# Unwittingly dragged into the middle of a scam. Yipe! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 24, 2008, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unwittingly-dragged-into-the-middle-of-a-scam-yipe/478505 "2008-12-24T05:03:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unwittingly-dragged-into-the-middle-of-a-scam-yipe/478505/61 "2009-09-04T22:27:22Z")
> [@choie](#): > > I don’t know. I don’t have ANY evidence to present whatsoever, and the crime is at least three or four weeks old (back when I saw the papers in the recycling bin) and the victim himself denies that he’s a victim. Yes, but depending on the channels that his money is flowing through, his contributions may be laundered, which _is_ a crime. Granted, he is a victim, but he may also be contributing to other crimes, and unknowingly to both. Tripler Call the FBI, or at least the State. They ought to be able to investigate it all. ---
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2009, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unwittingly-dragged-into-the-middle-of-a-scam-yipe/478505/62 "2009-09-04T22:29:16Z")
I doubt the FBI would do a thing. For starters, there needs to be a victim who wants to do something about it, and there simply isn’t in this case. **choie** , you’ve done all you can, and more than most would do. Fred wants something for nothing, and he’s not going to let anyone stop him. ---
**Author:** ![choie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/choie/32/7829_2.png) [@choie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choie)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2012, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unwittingly-dragged-into-the-middle-of-a-scam-yipe/478505/63 "2012-02-18T23:39:24Z")
Sorry again for the egregious bump, but I was cleaning out my closet and found some old files related to this situation – the papers “Fred” printed out related to his expenditures in the case apparently in an attempt to rope in another friend (“Max”) for a loan to participate in this patently fradulant scam. I’d almost forgotten all about this, so it was quite a trip seeing this stuff down in writing. Anyway, I thought it might be interesting / educational to see just how much this poor bastard was taken for, and _how_ these fees were justified to him. Hopefully Max didn’t buy into this crap. Anyway, here’s the memo: > [@my poor deluded old dupe neighbor Fred](#): > > FROM: “FRED” > TO: “MAX” > > PROJECTION OF COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH ACQUIRING 2 TRUNKS(note 1) RESIDING AT JFK INTERNATIONAL ARRIVALS TERMINAL IN THE POSSESSION OF BESTLINK DIPLOMATIC COURIER SERVICES (“BCS”) TRUNKS TO BE DELIEVERED TO THE ABOVE ADDRESS (_referring to Fred’s name/address at the top of the page_): > ROWLAND SCOTT (note 2) SENDS BOXES TO NYC: $5,990 > > US CUSTOMS requires BCS to secure a non inspection fee: $2,320 > > US CUSTOMS requires BCS to secure an Int’l shipping permit: $950 > > DEMURRAGE ASSESSMENT: $4,300 > > TOTAL: $13,560 > > ============================== > > FURTHER AMOUNTS PAID BY (Fred’s full name): > > STORAGE: $2,500 > UK Certificate of Origin: $1,500 > UK Certificate of Origin Document: $1,850 > UK Inland Revenue: $5,500 > US - PATRIOT’s Act: $6,000 > US - PATRIOT’s Act Document: $2,000 > NIGERIAN ESTATE TAX: $8,500 (see note 4) > MINISTRY OF HOUSING - Certificate of Occupency: $1,500 paid, $1,150 not yet paid (see note 5) > > TOTAL: $30,500 > > CHRONOLOGY OF RECENT FINANCIAL EVENTS: > > 1. A client of Barrister Jonathan Goldring (“JG”) named Patrick Daniels offers to borrow $10K as a First Mortgage Loan against his father’s house > > 2. Olive Micro Bank agrees to make this First Mortgage Loan > > 3. OMB receives a $1,200 refundable security deposit from (Fred’s real name) > > 4. OMB requires a valid Certificate of Origin to make loan. (Fred) pays legal fee in connection with rendering of this document ($500) > > 5. OMB advises Patrick Daniels that it will not honor the First Mortage Loan until Daniels secures a valid Certificate of Origin > > 6. Jonathan Goldring sells car (see note 6) > > NOTES: > > Note 1: The 2 trunks contain $5 million USD and are being held by the Diplomat who is responsible for delivery. The Diplomat intends to stay in NYC through Tuesday. > > Note 2: Rowland Scott is Chief Security Officer, Central Bank of Nigeria. His economic interest is 10%, i.e. $500,000. > > Note 3: (_Fred’s full name_ - ed.) has an interest valued at 90% ($4.5 million). He is prepared to vest 50%, or $2.25M, to an investor who is willing to cover the Demurrage Assessment of $4,300. It is important to understand that we are dealing with US Customs and some other incidental charges may crop up. > > Note 4 - (Fred) sends Cynthia Goldring (_I have no idea who this is supposed to be, perhaps the alleged Jonathan Goldring’s wife - choie_) $2000 in March; a $6,500 check for the remainder held in escrow by Cynthia Goldring bounces > > Note 5 - $1,500 + Western Union Charge - $40. Amount needed: $1,190 > > Note 6 - Goldring recieves $1,500 for his car and applies funds to the Closing > > ============================== > > SUMMARY By (FRED): On 3/24/09, Patrick Daniels, a civil servant client of Barrister Jonathan Goldring arrange a $10,000 collateralized financing, using his father’s house, valued at $45,000 as collateral. Olive Micro Bank agreed to the loan and received a non-refundable $1,200 deposit on Tuesday. The next day Daniels found out that a legal fee of $500 was needed. This was arranged on Thursday. On Friday, Daniels discovered that Olive Micro Bank would not honor the loan until a valid Certificate of Occupancy was issued. The cost of this C of O: $2,650. That amount has been reduced to $1,650 as a result of Goldring selling his car for $1,500. Daniels will be paying the $6,500 fee to the Ministry of Housing from loan proceeds. First payment applies to (Fred)'s inheritance. > > Max, if you help here, you will get an additional $16,500 from Goldring. I shall have Goldring pay the $4,300 to Rowland Scott and I shall give you $250,000 from the two trunks. It’s really quite astonishing that anyone could be duped by this obvious ploy to drag and drag the process out by adding more and more implausible fund requirements on Fred’s part, not to mention the absurd notion of an attorney selling his car in order to help pay for Fred’s inheritence, and the even more absurd notion that a “Diplomat” would hold on to two trunks with $2.5million in cash in an airport locker. It sounds like a bad Robert Ludlum or Ken Follett novel for chrissakes. I have no idea what happened to Fred after he moved out, presumably with no or very little money left. Maybe he moved in with his alleged girlfriend, you know, your average Canadian gal studying law in NYC but acting as an attorney in Nigeria. (Presumably “she” was really a Nigerian male, probably also acting as Jonathan Goldring and all the other players in this grubby little scam.) Meanwhile, Fred’s former live-in (the neighbor I knew better) ran out of funds herself about six months later and was taken to court by my landlord, and unfortunately decided to give up and move back home to Germany. I actually tried to help her by sharing some resources I know about for seniors who are in financial difficulty and can’t pay their rent (my sister’s a case worker who deals with many such agencies), but I think my neighbor was just so soured on NYC altogether, not to mention what happened with Fred, that she preferred to let the Landlord win by default and left for Germany. Pathetic and sad. Anyway, I’m adding these names and info here because just on the off-chance someone searches for these _completely fake_ bank, attorney and diplomat names, maybe it’ll help. Plus, I admit trainwrecks like this are interesting, though this had real consequences for the victims. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2012, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unwittingly-dragged-into-the-middle-of-a-scam-yipe/478505/64 "2012-02-18T23:43:48Z")
> [@choie](#): > > Sorry again for the egregious bump,\ Not an egregious bump at all - I LOVE updates! ---
**Author:** ![lavenderviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/cdc98d/32.png) [@lavenderviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lavenderviolet)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2012, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unwittingly-dragged-into-the-middle-of-a-scam-yipe/478505/65 "2012-02-19T00:05:26Z")
This is a very sad story. I hate to see anyone scammed, but especially seniors who are often so vulnerable and don’t have time to rebuild their lives after something like this. It does sound like you did what you could to try to help him, and it’s a shame that he wouldn’t listen. However I can kind of see how once someone has gotten roped in, they are probably desperate to believe it’s true because it would be hard to face the reality that they’ve wasted the money that was already sent. ---
**Author:** ![choie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/choie/32/7829_2.png) [@choie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choie)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2012, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unwittingly-dragged-into-the-middle-of-a-scam-yipe/478505/66 "2012-02-19T00:28:15Z")
Hee, **Cat Whisperer** – I love updates too, I hate when we get left hanging! This wasn’t much of an update, just some new, more detailed info. Alas, the principal players all vanished. Ended with a whimper, not a bang. (I admit a morbid curiosity and I checked for this guy’s real name with news articles just in case he died. I hope he had some relatives somewhere with whom he could live.) **lavenderviolet** , thanks. It really is a massive shame and I’d say until he actually continued asking me to use my computer despite my discomfort in the situation, and especially when he was badtalking the woman with whom he was living _and_ internet-cheating on\*, I felt nothing but sympathy toward him. It’s extremely typical for fraudsters to make the victims feel guilty/surreptitious about what they’re doing and so the victims get on the defensive to those trying to help, which is what happened here. Even years later I still feel guilty for not contacting the police or feds involved with internet crime, at least in order to get advice. If they told me there wasn’t anything they could do without input from the alleged fraud victims, at least I’d’ve known I’d done my duty. So yeah, I think I fell down on the job. - Hmm, my mind’s a blank: what’s the phrase for when someone is involved with one person while engaging in increasingly sexual discussions (but not actually physically interacting) with another? I know some don’t actually consider that cheating, just harmless flirting – while others consider it emotional betrayal if nothing else – but either way, I’m almost certain there’s a term for it. I can see arguments for and against the cheating designation, but in this case, since Fred was also semi-conspiring with this “woman” to get a big payoff and probably run away with her to some paradise on the upper East Side, I _do_ think he was cheating on his live-in lady. And possibly stealing from her, for all I know. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that this woman was living in this building at least as long as I’ve been – 20 years now, and she was almost certainly rent stabilized like I am – but once Fred began this ridiculous scam business, she was suddenly falling down on her rent and unable to continue living here. OTOH, she was always a notorious drinker and I think she was hiding that from Fred too (she was always sucking on Lifesavers or cough drops whenever I met her in the hallway, despite obviously being drunk). Yeesh, what an oddly grubby couple for this upper-East Side doorman building. Then again I also have a bunch of early thirtysomething too-old-to-be-living-like-college-kids guys who get drunk almost every night and even once barged into my sister’s apartment (one floor below 'em) late at night thinking it was their apartment, proceeding to go to the bathroom(!) despite my sister yelling at the guy to get the hell out. So this floor seems to be the Substance Abuse ghetto of the building. ---
**Author:** ![LurkerInNJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ed655f/32.png) [@LurkerInNJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkerInNJ)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2012, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unwittingly-dragged-into-the-middle-of-a-scam-yipe/478505/67 "2012-02-19T04:31:28Z")
I think you need to show Fred’s girlfriend these documents and explain what is going on in case Fred is siphoning money from her. She really needs to know. ---
**Author:** ![choie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/choie/32/7829_2.png) [@choie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choie)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2012, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unwittingly-dragged-into-the-middle-of-a-scam-yipe/478505/68 "2012-02-19T04:45:06Z")
> [@LurkerInNJ](#): > > I think you need to show Fred’s girlfriend these documents and explain what is going on in case Fred is siphoning money from her. > > She really needs to know. Yeah I was mulling that over at the time, but decided it might be prudent to just keep my mouth shut lest I end up in the center of some horrible murder-suicide situation. At any rate, this is kind of a zombie thread (though I was the one to de-necrotize it), so as I mentioned in my update, all the players have since left the stage. Fred moved out in either 2009 or 2010 (don’t remember which), and, um, “Ursula” left my building (and the country, for that matter) last year. ---
**Author:** ![FlyByNight512](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/82dd89/32.png) [@FlyByNight512](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyByNight512)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2012, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unwittingly-dragged-into-the-middle-of-a-scam-yipe/478505/69 "2012-02-19T06:33:48Z")
> [@choie](#): > > - Hmm, my mind’s a blank: what’s the phrase for when someone is involved with one person while engaging in increasingly sexual discussions (but not actually physically interacting) with another? I know some don’t actually consider that cheating, just harmless flirting – while others consider it emotional betrayal if nothing else – but either way, I’m almost certain there’s a term for it. I’d call that an emotional affair. Hopefully I never have to find out, but I suspect I could forgive a cheating partner who ‘just had sex’ more easily than one who went and fell in love with someone else, even if they never actually touched each other. Considering the average 419er’s lack of grammar, punctuation, and general facility with the English language, I’m rather amazed that the romance ploys work as well as they do. I have a hard time imagining a mugu putting on a convincing enough performance to win hearts. I’m sorry to hear your neighbor had to learn his lesson the hard way. It sounds like you did everything you ethically could, though. Thanks for the update. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unwittingly-dragged-into-the-middle-of-a-scam-yipe/478505.md?page=3)