The State Bar has become aware of fraudulent schemes that have targeted lawyers’ client trust accounts throughout the country. From email that the ADO has received from its counterparts in other states, there appear to be two variations that have been used during the last few months. The first scheme is an advance fee “confidence scam” which involves what purports to be a business proposal from officials of a foreign government or foreign business. Typically the lawyer receives an unsolicited email from a company in China (or other location in Asia). The email states that the sender has found the lawyer’s name in an online legal directory The sender then advises the lawyer that he (or she) would like to retain the services of the lawyer to collect a judgment from a local business. The lawyer then performs some preliminary research and determines that the local business is a legitimate business. A contingency agreement is entered into. Within days, and prior to a demand letter being sent, the lawyer receives a cashier’s check from the local business for a large sum of money (normally several hundred thousand dollars) towards the judgment, with a note explaining the purpose of the check. The check appears to be from a local bank The lawyer then deposits the check into his/her client trust account. The Chinese business then contacts the lawyer and advises that the business needs all (or a portion) of the settlement proceeds immediately to cover on-going business expenses. The lawyer is advised that he/she can retain his/her contingency fees from the amount that is requested to be transmitted to the Chinese business. The lawyer then calls the bank in which he/she is holding client trust funds to inquire if funds are available, and is advised that they are. The funds (less the lawyer’s fees) are then wired to the scammer’s account in China (or elsewhere in the Far East). Within days, the lawyer is informed by the bank holding his/her client trust account that the local check was a forgery, and the lawyer is then out of trust by several hundred thousand dollars. The scams normally work because the victim lawyers do not appreciate the difference between funds that have “cleared” (or are collected), and funds that are available for use. Banks are required to make funds available for use within a few days of the deposit of checks, even though the funds often are not actually collected until nearly two weeks after the checks are deposited. The second type of scam that has been reported by other states involves the collection of a divorce settlement that has been allegedly reached with the scammer’s ex-husband. The scammer informs the lawyer that she is currently on assignment in a far eastern country and has an agreement for the husband to pay her several hundred thousand dollars, plus legal fees. The rest of the scam proceeds in a manner essentially similar to the judgment collection scam outlined above, and involves the deposit of a forged cashier’s check into the lawyer’s client trust account and the wiring of the client’s share to a foreign bank. Attorneys are warned that if the proposition appears too good to be true, it probably is. One should always be extremely wary of email communications from anyone you don’t know. Finally, it is extremely important that lawyers know the difference between available funds and collected funds
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Today's Wellness Wednesday
5 Ways Perfectionism and Depression Feed Off Each Other
www.psychologytoday.com
New research suggests that breaking the cycle could help recovery.This month's MoreThanALawyer is our Valentine's couple Bo Sweeney and Patty Jennings, Huntington attorneys who founded the annual Huntington Turkey Trot. Bo (Robert H Sweeney Jr.) is a member of Jenkins Fenstermaker, PLLC and Patty (Patricia A. Jennings) is an Appellate Judge on the Workers' Compensation Board of Review. Keep reading to learn how this month's couple raises awareness for the health and well-being of our students and our pets.
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"To whom much is given, much is expected. These are words we live by." In 2005, Bo and Patty visited family in St. Louis for Thanksgiving and participated in a Turkey Trot. The following year, they searched for a local race in the Huntington area but found none. One week before Thanksgiving they organized the first Huntington Turkey Trot with fifty participants and donated the proceeds to Little Victories Animal Rescue Shelter. Deciding the community needed an annual Turkey Trot, Bo and Patty vowed to get to work on this annual event for the benefit of the local animal shelter. Almost 10 years later, in 2015, the event boomed with over 1,000 entrants and raised $25,000.00 for Little Victories Animal Shelter. Later, they raised $30.000.00 for the shelter, and, even in the midst of the pandemic and with a virtual fundraiser, the Turkey Trot was able to raise $8,000.00 this past year. Bo and Patty, along with their son, Chip, and a slew of volunteers, make this wonderful event happen every year.
"The Turkey Trot taught us that when you happen onto something great, make the most of it. We had no idea how popular a Thanksgiving race would become, but we soon capitalized on the trend. Now thousands of participants in our community enjoy gathering on Thanksgiving morning for fellowship and health and to benefit animals in need." Bo and Patty are proud that the Turkey Trot is now a family tradition, not only within their own family, but with so many in their community. Bo and Patty's family replaces Thanksgiving preparation the evening prior with packet pick-up and handing out t-shirts and numbers. Thanksgiving morning is spent excitedly preparing for the event and preparing for what feels like a party and a reunion for those attending. Following each race, awards are given which normally consist of Butterball turkeys and pumpkin pies. Donated bags of pet food are then delivered to the shelter.
Bo and Patty also have a soft spot for the students in their community. Long before COVID and school closures, Patty and Bo recognized that many students depend on schools for the two meals each day when school is in session. Starting with a grassroots food drive effort with area law firms in stocking pantries at Huntington High School and its feeder schools, they later merged efforts with Jenkins Fenstermaker and the Cabell County Bar Association. The CCBA and its members had regularly donated $4,000 in non-perishable food and hygiene products to the Huntington High School food pantry before the students would leave for the holiday break. Patty and Bo hope to increase efforts to combat food insecurity by expanding the food drive to the Spring and Summer breaks.
We absolutely LOVE our Valentine's Day Couple! Thank you for for being MORE Than A Lawyer. Your community and your Bar are grateful! Bo and Patty reside in Huntington with their 5 dogs and 2 cats. They were nominated by @Sarah Walling who is an attorney with Jenkins Fenstermaker and is now co-director of the Turkey Trot.
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What is our MoreThanALawyer campaign all about? It highlights all the ways West Virginia’s attorneys impact lives within and outside of their profession. West Virginia's lawyers are service members, volunteers, mentors, coaches, musicians and committed advocates. In all of these roles, they make a difference in their community. Each month we share a MoreThanALawyer story on West Virginia State Bar’s Facebook and Twitter pages.