a site which claims to be able to get you the best deals on car rentals. As is turned out, the price they quoted me was considerably less than other car rental agencies, thus I booked the car and pre-paid for it.
I then get an email stating that they would now find a company that would accept the price, and the next day I received another email stating FOX had indeed accepted the rental deal at the set price.
Upon arriving at FOX at Seattle's sea/tac airport, I was badgered to upgrade to a mid-sized car for an additional $150 dollars, after a few minutes of this I got angry and stated I just want the car I paid for, give me the keys. I was then told there was a required $300 damage deposit, and $166.27 in taxes and "airport fee's" due!
Thats an expense of $466.27 over the price I had already paid of $288.16! That brings the cost of renting an economy car to $30.26 per day, almost double the rate offered by other companies in the bidding process.
The taxes and fees alone added 40% to the quoted price I was given online, despite the fact that my receipt clearly in large letters stated PAID IN FULL. This is essentially a bait and switch scam that I personally haven't dealt with while renting cars before; I rent cars quite often, and I've never encountered such trickery and deception while renting. I'll be surprised if they even return the deposit, I'm quite sure theres a trick to scamming one out of that.
Obviously, I will never again use FOX Rent a Car or EconomyBookings.com. See receipts for this transaction below.
On pick up you must pay 0.00 USD (0.00 EUR)
Confirmation of your Booking Group car rental in Seattle Airport, USA Washington
Thank you for booking your car rental with Booking Group. Below is a link to retrieve your voucher, you need to print 2 copies of this - one copy for you and the other one you need to present at our local car rental partner as a proof of purchase.
Payment details: According to this booking, you have made a prepayment in amount of 288.16 USD (211.65 EUR) On pick up you must pay 0.00 USD (0.00 EUR).
In case the reservation is cancelled 48 hours prior to the pick up, the prepayment sum will be refunded. In case the reservation is cancelled less than 48 hours before the pick up or less than 48 hour because of the force majeure, the refund is not performed. If the reservation is made less than 48 hours before the pick up date, the prepayment sum is not refunded in case of cancellation.
Please, take a little time to check that the booking details shown on the voucher are correct. The voucher will give you full details on where to collect your car and you must take it with you. If you are not sure of anything or need to clarify any of the details – please contact us as soon as possible.
This link will take you directly to your voucher: https://www.economybookings.com/voucher/B61468566/creel@gmail.com/
IMPORTANT: Please print two copies of the voucher to take it with you and present at the rental desk.
PAID IN FULL RECEIPT
Paid in Full Meant Nothing
Avoid This Company Like The Plague
Any discount you may get when booking will be negated by the 40% added on when you pick-up the car, regardless of how many times they tell you that your paid in full, and owe nothing at pick-up, its a lie.
We offer a Worldwide car rental service in 127 countries and more than 7,350 car rental locations.
Now you can plan your vacation in advance and receive exclusive offers only for subscribers: Special Offers from Economybookings.com as well as Hot Deals from Worldwide brands of car rental companies!
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I sincerely apologize for the your experience at our location and assure you the complaint has been forwarded to several key individuals. I also apologize for any confusion booking with an outside source may have caused. Our records indicate you purchased a Top 1 voucher which only covers your base rate making you liable for all taxes and fees and any additional items. I understand your confirmation email may have indicated you paid in full which means you did not make payments you paid in one transaction.
I have consulted with the “Contact Us” administrators and unfortunately we could not locate any other email you state you have sent. Can you please advise where said email was sent through and provide any documentation you received from your booking source? Thank you for your time.
The beauty of Yvette's well cited line of bullshit is that it's all a fabrication; the "Top 1" scam is part of the scheme. I really like the explanation regarding Paid in Full. I have found thousands of complaints on the net just like mine, so they're quite versed in their lies. Nevertheless, as with those we have locked onto before, we will pursue this to the bitter end. This is a big fish, but they can be taken down.
I sincerely apologize but i will be out of the office until 5/28/13 due to an emergency. Thank you for your patience.
Beware AutographsAmerica.com is now AutographsNetwork.com
It would appear that AutographsAmerica.com, the nations most prolific forgerer of music memorabilia has shuttered its doors and re-opened as AutographsNetwork.com. The image above as you can see shows the website design is copyrighted by The PC Pro, which is just one of Brian Burkels many companys based out of Maple Valley Washington
Pedophile/Scam Artist Nicholas John Martinez "AKA: Nick" Released From Prison
Pedophile/Scam Artist Nick Martinez
January 03, 2012
Convicted pedophile and scam artist Nicholas John Martinez has been released from a California prison after serving almost seven years of incarceration. Martinez has changed his appearance considerably.
Martinez was the CEO of Princess Properties of San Francisco in early 2000. Martinez scammed dozens of victims out of hundreds of thousands of dollars while running a foreclosure prevention scam, by 2005 the scam collapsed.
In the 80's Martinez was repeatedly incarcerated for sexually assaulting small children; both male and female. He has also been convicted of bigamy, and identity theft. Currently Martinez resides at 1520 W 204TH ST # 3, TORRANCE, CA. (Los Angeles County) 90501.
AutographsAmerica.com Now Offering 93% Discount on All Items!
August 10th, 2011
Just when I thought it couldn't get any more absurd at the fake autograph peddling site AutographsAmerica.com they began offering a 93% discount on all items for the 4th of July, and now it's a Christmas in August 93% Off Sale!
It's obvious Brian Burkel of Maple Valley Washington has had a hard time selling his forged garbage online. Heavy discounts began being offered after our first posting two years ago regarding fraud at AA, and their prices were reduced 90%. It appears that even at 90% to 93% off the junk just sits there. There is no "Sale", they simply want to be rid of the junk items they forged. Don't waste your money.
Last year I was contacted by disgruntled client of AutographsAmerica.com regarding albums he had purchased that appear to have been signed by a deceased artist. To read more about this story and hear it in the words of the victim, click here.
You may also wish to read the story of Vince Pupillo, the man that managed to get a $20,000 refund from autographsamerica.com(via his credit card company). One of Vince's many purchases was an album signed by the deceased John Lennon signed almost ten years after his death.
AutographsAmerica.com Owner Arrested on Assault Charge
On March 27, 2011 Brian Neil Burkel, the notorious owner of AutographsAmerica.com was arrested for assault; his most recent court appearance was June 6, 2011. Once we have obtained the documents detailing Mr. Burkels latest court adventure, we will of course post them. Burkel has a history of violence against women; see related doc below regarding a previous arrest for punching a pregnant woman in the stomach.
Brian Neil Burkel
BURKEL, BRIAN NEIL
ASSAULT 4TH DV
Superior Court Case Summary Court: King Co Superior Ct Case Number: 11-2-11552-6
Sub
Docket Date
Docket Code
Docket Description
Misc Info
1
03-28-2011
PET ORD FOR PROTECTION
Pet Ord For Protection
2
03-28-2011
CASE INFORMATION COVER SHEET LOCK
Case Information Cover Sheet Original Location - Kent
3
03-28-2011
TEMP ORD FOR PROTECTION EXP0004
Temp Ord For Prot Order/nthg -issd Ex-parte, Dept - Kent
04-11-2011MF
4
04-11-2011
MOTION HEARING FAM0002
Motion Hearing Family Law - Kent
5
04-11-2011
ORD FOR PROTECTION FAM0002
Ord For Protection/issd Family Law - Kent
6
04-11-2011
RETURN OF SERVICE
Return Of Service
7
04-11-2011
ORDER FOR EXPERT SERVICES
Order For Expert Services
8
04-26-2011
SHERIFF'S RETURN OF SERVICE
Sheriff's Return Of Service
9
06-14-2011
APPLICATION
Application Terminate Protective Or
10
06-14-2011
ORD MOD/TRM TERMS OF PROT ORD EXP0004
Order Modifying Protective Ord/issd Ex-parte, Dept - Kent
11
06-20-2011
SHERIFF'S RETURN OF SERVICE
Sheriff's Return Of Service
Previous Assault Charge
Canadian Scammer Allegedly Nets $450 Million
June 01, 2011
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has filed a complaint against an Alberta-based "online operation" that has allegedly bilked customers out of nearly half a billion dollars. In a statement issued earlier this week, the FTC said the complaint centres on 10 online marketing companies controlled by Jesse Willms, a 23-year-old Alberta man.
The FTC has accused those companies of defrauding customers in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand out of more than US$450 million. That allegation has not been proven in court, and Willms has not faced any charges.
Jess Willms
According to the complaint, which was filed May 16, Willms' companies operate a scam in which customers are offered "free" or "risk-free" trials and are then charged for products or services they never agreed to buy.
The free trials, advertised through spam and pop-up ads, were for items such as acai berry weight-loss pills, teeth whiteners, health supplements, free credit reports, access to government grants and a work-at-home plan.
Once customers had signed on, the FTC alleges that they often incurred unauthorized monthly charges, typically for $79.95. The complaint also alleges that customers had problems cancelling the charges or securing a refund, despite a money-back guarantee. "The defendants used the lure of a ‘free' offer to open an illegal pipeline to consumers' credit card and bank accounts," said David C. Vladeck, director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, in the statement.
"‘Free' must really mean ‘free' no matter where the offer is made." The complaint seeks to stop the alleged illegal scam and to force the companies to repay their customers for money earned through "deceptive tactics." Willms has at least half a dozen websites devoted to his activities. Most tout his philanthropic work.
One site describes him as "a true Canadian success story." It also includes a statement denying the FTC's allegations. "We believe our business practices are compliant with the law and are working to resolve this disagreement with the appropriate government agencies," Willms wrote. "Our companies give consumers the opportunity to buy a variety of products and services at significant savings."
Willms also wrote that he has hired James Kaminski, a Washington-based lawyer who used to work for the FTC "to try to resolve this matter quickly." A number of Canadian authorities including the RCMP, the Alberta Partnership Against Cross Border Fraud and the Competition Bureau of Canada have been assisting in the investigation, the FTC said.
The companies facing allegations include Circle Media Bids, Coastwest Holdings, Farend Services, JDW Media, Net Soft Media, Sphere Media and True Net. All are registered in Canada.
The Walton County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO) today arrested Kristina Marie Walters, 25, of Houston, Texas, for Internet fraud.
The WCSO investigation began Dec. 2009 when investigators received information from a Walton County victim who wired $10,000 to the online seller of two vintage motorcycles that were never delivered. The seller, “Stephen Mitchell,” persuaded the victim to wire the funds to a bank account in Louisiana administered by Walters. She withdrew $9,500 the same day.
The investigation revealed that Walters conspired with Clifford Booty, 49, of Denham, La., who fictitiously created pseudo name “Stephen Mitchell” as the seller of the merchandise, to mislead the unknowing victim to wire funds to a legitimate bank account.
Walters was charged with one count of criminal conspiracy, a first-degree misdemeanor; one count of grand theft, a third-degree felony; and one count of advertising fraud, a first-degree misdemeanor. She was booked into the Walton County Jail.
Booty is being investigated for similar crimes in other states and Canada. The WCSO is presently seeking a warrant for his arrest.
The WCSO encourages citizens to become familiar with the following safety tips for avoiding non-delivery of merchandise and to prevent scammers from fraudulently obtaining personal or financial information:
• Obtain a physical address rather than simply a post office box and a telephone number, and call the seller to see if the telephone number is correct and working.
• Send an e-mail to the seller to make sure the e-mail address is active, and be wary of those that utilize free e-mail services where a credit card wasn’t required to open the account.
• Consider not purchasing from sellers who won’t provide you with this type of information.
• Be cautious when dealing with individuals/companies from outside your area.
• If possible, purchase items online using your credit card, because you can often dispute the charges if something goes wrong.
Illinois man scammed out of $200,000
April 4, 2011
The Internet is a wonderful thing, but not all of our ancient human brains are equipped to handle it. In Naperville, Illinois, a 48-year-old man just discovered that his online girlfriend of 2.5 years isn’t real. Worse, he’s wired her more than $200,000 throughout the relationship.
That’s right. Pent up for love and obviously ignorant about the dangers of the Internet, the poor man wired tens of thousands of dollars to different bank accounts in Nigeria, Malaysia, England, and the U.S., thinking he was helping out his girlfriend. What stories “she” told him to get the money, we do not know. Fellas, if you see the word “Nigeria” and a money request in the same correspondence, it can never mean good things.
The relationship would have gone on even longer, but the man panicked when he found out his “girlfriend” had been kidnapped in London. He called the police for assistance and showed them a copy of the woman’s ID. The tech-savvy police did a Google search and figured out that the ID was a sample driver’s licence from Florida. In other words, it wasn’t real. The man “was in disbelief” when police informed him that his girlfriend wasn’t real.
Orem woman scammed out of $200,000
February 2011
OREM — Police are warning about the potential dangers of online dating sites after a woman was swindled out of approximately $200,000. About a year ago, a 39-year-old Orem woman met a man on the online dating site, LDSLinkUp.com. The website advertises itself as "the world's largest LDS social network, where tens of thousands of church members from over 50 countries meet new people through networks of friends."
The man, who claimed his name was Richard Smart Frisch Jr. and was a businessman from the United Kingdom, started having conversations back and forth with the woman, said Orem Police Sgt. Craig Martinez. After awhile, he got comfortable enough with her to start asking for money. He would have her wire money of various amounts overseas, to several locations, Martinez said.
The amounts ranged from $5,000 to $10,000 at a time, he said. And the reasons varied from business ventures to medical bills. "He said one time he had been kidnapped and needed ransom money," Martinez said.
On Monday, after about a year of having contact with the man, the woman went to police."It's highly unlikely we'll get any of that money back," Martinez said, noting that his detectives would be trying their hardest to recover as much as they could.
Martinez said he has seen other cases of people being scammed through online dating sites. In one case, a male victim was convinced he was engaged to a woman and was going to marry her.
This is the first time Martinez has heard of a victim in Orem being swindled on that particular social network, he said, adding that he doesn't believe it was just LDS people that the scammers targeted.
"I think they're targeting people who are looking for online love," he said. "I think it's everywhere." The case should serve as a reminder to people to make sure they really know the identity of the person on the other end of the computer before sending money, police said.
Scammer Gets 12 Years in Prison
3 September 2010
A Nigerian man has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for sending out fraudulent e-mails offering victims big bucks in exchange for moving cash to the United States.
Okpako Mike Diamreyan, 31, was sentenced to 151 months of prison Wednesday by United States District Judge Janet Hall in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
Diamreyan made more than US$1.3 million in a scam that suckered 67 victims between 2004 to 2009, prosecutors said. This type of fraud, called an advance-fee scam, was the number-one type of Internet fraud in 2009, according to the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation. Last year, advance-fee fraud accounted for nearly 17 percent of the Internet fraud logged by the FBI.
Diamreyan pretended to be different people -- Prince Nana Kamokai of Sierra Leone or an airport director from Ghana, for example. He said he needed to move between $11.5 million and $23.4 million out of the country and offered victims 20 percent of the funds, if they would help him out.
After using fake documentation to convince his victims that he was legitimate, Diamreyan would get them to wire him different types of fees such as "PIN code fees" or courier services charges with the understanding that they would then get the money. These fees would pile up, but the promised money never arrived.
The scam left "many individuals and their families in financial ruin," the U.S. Department of Justice said in a statement. Diamreyan immigrated to the United States in 2008 and allegedly told an acquaintance that he wanted to make $1 million or so before going home to Nigeria: "I want to forget america and come back home... once I take like 1m or half m," prosecutors quote him as saying. He was arrested in August 2009 and found guilty by a jury in February.
Banks Issue Phishing Scam Warnings
25 June 2010
Scammers are phishing in the Coachella Valley and local banks are warning residents not to take the bait.
Phishing is a type of Internet scam used to obtain confidential information via e-mail, it is a type of identity theft that is an industry-wide, financial experts say.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation's name was even fraudulently used in a phishing scheme, according to the FDIC website.
Click Image to See Emails
While not a new issue, the problem is “rampant” enough that Indian Wells Councilman Bill Powers, who recently retired as president and CEO of Pacific Western Bank, addressed the issue during the city's June 17 council meeting; “There's an awful lot of phishing going on,” Powers said. “So be careful.”
The Anti-Phishing Working Group estimates that more than 2,600 active phishing sites exist on the Internet, all aimed at conning people into divulging sensitive financial information. Powers was prompted to make the public warning after a few friends contacted him about e-mails they received from Pacific Western Bank.
Bank of America and Wells Fargo patrons also reported receiving similar e-mails, officials say.
“Phishing e-mails are randomly sent and generally, fraudsters don't know if people they send them to are Wells Fargo or Wachovia customers. They simply hope that a percentage of their messages will be received by our customers,” said Amy Savicky, spokeswoman for Wells Fargo.
Customers are encouraged to report such scams to their banks. “Bank of America e-mail will never ask customers to reply with any personal information or data,” said Colleen Haggerty, spokeswoman for Bank of America. “When in doubt, do not click on any links provided"
See our menu bar for phishing scam emails!
Kansas City: Real Wealth Inc Scam Busted
27 January 2010
KANSAS CITY, Mo. Real Wealth Inc. runs real scams, one of which is training customers how to run their own scams, the Federal Trade Commission claims in Federal Court. The FTC also sued Lance Murkin and eight other companies he runs out of Lee's Summit, Mo. Since 2003, the FTC says, "Defendants have brought in millions of dollars from marketing their schemes to at least 100,000 consumers nationwide."
Real Wealth runs two different types of schemes - work at home and cash grant. For its work-at-home scheme, victims are charged an upfront fee of $9.99 to $99.99 and promised enormous financial returns from sending out mailers, the FTC says. But the customers get nothing for their money except, sometimes, a booklet instructing them how to run their own deceptive schemes, according to the complaint.
"In the course of marketing, promoting, offering for sale and selling their work-at home schemes, Defendants represent, directly or indirectly, expressly or by implication, that purchasers of Defendants' work-at-home schemes will be paid for simply mailing items," the FTC says. "In truth and in fact, purchasers of Defendants' work-at-home schemes are not paid for simply mailing items."
In the cash grant scheme, customers also send in a fee, for which they get a booklet that lists contact information for government agencies or foundations that purportedly have given money to customers, or a booklet that claims to list contact information for millionaires and celebrities who are giving money away, the FTC says. Some of the rich people, however, are dead.
Haiti Victim Scams
14 January 2010
As the world looks for ways to help the victims of Haiti's earthquake, the FBI is now warning that there are also those who are looking for opportunities set up scams surrounding the latest disaster relief efforts. The FBI advises that people should be very skeptical of any unsolicited appeals they receive or find on the Internet. One month after Hurricane Katrina, the FBI said it was suspicious of most of the 4,600 Web sites soliciting money on behalf of those victims. Within an hour of the World Trade Center attacks, scam sites popped up on the Web.
Web sites are not the only way criminals try to get their hands on charity funds -- they might also send you an e-mail, a letter, phone you or even knock on your door. Here are some tips from the FBI and the Better Business Bureau on how to make sure your money goes to people in need.
• Be skeptical if someone e-mails you or contacts you through social networking sites claiming to be a quake victim or a government or charity official and asks for donations, the FBI says. Also, the agency says, do not click on any links within those e-mails. And do not click on attached files labeled photos or video because they may contain viruses.
• It's OK to be suspicious. Ask for the name, phone number and address of the charity. The American Institute of Philanthropy says honest charities encourage you to know about them and respond to your questions. Also, request that they put the information in writing.
• However, do not give them your personal or financial information, because that may leave you vulnerable to identity theft.
• Don't be misled by a charity name that "sort of sounds familiar." Scammers may change one word in the title to trick you.
• Ask what percentage of the money you give actually reaches the needy. You also can designate how your donation is to be used.
• Don't ever donate cash. Make the check out to the name of the charity, not the person asking for money. And get a receipt with the name of the charity on it. Do NOT give your credit card number to telemarketers or use it on a Web site of a charity you have not checked out.
• If the person seeking your donation asks you to give more, that may be a sign that something is wrong. Legitimate charities are grateful, not demanding.
WARRANT ISSUED FOR CAUVINS ARREST, AGAIN!
26 November 2009
On November 13th Yves Cauvin faild to appear before a Washington State Judge on a Civil Court matter regarding a judgement against him. A warrant (PDF on right) with a $25,000 bail has been issued against Cauvin. Cauvin also failed to appear the next week for pre-trial motions in the Felony Theft case that was set to go to trial on December 1, 2009. Cauvins trial has been suspended until he can be located and returned to custody.
Cauvin is also on two years probation for stalking his x-wife Kim, and was just released from jail a week prior to vanishing. If you know the whereabouts of Julian Yves Cauvin contact the police immediately. He is a known drug addict with a lengthy history of violence with weapons.
UPDATE: Cauvin has been located and is currently schedule for trial in February 2010.
“In 2005, Marcia Smith was employed as a processor for Yves Cauvin, a.k.a. Julian Cauvin, a loan originator affiliated with Solutions Financial Group, Inc., a mortgage brokerage operating in Bellevue.
Cauvin convinced Smith to pose as a “straw buyer” in the acquisition of a property located at 4502 119th Ave. SE. Bellevue, WA. “
“Cauvin generated a loan application that falsely identified Smiths employer as “Platinum Computers”.
Click Image to Read Full Story
In fact, Platinum Computers was a shell company created by Cauvin, for which he is the registered agent.
Cauvin falsely described Smiths gross monthly income at Platinum Computers as $10,000 per month.
In actuality, Smith was earning less than $20,000 per year as a loan processor at Solutions Financial”- Prosecutor Dan Satterberg
BEWARE OF AUTOGRAPHSAMERICA.COM !
11/02/2009
Michael Jackson signed memorabilia and other artifacts have more then tripled in price and forgery's are on the rise. One of the most prolific forgery operations operating on the web is none other than AutographsAmerica.com owned by Brian N. Burkel of Maple Valley Washington.
I have interviewed dozens of victims of this company, and seen many of the forgeries first hand. It appears Burkel is even able to get fresh autographs from the dead!
Read more about this multi-million dollar scam inside.
Washington State's infamous Yves Julian Cauvin was sent back to jail not once, but twice while awaiting trial for Felony Theft via Mortgage Fraud. On July 7th Cauvin was arrested for stalking his x-wife while she was shopping; Cauvin violated a lifelong No Contact Order by having contact with her.
CC220
LAKE FOREST PARK
10.99.040
Bail
$5,000.00
VIOLATION NCO - DV
Cauvin was immediately bailed out of jail once again by Jill Morganpage (VP of Sunfresh Foods inc.) of Shoreline Washington for $5,000. Once out, Cauvin was placed under house arrest by the courts and ordered to wear a monitoring device; with the provision that he could only leave for work purposes if he obtained a job (which he didn't have). Cauvin then alledgedly concocted a plan to create a phony job via a business owning friend.
The fraud was quickly discovered by the courts, and back to jail he went on July 26th with a $15,000 bond. Cauvins trial is currently scheduled to begin in September 08th, 2009, having been postponed 4 tims since June. Cauvin recently fired his Public Defender in the stalking case, and requested that he be allowed to represent himself. His request was denied, and he remains in custody.
CAUVIN, YVES Custody/Facility: Main Correctional Annex Book Date: 07/26/2009 19:15 BA: 209026532 Release Date: IN CUSTODY Charge(s): FTC VIO COURT ORDER
A Lagos High Court, Ikeja has sentenced a 25 year-old Computer Science graduate of Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago Iwoye, Ogun state, Adewale Arije, to 10 years imprisonment without an option of fine for defrauding an American company to the tune of N16million.
The Judge, Justice M.O. Obadina also ordered that goods recovered from the convict which were tendered as exhibits by the EFCC, be returned as restitution to the victim in the United States. (Read Full Story)
Adewale Arije
Information is Power!
Taiwan Man Cheats Boss by Posing as a Woman via Email
Wednesday 15th April, 2009
A Taiwan man has been indicted for posing as a woman and cheating his boss of money and gifts. Yeh Wei-che, 28, a clerk at the Chinatrust Commercial Bank, was indicted Tuesday on fraud charges, which carry a maximum seven-year sentence, the United Daily News said.
According to the News, Yeh hit upon the idea of fooling Chen, a deputy manager at the same bank, in October 2008 when he realized that Chen, 36, was single and desperate to find a girlfriend.
Seeing that Chen was not good at dating, Yeh introduced his cousin, who was studying in New York, to Chen. To create this fake cousin, Chen downloaded a pretty girl's photo from the Internet and emailed it to Chen and began to chat with Chen via MSN.
After Chen had been lured in, his “girlfriend” began to ask for money and gifts under various excuses, such as that her room had been burglarized, she needed money to buy a gift for her mother, needed a notebook computer and her mother was seriously ill.
Knowing that Chen's father owns an instant-noodle company, this cousin said she wanted to eat instant noodles and asked Chen to send her a carton of instant noodles. Chen was asked to give all the money and gifts to Yeh, so that Yeh would pass them over to the woman. The 'girlfriend' asked Chen to give Yeh 10,000 Taiwan dollars ($300) as a reward for introducing them. In the last six months, Chen gave his non-existent girlfriend 250,000 Taiwan dollars ($7,400) and many gifts. He became suspicious after his “girlfriend” recently said she was hospitalized and asked Chen to wire her $300, but would not let him fly to New York to visit her. Chen alerted police. The messages were tracked to Yeh who was arrested.
Oprah Offers Reward in Email Scam!
April 2009- Thousands of people across the U.S. have recently received an email saying that the Oprah Winfrey show wants them to attend a future "Oprah Millionaire Contest Show" episode, at which Oprah will give one lucky fan $1 million dollars.
The red flag was waved when senders were asked to eventually purchase a travel ticket of some sort and a ticket to the show itself. Although tickets to the show are extremely tough to get, they are free.
The FBI and the talk show queen warned fans that such an episode does not exist and is nothing more than just a scam. Oprah has offered a reward of $100,000! Click here for details
419 Scammer Nets 19 Year Prison Sentence
March 20, 2009 -A college student in Nigeria has been handed a 19 year prison sentence for scamming an Australian woman out of $47,000 online by pretending to be a widowed businessman in love with her.
A court in Ikeja in SW Nigeria ruled that Lawal Adekunie Nurudeen will have to pay back the 56-year-old woman by selling the two plots of land and the Honda Prelude he bought with the stolen money.Nurudeen was enrolled as an engineering student when he met the woman in 2007 online, according to reports by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Nurudeen pretended to be a 57-year-old British engineer working with a company in Nigeria. He told her his wife and only child had died in a road accident in Lagos, the former capital of the country. The woman agreed to marry him.A few weeks later, Nurudeen called the woman pretending to be a doctor. He told her that her fiancé had been in an accident and needed money for treatment. The woman sent the money. After two weeks, he then called the again, thanking her for her compassion and telling her that he would like to visit her in Australia. He asked her for airfare, cash for customs clearance and other necessities. He conned the woman of a total $47,000 before his arrest.
One scammer down, a million to go! - Allscams.us
Editors Note
Welcome to AllReaders.net, also known as AllScams.us. This site is dedicating to exposing the various scam artist's that use the art of writing to defraud billions of dollars each year from unsuspecting victims.
The most well known is the 419 scam; which delivers millions of "Readers" to email accounts across the globe each day with the hope that a small percentage of the recipients will take the bait. (See the 419 Scam page for the history and details of this scam)
"Please don't mistake my mail to other scam messages" - Mohammed Abacha
Various other scams are presented here; some are public record, some not. We've added a section on vacation scams as well as the most recent news out of Nigeria regarding prosecutions of Scam Artist.
Each month I uncover new scams, collect thousands in fake money orders, and attempt to uncover the true identity these scam artist. It makes truly entertaining reading material. I hope you enjoy the site, if you wish to learn more about Mohammed the Scammer (above right), just click on his picture.
If you would like to send information you have on a scam for consideration of being exposed, feel free to do so. Visit the Legal Aid section for victim assistance if you have already fallen victim to a scam artist.
See below to learn how you can assist us in our efforts to fight crime, and expose fraud throughout the U.S. and abroad with a small donation. AllReaders.net is an affiliate of both Google and Amazon.com.
Michael W. Creel Editor
AllScams.us a division of AllReaders.net
Scammer Confesses!
"sometimes in this life some must be honest to his or her self"
Once in a great while, a scammer comes clean and admits to me that they are in the 419 game. Rose Williams is one of those people.
She has sent me pictures and had discussions with me that have convinced me she is real, and she is being honest.
Read about how this came about, how she got into the game, the lies she was told, and her sincere desire to change her life and leave the 419 game behind.
"they promiss me that nothing is gono happing to me that i am protected"
