Complaint Review: Futureview Ltd.

I am reporting an elaborate internet scam, which is based or linked to a securities company called "Futureview Financial Services, Ltd.", in Lagos Nigeria.  They used a caucasian female decoy named "Katy Andrews" to make initial contact via the internet.  Her picture was used in an avatar, and I was sporadically sent pictures of her to try and convince me of her existence.  She also called me over the telephone, and the voice of "Katy" was clearly female, and had an English-sounding accent.  (The real 'Katy' is clearly a co-conspirator in crime, probably befriended by someone involved in Futureview.) 

"Katy" claimed to be a nurse originally from Liverpool, England, but currently working abroad in Africa, for UNICEF.  She claims to be in line to inherit two properties - one from her late father in Napoli (Naples) Italy, and the other from her mother in London, England.  Katy claimed to be owed a large paycheck by UNICEF; I was assured that once Katy made it to the UK, she would be able to deposit her paycheck, and I would be able to join her in the UK, and we could begin a life together, with her brand-new property as our home. 

After convincing me to wire her money for her plane fare to the UK (using an intermediary, whom Katy claimed was the manager of the hotel in which she was staying), she claimed that her mother had become ill, and that she and her half-sister "Jenny Lloyds" had care for her.  Katy then claimed to suddenly flee the UK in fear of certain male relatives, who were supposedly posing threats to her after Katy inherited the estate.  This was the first of many clever 'delaying' tactics used to prevent me from ever meeting "Katy".

She claimed to be in Italy, in order to claim her late father's estate in Naples.  She also claimed to have spent most of her paycheck on various things (her late mother's care, and enrolling her half-sister Jenny in college.)  An attorney named Michael Thomas claimed to be her lawyer and go-between.  I was told that Michael's role was to oversee the claiming and re-sale of the property in Italy.  I was convinced to wire him money for Katy's food and medication needs while they attempted to find a buyer for the house.  I also was convinced to wire him money for Katy's 'work permit' fee. 

Some key developments happened while "Katy" was in Italy;  the first was the alleged sale of the house back in London.  I was informed that a local doctor named "Eugene Moore" had made a bid.  "Katy" then told me that the money was placed in escrow with the Futureview corporation;  Futureview was based in Nigeria, but also had a branch office in London (according to their website);  that is how this story seemed plausible.  "Katy" claims that someone connected to her family had used Futureview's services before, and had recommended them to her.  I was then e-mailed a document from Futureview, with a "Dell Clifford" named as the executive officer of the company.  The document said that Futureview held the funds from the sale of the house, and that a fee had to be paid upfront, before they could release the funds.   Not surprisingly, the burden of coming up with the fee was given to me.  I told "Katy", Dell Clifford, and "Jenny Lloyds" that I refused to pay this fee.  I contacted some lawyers, one of whom (based in the UK) e-mailed me that the 'certificate' didn't look legally sound. I forwarded the lawyer's e-mail to everyone involved, including Futureview, "Katy", and "Jenny Lloyds".  I was then told that the money had been taken away from Futureview, and reverted back to the buyer, who was refusing to do any further business with "Katy" until she met him in person in the UK. 

The second key development was the complication of Michael Thomas' role in this business.  On the verge of selling the house in Italy, there was a sudden turnaround when Michael suddenly demanded over 4,000 dollars in legal fees.  I refused to pay him.  "Katy" then had to go to work as a nurse in a local hospital, in order to come up with the money to pay him herself.  It was about this time that the scammers used a 'diverting funds' approach to keeping the scheme going.  (I suspect that there was some sort of falling out between Michael Thomas and the originators of the scam.)  I am sorry to admit that I fell for it, which makes me feel as foolish as I look.  I fell for it for a combination of reasons:  1)  I was convinced that Katy and her situation / dilemma were real.  2)  I had no experience in wiring money overseas;  the explanation I was given - that giving a (supposedly) 'false' name and destination for a money transfer would prevent the funds from being diverted or stolen by a third party - seemed a bit odd to me, but at the same time not entirely implausible.   These supposedly 'false' contact names I was given include "Ocheli Joshua Brown" , "Ocheli Samson Brown", and "Uba Chibuike", all in Lagos Nigeria.  The good news here is that the trail of scammers is easy to follow.

Another key development was the introduction of a "Luca Albertini", an Italian businessman who was introduced as a buyer for the house in Italy.  I was told that a local bank had agreed to give him a loan to buy Katy's house.  The dilemma (really another clever delaying tactic) was that he first had to come up with a LRU fee of roughly 3500 euros (about 5,000 in US funds), which he didn't have on hand.  "Katy" claimed to hold another nursing job at a local hospital to help raise the funds, but of course never came up with enough to actually close the deal with the bank. 

It was in 2010 that this all came to a close, when a third party (I will disclose this person's identity only a 'need-to-know' basis) hired a private detective and discovered "Katy's" true identity - as one of the scammers based in Nigeria.  I contacted the FBI, using their internet site, but have yet to hear back from them.  I am using Rip Off Report to try and expose this scam, not only in hopes that the scammers will be bought to justice, but that others will know how to recognize the scammers if they ever encounter them via the internet.