| Anonymous
Sausalito, CA, United States
2013-09-21 01:53:01
Nigerian/419 Scam
|  Sakhalin Trust Investment Company - Scammers with Experience, they do everything right until time for transfer arrives! First a guy named Sergey contacted me from the \'project team\'. Per Sergey\'s request, I sent him additional info on our company. Next, Vitaly, the supposed Director of Sakhalin reached out to me. After initial contact, he began/conducted a due diligence effort on my company before offering a binding Funding Agreement. The Funding Agreement came with a sizable loan offer (over 10 years) for over $1m. After him introducing me to a local bilingual attorney that \"had worked with many US clients in the past and successfully closed the deal,\" per Vitaly, I sent some funds that were required to be paid to the \'Ministry of Justice\' in Russia, required fees of $4,820 to grant Dennis Prodko (the bilingual attorney; working all along with Vitaly) a Limited Power of Attorney to act on my behalf at the Bank of Moscow (where the funds were supposedly being transferred out of). After 30 days of BSing from both Vitaly and Dennis lapsed, so did the Limited Power of Attorney, so I was forced to pay an additional $4,820 to the Ministry of Justice again. After which, I was informed that I needed to obtain an insurance policy (per section 4 of the agreement, like Key Man Insurance Policy). Vitaly said he could broker it with the help of Dennis and the cost would be $16k. When I told Vitaly that I did not have the capability of raising the full $16k, I was told that he could cover $7k if I was able to come up with the $9k. I did come up with the $9k, sent it to Dennis (per instructions of Vitaly). After this I waited many weeks only to be jerked around for some problem at the Bank of Moscow or some other problem. Finally, I was given a transfer confirmation slip that said the amounts were to be transferred to my bank in the United States. I waited... I waited... nothing. Finally, Vitaly and Dennis both presented independent reasons as to why the transfer was being delayed. Upon my massive frustration with the deal, I told I wanted out or I would use the federal authorities to track them down. At this point, Vitaly retreated and said that if I put my wishes to pull out of the deal in writing, then he would refund all the fees that I had spent (related to Ministry of Justice fess and Insurance Policy fees). I did just this. It has now been two weeks without a word from either Dennis or Vitaly. Yet, I have been in contact with another capital-raising entrepreneur located in another state of the USA. He is still in the middle of the deal with Vitaly and Dennis and said he is still speaking to them via phone and email on a daily basis. No other way to chalk it up, except by calling it what it is: a scam. |
