Oakbrook Capital Scam

Oakbrook Capital Scam.

A company calling itself Oakbrook Capital PLC is carrying out a follow-on-fraud against investors who have lost money in the Minerva Development Group Ltd investment.  Oakbrook Capital has the phone numbers of investors and has been calling them to talk about their Exchange Program.

This follow-on-fraud is using the “Capital Exchange Program” model.  This is where fraudsters aim to convince investors that there is a buyer for their investment and that the money is being held in escrow.  As always, all it requires in order for that money to be released is for the investor to pay a fee.

Oakbrook Capital is the fake Guarantor for both the money and for all the investor’s potential liabilities.  This reassures the intended victim that they have nothing to lose, but the truth is that there is no buyer, no escrow money and no guarantee.  It is all a scam.

Their website domain name was purchased on 23^rd September 2020, only two months ago, solely for the purpose of making the scam look like a genuine opportunity.

We have copied some of their correspondence below.  If anyone receives anything like this from any company it is guaranteed to be a scam.

THE INTRODUCTORY EMAIL

From: Oakbrook Capital PLC <[email protected]>

Subject: Oakbrook Capital information attached

Dear

We are writing to you regarding your position in the forthcoming Capital Exchange Programme, facilitated by Oakbrook Capital. We have assigned James Bailey as your alternative asset advisor.

Please ensure that as per the enclosed invoice, your account is settled on or before the [DATE]. Full information and contract terms are provided overleaf for your reference.

Oakbrook Capital acts in the interest of clients burdened by the strain of the aftermath of company insolvency in order to provide investors with a route out of the market. We endeavour to ensure transparency in order to restore faith in the investment markets.

Please find below the link to our website:

Please contact us should you have any further queries on 020-3797-6483.

Yours sincerely,

Mrs Susan I. Abrahams
Director

Oakbrook Capital
8 St. James’s Square, St. James’s, London, SW1Y 4JS
www.oakbrookcapitalplc.com
020-3797-6483
Company Registration – 09752762

An important point to remember is that scammers use software which enables them to mask their phone numbers.  They can make their phone number look like any number anywhere in the world.  The real Mrs Abrahams is not a director of Oakbrook Capital PLC.  She is a director Oakbrook Capital (1) PLC which has a very similar name, but in legal terms is entirely separate.  This would appear to be another example of scammers trawling through Companies House records looking for any company which has ‘capital’, ‘asset’, ‘finance’ or ‘recovery’ in its title so that they can steal its identity (or something very close to its identity).  Scammers usually use the same postal address and the same director name as the genuine company because who bothers to write to the registered office postal address ?

THE FAKE GUARANTEE:

This document hereby certifies that the deposit payable by [NAME] to the value of [AMOUNT] is refundable up to five working days following a successful exchange as underwritten by Oakbrook Capital.

Oakbrook Capital, here-forth referred to as the “Guarantor”, guarantee you irrevocably and without imposition of any terms and conditions, apart from those already provided herein, for all the obligations taken by you as the client.

The payment of the deposited sum of [AMOUNT] covering fees pertaining to the Account exchange for your Minerva property bond, in the exit of your Investment Portfolio as orchestrated by the Guarantor. The overall sum of the Guarantor’s liability under the Warranty Guarantees under the Contracted sale amounts is [AMOUNT].

The guarantor declares that the buyer will pay the client under this Guarantee upon completing the programmed exchange and upon receipt of written authorisation to release the funds to you within 7 working days after the agreed sale date on the [DATE]. The request for payment must be delivered to the Guarantor via your advisor or by mail. Payment of the aforementioned guaranteed amount is payable to you by cheque or BACS transfer.

This Guarantee shall be valid from the day of issuance of this Guarantee till the expiry day of the guarantee period, made only on the understanding and condition that the deposit amount was received in full.

Please refer to our terms and conditions overleaf for further clarification on how our underwritten guarantee and buy back guarantee works. This Guarantee shall be enforceable without the need to have recourse to any judicial or arbitrary proceedings. Any disputes arising here from shall be settled in writing, with all enquiries directed to the compliance department in writing. Any disputes concerning this Guarantee shall be settled according to English Law.

Underwritten and signed for and on behalf of Oakbrook Capital:

The Oakbrook Capital fraudsters send out a page of Terms and Conditions and a fake screenshot of bank deposits which they claim they are already holding for investors.  On that list there will be a line which has the name of the investor they are targeting and a large sum of money against it.  It’s all part of the fraudsters’ armoury.  They’ve put a lot of effort into presenting documents they hope will lure their intended victims to part with their money.

For the avoidance of doubt – anything investors receive which has a similar message or contains any reference to an Exchange Program is a scam.  All approaches should be reported to the relevant law enforcement authorities in your country.

As these fraudsters are pretending to operate in the UK here is the link to the Action Fraud reporting page.

We have published an article on another scam which we believe is linked to the people behind Oakbrook Capital. The same investor targeted in the Oakbrook Capital scam was also targeted by this other scam which can be viewed here.