Law Firms
Fake Sullivan & Cromwell entities used by scammers should be dissolved, suit says
New York’s attorney general is seeking a court order dissolving entities with names that are variations of Sullivan & Cromwell and an injunction barring them from continuing fraudulent acts. (Image from Shutterstock)
New York’s attorney general is seeking a court order dissolving entities with names that are variations of Sullivan & Cromwell and an injunction barring them from continuing fraudulent acts.
Scammers using names similar to Sullivan & Cromwell are altering client checks made out to the BigLaw firm to correspond with the similarly spelled names, according to a Oct. 7 lawsuit filed by New York Attorney General Letitia James. The checks are then deposited into accounts for the fake similarly named law firms.
Bloomberg Law has coverage of the suit, filed in state court in New York City.
One client check for $429,976 was correctly made out to “Sullivan & Cromwell LLP,” but the scammer changed the last three letters to “LLC” and deposited the check into a JPMorgan Chase bank account for the fake firm, the suit says. The check cleared.
Another client check for $52,544 was altered to be payable to “Sullivan & Cromwel LLC,” which dropped the final “l” in “Cromwell.” That check also cleared, the suit says.
A third client check for $23,000 was altered so that it was payable to “Sullivan & Kromwell LLC.” That check did not clear.
New York Attorney General Letitia James is seeking dissolution of those three fake Sullivan & Cromwell firms, as well as entities with the names “Sullivan & Kromwel LLC,” “Sullivan & Cromwelll LLC,” “Sullivann & Cromwell LLC” and “Sulivan & Cromwell LLC.”
A Sullivan & Cromwell spokesperson did not immediately reply to the ABA Journal’s request for comment.
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