Email from Mark Pelton in Ukraine scam

My staff informed me that our clinic received an email from "Mark Pelton", stating that he was a journalist in the Ukraine. He wanted mental health services for his daughter, who was coming to the US for a 2-week visit. He specified the number of "lessons" he wanted for her and offered to pay the entire amount of the fees by check prior to services starting. His wording and requests were very odd, so I Googled his name and found this site. Apparently, Mark Pelton has scammed other businesses before, asking for services and offering to pay up front. I learned that he then emails the intended victim saying that his friend in the US sent a check including the amount of his travel expenses and asking that the business send a refund check for the travel expenses to him. Thank goodness for this site, as I was able to warn my staff and prevent any further contact.

Welcome to Scamwarners Aspie Doc,

Yes, it is a scam. The scammer wanted to send a fake check and have you deposit it. Your bank will think it is real then in a few days or week your bank will notify you of the fraud. If the check was cashed you will have to repay the bank. In some cases the bank may close your account and report you to Law Enforcement for a financial crime.

The scammer would have came up with a reason why you would need to forward money via Western Union or Moneygram to a third person.

When you get a chance please post the scammers email address and his initial email to you. This information will help other businesses if they search the internet.

ETA: For more information see here viewtopic.php?f=26&t=95007

Mark Pelton is stil active from this same email address and seems to have widened his area to Europe. He seems to have moved to Libya though He sent me an email about his daughter requiring private yoga classes and wanting to pay by check. This is highly uncommon in mainland Europe and his writing style (very bad for a journalist) made my scam alarms go off so I googled his email address and found this site. Thanks!

Here's his email:

[email protected]:
Hello,
Thank you for the email. I am presently in Libya as a journalist, i got your name while searching through your location for a yoga private teacher, my daughter is coming to your to your Country for holiday, and i will want her to get something doing when she arrives in the area. I'll like to know if you can help in teach her one on one just to keep her busy. Her name is Lara, she is 18 years old, she is a beginner, she has not experienced much but she is a very fast learner and will not portray any difficulties while you teaching her. I will arrange for the home stay in your area for my daughter for the period of her lesson and I have someone that will always bring her to your location for the lesson and take her back to the home stay after the lesson. So kindly let me know your cost per hour/lesson in order for me to arrange for her payment before she travels down to your Country. She will be staying for 10 weeks, she will be available at any times
schedules for the lesson starting from April 01, 2015. You can take her on any day convenient for you for 60 minutes per week for 10 weeks. You can just take her at your convenient schedule. Please tell me your make up lesson. I hope to read back from you soon.
Thank you,
Mark

Wow what a great site! I received a weird email, a quick google led me here,confirmed it was a scam, and now I can help other people, yay.

Anyway, I also got the Mark Pelton email, this time from Libya, about yoga for his daughter.

The first email I received had the subject line "Do you get my last email regarding the yoga lesson for my daughter?"
and the message
"Do you get my last email regarding the yoga lesson for my daughter? Please respond if you are available to offer private lesson.

Thank you and get back..."

I thought it sounded odd but replied that I had had no previous email, and then received the exact same email as the poster above:
Hello,
Thank you for the email. I am presently in Libya as a journalist, i got your name while searching through your location for a yoga private teacher, my daughter is coming to your to your Country for holiday, and i will want her to get something doing when she arrives in the area. I'll like to know if you can help in teach her one on one just to keep her busy. Her name is Lara, she is 18 years old, she is a beginner, she has not experienced much but she is a very fast learner and will not portray any difficulties while you teaching her. I will arrange for the home stay in your area for my daughter for the period of her lesson and I have someone that will always bring her to your location for the lesson and take her back to the home stay after the lesson. So kindly let me know your cost per hour/lesson in order for me to arrange for her payment before she travels down to your Country. She will be staying for 10 weeks, she will be available at any times
schedules for the lesson starting from April 01, 2015. You can take her on any day convenient for you for 60 minutes per week for 10 weeks. You can just take her at your convenient schedule. Please tell me your make up lesson. I hope to read back from you soon.
Thank you,
Mark

Both allegedly came from the address [email protected]

Hi,
I got an email with almost all the same information as other people. He's a journalist in Libya and has an 18 year old daughter coming to my country for holiday. Please schedule her at any convenient time for 10 weeks for 60 minutes. Someone will deliver her to the lessons and pick her up. The whole thing seemed strange which is why I looked him up on the internet. Why is his daughter coming here for holiday? Why does she have nothing else to do? Why is he signing her up for Pilates? It sounded like he would find her a place to stay close to my Pilates studio even though she'd never done it before. Had he chosen Seattle for her just to do Pilates with me? Why would she have an escort? Why is he telling me how long the sessions would be? Why does he not have any questions for me about the sessions, especially before scheduling them? It all made sense when I read this website. I will write him back and ask him some more questions like the ones I wrote here. Sometimes asking questions is enough to get people to stop writing or calling-because they don't have a legitimate answer.
Lisa

Just got this email in March 2015
Hello,
Thank you for the email. I am presently in Libya as a journalist, i got your name while searching through your location for a private teacher, my daughter is coming to your to your Country for holiday, and i will want her to get something doing when she arrives in the area. I'll like to know if you can help in teach her one on one just to keep her busy. Her name is Lara, she is 18 years old, she is a beginner, she has not experienced much but she is a very fast learner and will not portray any difficulties while you teaching her. I will arrange for the home stay in your area for my daughter for the period of her lesson and I have someone that will always bring her to your location for the lesson and take her back to the home stay after the lesson. So kindly let me know your cost per hour/lesson in order for me to arrange for her payment before she travels down to your Country. She will be staying for 10 weeks, she will be available at any times
schedules for the lesson starting from April 01, 2015. You can take her on any day convenient for you for 60 minutes per week for 10 weeks. You can just take her at your convenient schedule. Please tell me your make up lesson. I hope to read back from you soon.
Thank you,
Mark


--------------------------------------------
On Tue, 3/10/15, xxxxxxxxxx wrote:

Subject: Re: Do you get my last email regarding the yoga lesson for my daughter?
To: [email protected]
Date: Tuesday, March 10, 2015, 7:49 AM

Hi Mark
I am really sorry but I have only just
come across this email from you as it has ended up in my
spam folder for some reason. I did not get the
previous one that you have mentioned either as I imagine it
may well have ended up in the same place and got deleted
without me seeing it. I am so sorry about this.
You previous email is not part of the thread so I do
not have much to go on in terms of working with your
daughter only to say that I am available to work on a one to
one basis with her and that I am available on Tuesdays and
Fridays during the day for that type of work and on some
evenings if required.
I
would be really grateful to hear more about your daughter
and happy to have a chat if that would be more useful?
My number is xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.I look forward to hearing from
you.Many thanks xxxxxxxxxxxx

xxxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Qualified
Yoga teacher (Inner Yoga Trust)
Pregnancy Yoga (Inner Yoga Trust)
Yoga Therapy (Inner Yoga Trust)
Thai Yoga Massage (Body Wisdom)




On 9 Mar
2015, at 13:39, Mark Pelton < [email protected] >
wrote:
Do you get my last email regarding the
yoga lesson for my daughter? Please respond if you are
available to offer private lesson.

Thank you
and get back...

Just an Fyi that there's a 419 scammer whos now moved along to children's entertainers. If you get a similar email I would suggest reporting or ignoring.



---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Mark Pelton" <[email protected]>
Date: Apr 4, 2015 6:00 AM
Subject: Birthday Party...
To:
Cc:

I am looking for a children's entertainer for 45 min show for my 6yrs old daughter's birthday party for on April 15, 2015 to come to our home and entertained 20 young children (and their folks). You will engage the kids, held their attention for the entire show, so that we can get some laughs from the parents. Please give me your local costs for 45 min, venue is in the States. I am email you directly for a price quote and information on availability.

According to his writing style, Mark Pelton is not Ukrainian, European, or American, nor is he in Libya. He is West African.

Please do not report his email address to the email provider. We want his targets to be able to search his email address and find this thread.

I am a very well-know psychotherapist in Brooklyn, NY. This week, I've received similar emails from an man named Oleksander Vasylko, requesting counseling for his daughter 2x weekly for 6 weeks over the summer while she is staying with family. This isn't the first time someone who doesn't live here has requested services (though they were legit requests recommended by my former patients) so I replied. He offered to pay for all of the sessions up front, which I wasn't comfortable with (what if the daughter and I don't work well together, what if she skips sessions, etc) but then be emailed me saying he also included his daughter's travel expenses and spending money in with it. Every therapist knows that is a big ethical "no-no" and it crosses lines that shouldn't be crossed in the patient-therapist relationship. I explained this to him and he still insisted, saying he would send additional money for the trouble. I said no again, then did a Google search and found this thread. I promptly sent it to him. I wonder if he will respond.

See email content below. Notice the similarities in writing.

I am seeking for an psychotherapist with an individual counseling/coaching sessions for my daughter. I got your name while searching through your location for a private counselor and I have also glance through your Website.., my daughter is coming to your area, and I will want her to get something doing when she arrives there. I will like to know if you can help in counseling her on one-to-one sessions. Her name is Tanya, she is 19 years old from Ukraine, and she will not portray any difficulties while counseling her. I have someone that will always picks her up from your home and drops her off for the counseling and take her back to the home after she finished. So kindly let me know your charges cost per hour in order for me to arrange for her payment before she travels down to your area soon, I did not have an insurance that cover the cost. She will be staying for 4 weeks or more, she will be available at any times/days schedules for the counseling starting from July 15th, 2015. You can take her on any day that is so convenient for you for 60 mins counseling per day, 2 time per weeks for 4 weeks. You can counsel her at your own convenient schedules.The nature of Tanya challenges are Emotional Disturbance,Depression,Anxiety,orgasmic disorders,Self-Harming,Intimacy Issues..She have been experiencing this trauma even before she loss her mother..I hope to read back from you soon.

Warmest Regards,

Oleksander..

[AlanJones]

did a Google search and found this thread. I promptly sent it to him. I wonder if he will respond.

In future, please do not alert scammers to the fact that they are listed here - he has probably now changed all his details, so this thread is now worthless and other victims may not be as lucky as you were and may proceed believing it to be a legitimate client.

Had this same name come to me requesting counseling 'for his daughter' to visit locally in So California on 8/27/15, so 'he' isn't following up with the suggestion to look at your website...or at least 'he' doesn't care and continues to use the same Moniker, so thank you for having this here....

I answered 'him' initially with some caution, but since my business serves sometimes out-of-country families, I wasn't perturbed until it came down to getting things set up. After I sent 'him' my billing address, I thought I'd Google 'his' name, and found your website! So, I promptly called everything off, but did say I looked 'his' name up on Google...sorry, not my 'savviest moment,' but I was furious!

Now I know better...but thought I'd reassure you, your services are still actively being utilized by folks like me!

Thanks,
Elle

Just forgot to mention; he uses the same email still, too. [email protected] .

Hello,

Mark Pelton is now BRANDON ANTONIO, [email protected]
The daughter is now called KATRINA (she is still 19, LOL)

The guy has changed his name, his daughter's name, and email address, but the scam seems the same.

He sent me one short email first, asking about my services. I cautiously replied asking for more details and got a second short email.
I replied and said that I was not in the field he needed, however he replied with a 3rd email and said I WAS the counselor he needed, and what were my fees - he then said we'd talk more when they arrived in the country.
I thought it was odd, to insist I help his 19 year old daughter when I had said I was not qualified to do so, so I googled his name (no joy) then googled some keywords in the last email - the words brought me to this scam thread.

I have copied his three emails below the line in case anyone else is searching using email text:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Do you offer individual counseling services? Please tell me your...

Available date:
Issues:
Specialty:
Presently Location:
Experience:

Thank you!

-----------------------------------------
Thank you for the email. I am seeking for one-to-one individual counseling services for my daughter. I got your name while searching through your location for a private counselor, my daughter is coming to your area, and i will want her to get something doing when she arrives in the area. I'll like to know if you can help in counseling her one-on-one sessions. Her name is Katrina, she is 19 years old, i have someone that will always picks her up from home stay and drops her off for her counseling and take her back to the home stay. So kindly let me know your charges cost per hour in order for me to arrange for her payment before she travels down to your area soon, i did not have insurance that cover the cost. She will be staying for 4 weeks, she will be available at any times/days schedules for the counseling starting from Oct 20, 2015. You can take her on any day convenient for you for 60 minutes counseling a day, 2 time per week for 4 weeks. You can just take her at your convenient schedule. I hope to read back from you soon.

Thank you,
Brandon
---------------------------------------------

Yes, you are the right counselor for my daughter and will talk more about this when we arrive in the States. Please give me your costs.

Dear Jane1980,

Indeed, you are right! I didn't post the string of emails, but they are indeed almost identical. You can tell the person is not from our area, due to some of the grammatical and word choice errors! Thanks for the update and thanks for being wary!! This scam is scary as we are in the field of 'helping' and may overextend ourselves to try to be so 'helpful!'

Thanks for your post!
Warmly,
Elle

Hello,

Mark Pelton is now BRANDON ANTONIO, [email protected]
The daughter is now called KATRINA (she is still 19, LOL)

The guy has changed his name, his daughter's name, and email address, but the scam seems the same.

He sent me one short email first, asking about my services. I cautiously replied asking for more details and got a second short email.
I replied and said that I was not in the field he needed, however he replied with a 3rd email and said I WAS the counselor he needed, and what were my fees - he then said we'd talk more when they arrived in the country.
I thought it was odd, to insist I help his 19 year old daughter when I had said I was not qualified to do so, so I googled his name (no joy) then googled some keywords in the last email - the words brought me to this scam thread.

I have copied his three emails below the line in case anyone else is searching using email text:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Do you offer individual counseling services? Please tell me your...

Available date:
Issues:
Specialty:
Presently Location:
Experience:

Thank you!

-----------------------------------------
Thank you for the email. I am seeking for one-to-one individual counseling services for my daughter. I got your name while searching through your location for a private counselor, my daughter is coming to your area, and i will want her to get something doing when she arrives in the area. I'll like to know if you can help in counseling her one-on-one sessions. Her name is Katrina, she is 19 years old, i have someone that will always picks her up from home stay and drops her off for her counseling and take her back to the home stay. So kindly let me know your charges cost per hour in order for me to arrange for her payment before she travels down to your area soon, i did not have insurance that cover the cost. She will be staying for 4 weeks, she will be available at any times/days schedules for the counseling starting from Oct 20, 2015. You can take her on any day convenient for you for 60 minutes counseling a day, 2 time per week for 4 weeks. You can just take her at your convenient schedule. I hope to read back from you soon.

Thank you,
Brandon
---------------------------------------------

Yes, you are the right counselor for my daughter and will talk more about this when we arrive in the States. Please give me your costs.