Need advice on how to litigate and recover my loss from a potential fraud.

[Johngwyn]

Hello everyone
I’m looking for advice on how to litigate and recover my loss from a potential fraud.

Long story short, I recently discovered that the company I invested in, with the help of a lawyer(the company is associated with him) that turned out to be completely fraudulent.

There were multiple breaches of contract, including no dividend payments and a failure to deliver on any of the promises made.
Basically, he used a nearly shell company in Buenos Aires, along with false promises and misleading materials, to convince me to invest.
Unfortunately, this is the first time I’ve been majorly scammed in my life.

To make matters worse, I just found out the lawyer involved has a “no habilitado” license status.
I definitely should’ve done better due diligence — lesson learned.

Does anyone know a good business lawyer in Argentina who handles litigation? Any experience?
Thanks a lot.

 

[MarshallE]

I'd guess it depends on the amount of the loss. The money is already gone, that's in the past. Looking to the future you have several options.

Do nothing, spend nothing

Spend money litigating, get nothing back

Spend money litigating, get something back

I've never been involved in a suit against somebody in Argentina, but I'd imagine it would take quite a while for things to progress, and any money if it was there could be spent in the meantime. Even in the US when I've gotten orders for restitution that's only half the battle, often times the guy just doesn't or is unable to pay, and you have to continue pursuing him legally at your expense.

Really depends on the scale of the loss if it'll be worth the time and headache pursuing it.

 

[Johngwyn]

I'd guess it depends on the amount of the loss. The money is already gone, that's in the past. Looking to the future you have several options.

Do nothing, spend nothing

Spend money litigating, get nothing back

Spend money litigating, get something back

I've never been involved in a suit against somebody in Argentina, but I'd imagine it would take quite a while for things to progress, and any money if it was there could be spent in the meantime. Even in the US when I've gotten orders for restitution that's only half the battle, often times the guy just doesn't or is unable to pay, and you have to continue pursuing him legally at your expense.

Really depends on the scale of the loss if it'll be worth the time and headache pursuing it.

Thanks for advice, real appreciated, it's nothing much but still a chunk about 30K, just try to minimize my loss.
Also do my part, take down one scammer, make Argentina slightly better again. lol

 

[MarshallE]

Thanks for advice, real appreciated, it's nothing much but still a chunk about 30K, just try to minimize my loss.
Also do my part, take down one scammer, make Argentina slightly better again. lol

I'll let some of the old timers chime in later, they may have more experience on this having lived in Argentina, maybe there is indeed a magic bullet, though sounds like the lawyer already lost his license

 

[Quilombo]

Gonna be honest, you're probably going to spend thousands to see little if anything. If they got 30K out of you, odds are they got something much larger from someone else.

As you've probably already come to realize, justice doesn't really exist in Argentina, at least not for the plebs, so the best you can hope for is to make a criminal denouncement to the prosecutor's office, Bar Association, etc. and see if any of them take it seriously.

 

[Ceviche]

I was scammed similarly in 2012 in my inital years in BA in almost same manner as you have mentioned. I had made a law suit and in 2013 and spent another 3-4 k usd in that lawsuit and till today, no results.

 

[D.B. Cooper]

Sorry to hear of your loss. I sometimes think Argentina is the scam capital of the world. Be that as it may, I found that the US Embassy here in BA has a business section. You might want to contact them for advice. Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[ArgentinaVet]

Hello everyone
I’m looking for advice on how to litigate and recover my loss from a potential fraud.

Long story short, I recently discovered that the company I invested in, with the help of a lawyer(the company is associated with him) that turned out to be completely fraudulent.

There were multiple breaches of contract, including no dividend payments and a failure to deliver on any of the promises made.
Basically, he used a nearly shell company in Buenos Aires, along with false promises and misleading materials, to convince me to invest.
Unfortunately, this is the first time I’ve been majorly scammed in my life.

To make matters worse, I just found out the lawyer involved has a “no habilitado” license status.
I definitely should’ve done better due diligence — lesson learned.

Does anyone know a good business lawyer in Argentina who handles litigation? Any experience?
Thanks a lot.

Very important information needed in order to give solid advice on how to proceed.

1. Are you either a citizen or legal resident or Argentina with a valid CUIL/CUIT?
2. Did you bring the money into the country legally/ in blanco? Can you demonstrate the origin of the funds?
3. Was the contract drawn up and certified by an Escribano?
4. Does the scammer have any assets in his name? (real estate, bank accounts, plazos fijos, brokerage accounts, vehicles, shares in companies, etc)?
5. Does the scammer have a USA visa or travel/ have interest in traveling to the USA?

 

[Johngwyn]

Very important information needed in order to give solid advice on how to proceed.

1. Are you either a citizen or legal resident or Argentina with a valid CUIL/CUIT?
2. Did you bring the money into the country legally/ in blanco? Can you demonstrate the origin of the funds?
3. Was the contract drawn up and certified by an Escribano?
4. Does the scammer have any assets in his name? (real estate, bank accounts, plazos fijos, brokerage accounts, vehicles, shares in companies, etc)?
5. Does the scammer have a USA visa or travel/ have interest in traveling to the USA?

Thanks for everyone's advice, much appreciated with everyone's help.

And to answer your questioned, I'm legal resident with CUIL number.
For the fund, I actually invested into his account outside of Argentina. His company account is in Florida. The purchase contract was also signed when I was in the United States, but it stated that in case of any dispute, we prefer to litigate in Argentina.

I also found out that the scammer’s lawyer license had expired, but he continued to represent himself as a lawyer. He personally owns an apartment in Puerto Madero, a Lexus SUV, and also has a U.S. visa and U.S. bank accounts for both personal and business use.

A little more detail: he sold me a 3% share in a company (Company A) that promised a steady 5% return rate for the first five years. I didn’t know that he was using another company’s profile (Company B) to pose as the shell company (Company A) he actually sold me, making Company A appear to be a legitimate tech company.

Last week, I contacted Company B and found out they have no association with him or company A. Basically, I bought a shell company that doesn’t even have a valid active CUIL number. Essentially, my $30,000 is completely gone into his own pocket.

Some of my friends also suggested that I contact the FBI, since the fake lawyer has assets in Florida and the payment went through domestically within the U.S.

 

[ArgentinaVet]

Thanks for everyone's advice, much appreciated with everyone's help.

And to answer your questioned, I'm legal resident with CUIL number.
For the fund, I actually invested into his account outside of Argentina. His company account is in Florida. The purchase contract was also signed when I was in the United States, but it stated that in case of any dispute, we prefer to litigate in Argentina.

I also found out that the scammer’s lawyer license had expired, but he continued to represent himself as a lawyer. He personally owns an apartment in Puerto Madero, a Lexus SUV, and also has a U.S. visa and U.S. bank accounts for both personal and business use.

A little more detail: he sold me a 3% share in a company (Company A) that promised a steady 5% return rate for the first five years. I didn’t know that he was using another company’s profile (Company B) to pose as the shell company (Company A) he actually sold me, making Company A appear to be a legitimate tech company.

Last week, I contacted Company B and found out they have no association with him or company A. Basically, I bought a shell company that doesn’t even have a valid active CUIL number. Essentially, my $30,000 is completely gone into his own pocket.

Some of my friends also suggested that I contact the FBI, since the fake lawyer has assets in Florida and the payment went through domestically within the U.S.

What occurred here sounds like Wire Fraud, which is a felony in the United States and you should attack the problem there.
If you still have contact with the scammer, I would make it clear to him that unless he makes you whole that you will be filing a report with the FBI, advising the US State Department about his identity and activities, and also contacting the ARCA (Argentine ex- AFIP) about his USA bank account/company which may or may not be declared. In some sense you are quite fortunate that this transaction took place in the United States and your counterparty has a USA visa and company/bank account as he a lot more to lose than the $30,000 USD he took you for.