Ha-Ha! Law Firm Sues Wells Fargo After Falling For Nigerian Wire Fraud Scam

This story really made my day. Here is the Minneapolis-St.Paul Business Journal with the details:

An Edina law firm that lost nearly $400,000 in a Nigerian wire-fraud scam is claiming that Wells Fargo, which handled the fund transfers, should cover its losses.

The Star Tribune reports on the lawsuit by Milavetz, Gallop & Milavetz, which three years ago received an e-mail from someone purporting to be a Korean woman who needed the firm's help to collect a settlement. You can probably see where this is going: When the dust settled, Milavetz, Gallop & Milavetz was a lot poorer. It has parallels — down to the account numbers involved — to a investigation into a Nigerian fraud ring that targeted law firms; two people have been indicted in that investigation.

In his suit, Robert Milavetz argues that Wells Fargo & Co. should have recognized the red flags involved — a counterfeit check used in the scam had the bank's address spelled wrong, he claims. The suit also says the bank told the firm the check had cleared, only to later say it hadn't, really — but the firm had already wired the money away by that point. Wells Fargo said it will defend itself in the case.

Gee, you hardly know who to root for in this case. I guess the best outcome would be a long, drawn out court case that costs both concerns a shit pot load of money.


Bonus: What the heck, how about a song from an album that was actually recorded in Lagos