Orchard Financial

OK- CHECK THIS OUT. AT FIRST I THOUGH "SCAM" BUT I WANTED TO SEE HOW FAR IT WOULD GO AND IF THEY WERE SENDING CHECKS OR TRANSFERRING FUNDS. I AM IN DIRE NEED OF INCOME RIGHT NOW AND LIKELY WAS TOO DESPERATE FOR CASH TO THINK CLEARLY ABOUT ALL THE POTENTIAL PITFALLS OF THIS PROCESS. READ THROUGH TO THE BOTTOM - I AM INCLUDING ALL INFORMATION EXCEPT NAMES AND SPECIFIC ACCOUNT NUMBERS:

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Date: Fri, 27 Apr 2012 02:00:15 -0400
From: Darrell Jenkins <[email protected]>

This letter will serve to confirm that XXXX XXXXXX is an employee of Orchard Investments.

Currently, XXXX XXXXXX

- Holds the title of Customer Service Manager;
- Earns a salary of $3,500.00, payable monthly;
- Works on a part-time basis;
- Employed since: April 27, 2012;
- End of term date: Not applicable.

As per it was stated previously, you should open a bank account in order to
perform your duties as a Customer Service Manager. We were unable to find
any acceptable financial institutions in your area, therefore you should apply for a
new account with USAA. You will be able to perform all transactions and monitor
you account online via USAA online banking system and will not have to visit the
bank branch personally.

In order to open an account please follow instruction below:

- visit USAA official website at www.usaa.com
- click Checking Accounts
- submit an online application for USAA Free Checking Account. Your account
will be opened instantly.


NOTE: you should request a debit card for your new checking account during
an application.

According USAA policy, minimum initial deposit for a free checking account is $25.00.
The company will reimburse this amount with the first transfer.

AFTER THE ACCOUNT WAS OPENED ... JENKINS ATTACHED AN ACCOUNT WHEREBY I WAS INSTRUCTED TO TRANSFER FUNDS INTO MY NEW USAA ACCOUNT... AFTER THE FUNDS CLEARED, I RECEIVED THESE INSTRUCTIONS:

I want to inform you about your first assignment. You have to process the payments
for Mr. XXXXX and for Mrs. XXXXX.

Please find instruction for completing assignment below:

Receive the funds on your account;

Amount: $4,000.00

Your bonus: $225.00 ($25.00 of initial deposit for USAA account included)

The funds should be deposited to your account today but will be posted as available
only tomorrow by 9:00 am Eastern Time. Please check your account balance today
by 9:00 am Eastern Time and provide updated information.

Visit the nearest Western Union branch office;

*You can send the funds from any convenient Western Union agent location.

Use Western Union Money Transfer service (Money in Minutes) to deliver
funds to the clients. You will be asked to provide the following information about
receivers:

First Name: XXXX
Last Name: XXXXX
City: Saint-Petersburg
Country: Russia

You should send $1,980.00 to Mr. XXXXX. Western Union fees should be paid
from amount to be transferred (not from your bonus money).

First Name: XXXX
Last Name: XXXXXX
City: Saint-Petersburg
Country: Russia

You should send $1,795.00 to Mrs. XXXXX. Western Union fees should be paid
from amount to be transferred (not from your bonus money).

You can pay with cash or PIN-based debit card at Western Union agent location.

I FOLLOWED INSTRUCTIONS FOR 3 INCOMING TRANSFERS, THE FUNDS CLEARED WITHIN 3 - 5 DAYS AND I COMPLETED THE WESTERN UNION TRANSFERS (FOR TWO OF THEM SO FAR) TO THE RECIPIENTS IN RUSSIA. WESTERN UNION EXPERIENCE IS QUITE INTIMIDATING, WITH PICTURES AND MULTIPLE FORMS OF ID, THEY SET ME UP IN THEIR SYSTEM. IF THE ACCOUNT THE FUNDS ARE TRANSFERRED FROM ARE A HACKED ACCOUNT THERE COULD BE BIG TROUBLE, AND I WANT TO CLEAN IT ALL UP NOW. ABOUT $10,000 SO FAR.

ANYONE (LAW ENFORCEMENT PERHAPS) HAVE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THESE GUYS?

IF THE ACCOUNT THE FUNDS ARE TRANSFERRED FROM ARE A HACKED ACCOUNT THERE COULD BE BIG TROUBLE, AND I WANT TO CLEAN IT ALL UP NOW. ABOUT $10,000 SO FAR.

Unfortunately, it is. There is absolutely no doubt that the money transferred to you was stolen. Most likely it came from a phished or hacked account, occasionally it will come from another (equally criminal) transaction--fake check, cash advance on stolen credit card, even straight from a victim in an escrow scam. By receiving and forwarding the transfers, you have become a part of the crime. You are guilty of money laundering, and it is a serious crime that can land you in jail. You have also helped scammers to steal money from innocent people who may be in worse financial shape than you were.

AFTER THE FUNDS CLEARED, I RECEIVED THESE INSTRUCTIONS:

The funds didn't "clear." Banks are required to release deposits after a certain amount of time, depending on deposit type. But, banks have also have the right to take money back in many situations when those deposits are discovered to be illegal. And when it is discovered that the money is stolen, the trail will lead straight to you. This could take days, weeks, or even months.

Here's a good article on the topic.
http://threatpost.com/en_us/blogs/money-mules-not-customers-real-victims-bank-fraud-032712

As of a couple years ago, the FBI started cracking down on money mules. That has not changed.
http://krebsonsecurity.com/2010/05/fbi-promises-action-against-money-mules/

At some point, the victim is going to discover that the money was stolen. What happens next is going to depend on who the victim is and how the money was lost (e.g. individual or business, stolen from account or conned in a crime). If an investigation is initiated, which is very likely, there is a clear, well-lit trail straight to you. From there, anything can happen.
-depending on how the transaction occurred, the bank can take back the money (all of it) and charge you additional fees/fines on top of it, leaving you with a huge amount of debt.
-that account will likely be suspended or closed, and possibly other accounts you own if a criminal investigation is started
-the police may be contacted and you arrested for money laundering.
-allegations of financial fraud and information the bank reports to credit agencies linking you to fraudulent transactions can seriously hurt or completely destroy your chances of getting any credit for years to come.
-this can seriously impact your chances of getting a legitimate job--many companies do both criminal and credit checks before hiring employees.

We always recommend that you be proactive and let the bank know that you have discovered that you have been scammed. It is typically a good idea to file a police report. These actions do not guarantee that you will not be held liable for, and forced to pay back, the money that has been transferred, but they do help to establish that you are not a willing party to the crime, which is important when the authorities are determining whether or not to file charges.

Continuing to receive transfers will backfire on you.

I won't lie to you--you could do nothing, just stop, say nothing, and be lucky enough that nothing is pursued. But doing that is essentially gambling with your future.

Edit to add:
Their website is a fake, created last month for the sole purpose of supporting their scam:

Domain Name:ORCHARD-INVESTMENTS.ORG
Created On:16-Apr-2012 11:36:13 UTC
Last Updated On:16-Apr-2012 13:07:56 UTC
Expiration Date:16-Apr-2013 11:36:13 UTC

The domain ORCHARD-INVESTMENTS.ORG is in the process of being reported for fraud.

OK SO WHO KNOWS A GOOD LAWYER IN FLORIDA WHO CAN REPRESENT ME IN THIS CASE ... AGAIN - NOT MUCH MONEY TO PAY A LAWYER...