A number of equipment suppliers in the UK have fallen victim to a highly sophisticated fraud scheme.
Determined to prevent others from falling victim to crane industry fraud, Natalie Reynolds has come forward to share her experience. In October last year, Haulotte UK was contacted by Diana Rossenga, who claimed to be a senior manager at John Sisk & Son. Rossenga was equipped with professional documentation including stamped purchase orders and signatures, and when it all checked out, she organised the collection of the equipment from Haulotte's premises on standard 30 day payment terms.
The fraudulent signature
Suspicions began to arise when Rossenga later requested CE certification for equipment from multiple manufacturers. Subsequent investigations revealed that Nationwide Platforms had experienced a similar incident, with its equipment believed to have been whisked off to Poland.
Both Haulotte UK and Nationwide Platforms have subsequently reported the incidents to the police and the National Fraud Agency.
Reynolds said: "It is incredibly distressing and frustrating to know that despite rigorous checks done on our behalf prior to releasing goods, we were still tricked and consequentially have suffered losses due to these scam artists. It was and is a very sophisticated scam and I feel sure that we will not be the last and have therefore chosen to go public in a bid to try to stop any more of our customers or competitors losing money to these individuals."
"What’s even more incredible is that despite reporting this to the police and the fraud squad, we have not had a single reply from them so I doubt that they are even doing anything about it! Hence why it is important to highlight this and hopefully prevent anyone else being caught out."
When contacted by Haulotte, the real John Sisk & Son confirmed that Rossenga was not an employee and - while aware of the situation - had apparently taken no action regarding the fraudulent use of the company's credentials. When Vertikal.net contacted John Sisk & Son, it confirmed that Rossenga was not on its data base and said they were unaware of the fraud - we are awaiting further information from its HR team.
Further investigation into Diana Rossenga revealed an online profile linking her to Musgrave Group, an Irish wholesale company. However, attempts to verify this connection through email correspondence proved unsuccessful, with messages returned as undeliverable.
Musgrave Group said: "We can confirm that there is no person by the name of 'Diana Rossenga' employed by the Musgrave Group. Furthermore, we are aware of other cases of either attempted or actual fraud where that name has been referenced also, although this is the first involving construction equipment. We advise anyone who believes they have had a fraudulent engagement to report it to a local law enforcement authority."
The sophisticated operation utilised professional documentation with company stamps, valid looking purchase orders with PO numbers, legitimate company credentials, and demonstrated thorough knowledge of industry payment processes.
Haulotte UK is offering a reward for information leading to the recovery of the equipment which consists of: - 2 x Optimum 8 scissor lifts – serial numbers 2157559 and 2157632
- 2 x Swiftup 4.5 scissor lifts - serial numbers 224997 and 245640
- 1 x Quickup 12 push around - serial number 235441
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