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 We are grateful to have the opportunity to provide you this valuable information via our monthly e-newsletter and our
unparalleled forensic accounting and
investigative services.
The goal of this e-newsletter is to provide you critical, inside information that will help you prevail when defending an IRS criminal case. We will do this by sharing the knowledge we have from our 25+ years of experience as an IRS Special Agent.
We take special care to ensure the information we provide you in "The Beacon" is the latest and most current information available.
In this edition, we explain the scam being used to scam attorneys.
We want to write about topics
that
will assist you in prevailing with criminal IRS cases. Please e-mail us your topics of interest to
[email protected]
We encourage you to share our e-newsletter with others in your sphere of influence.
Sincerely,
Edmond J. Martin
Principal, Chief Investigator
Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE)
Texas Certified Investigator (TCI)
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Attorneys Beware: scammers are after you
Beware the scammers are attempting to gain access to your trust accounts. Recently, an attorney who received an email advising that a Swedish company needed the assistance of an attorney to complete a business transaction contacted Sage Investigations LLC.
The Swedish company, ISEA AB-represented by Olle Stenberg, was selling medical equipment to a large healthcare supply company with a contract price of $9,737,700. The sale required an experienced Austin, TX attorney to draft a Sales & Purchase Agreement. It required an inspection of the equipment before transportation to the United States, and the healthcare company needed an escrow agent to handle the inspection. As a test, the attorney accepted their offer after fleshing out more details through email.
With an Engagement Letter in place the attorney received an overnight package purportedly from the ISEA AB. The package contained a Transmittal Letter, two cashier's checks, one for $5,000 (retainer) and the second for $468,885.00 (inspection fee), along with a Letter of Intent for Purchase of Medical Equipment all dated May 6, 2016. The transmittal required: deposit of the checks within 24 hours, payment of the retainer fee, the requirement that the initial deposit be made seven days after the inspection, and the Sales & Purchase Agreement sent to the seller.
Red Flags Review:
With minimal due diligence, Sage Investigation, LLC determined that ISEA AB is a consulting company and not a supplier of medical equipment. The website for I
SEA states it is "a professional service organization that represents a large number of senior executives and experts with proven records of commercial or societal achievements. ISEA's experts deliver strategic advice and operational support within a wide variety of expertise areas, leveraging the accumulated knowledge from previous experiences."
The Transmittal Letter for the healthcare company contained a logo that was different than that on the Letter of Intent. The Letter of Intent addressed to the attorney was dated May 6, 2016, but the date signed by the healthcare company's CFO as Buyer, and Olle Stenberg as Seller was shown as May 5, 2016.
The email contact and communications were mainly through
read more...
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About Us
Serving your needs is our priority.  At Sage Investigations we are dedicated to serving our clients nationally, to help them navigate the difficulties of dealing with the IRS, and other complex (forensic) financial fraud investigations both civil and criminal. By narrowing our focus to our primary strength of following the money, we steer our knowledge, efforts, and experience to financial issues. We help our clients propel their cases forward by assisting in the review, acquisition, and organization of financial records, evaluating the elements of their cases, and helping create winning strategies. Through the use of our proprietary advanced financial investigative technology we analyze complex financial data quickly, easily and efficiently, saving our client's time and money. Sage handles all cases with altruism, professionalism, honesty, integrity, passion and respect. When you hire Sage, you hire a team of professionals with skill and knowledge that helps you have more effective solutions. We are innovative with our DIO cutting edge technology, and perform every investigation in an orderly and organized manner to develop a clear investigative roadmap and deliver a quality work product. The compass that guides us is strong leadership and accountability. Learn more... Contact Us
P.O. Box 160161
Austin, TX 78716 Phone: 512-659-3179 Fax: 512-328-6878 Email: [email protected] www.sageinvestigations.com Texas License #A10803 |
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© 2016 Sage Investigations. All rights reserved.
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