Zakaria Hejres
Queja 267045 Detalles

SCAM ALERT - I received an email from an Aleser McQuinnn from an established website who made an introduction to Dr. Zakaria Hejres of Bahrain.

And then I received an email from Zakaria Hejres,
Quote"Mr. Aleser McQuinn has recommended your product to me as a potentially lucrative personal investment. I would appreciate a simple and clear-cut negotiation in view of a successful transaction. We can schedule a time to discuss possibilities and details of an offer. Considering my current engagement in government service, it is not in my best interest to discuss any part of this personal investment plan using official email and government telephone lines. For now we could open discussions through Skype communication service and also follow up with personal emails. " End Quote

Then Zakaria Hejres contacted me via SKYPE and only through text messaging of Skype not video call. He stated that he has 50M US Dollars as personal fund and he is willing to invest 33% of it for the production (15M USD)and the rest for advertising and distribution.

Then he mentioned that we have to register a company in the Gulf area and said Quote" the regulation here in the \gulf for Joint venture registration is 51% for the local Partner and 49% for the foreign partner. This is just for the purpose of registering the oint venture so that we do not have problems with sending funds to you. Our joint venture agreement determines how se share the profits of the investment. So, in order to move forward, you will need to contact the Gulf Trade and Industrial Development Council (GTIDC)...Inform them that you require to setup a Joint venture with a Gulf Partner. They will provide you details and forms to fill out including the cost of registration. Their website is www.gtidc.org and you can email them [email protected]"Unquote
We did contact GTIDC and they sent me an email which said: Quote"We wish to inform you that the cost of processing foreign applicants' trade licenses is equivalent of $13,960 USD (Thirteen Thousand, Nine Hundred and Sixty US Dollars) which covers processing costs and value added tax. Payments for processing foreign applications are normally handled by foreign correspondents.

Please inform us on where your payment will be originating from to enable us provide you with the appropriate correspondent banking coordinates. Upon receipt of completed application forms along with the quoted amount, we shall process without delay. The processing time is 5 (five) working days from confirmation of applicants payment."Unquote

They also sent me a very professional form. They stated that the form must be filled out and send along with a copy of my passport, a copy of Gas/Water/Electricity. I filled out the form and sent it to GTIDC along with the supporting documents and this is the answer I got: Quote"This is to inform you that we have received your completed application forms and supporting documents in good order.
Please find below, the banking coordinates for our international finance correspondents in China who are also responsible for handling international applicants’ payments;

Beneficiary Bank: China Merchants Bank Shanghai, Cao Jia Du Sub-Branch

Address: No. 1148 Chang Shou Road. Shanghai, China

Swift BIC: CMBCCNBS051

Account Number: 6225882125403607

Beneficiary: Name: Chen, Ting Wen

Beneficiary's Address: No 1051 Jiazi Rd, Shunde, Foshan, Guangdong, China

Intermediary Bank: Citibank N.A. New York
Swift Code: CITIUS33
Account with Citibank: 36209316

As soon as your remittance payment in the amount of $13,960 has been made to the above account, you are advised to notify us without delay, and attach an email copy of the swift wire transfer document for our confirmation and record purposes. As soon as the transfer is received by our correspondent, we shall notify you with acknowledgement, and commence the process without delay." Unquote

This was fishy. How can this be? The email raised these questions: 1- IF GTIDC is located in Gulf area, how come its bank is in China? There are many international banks in Gulf areas that could be used.
2- If GTIDC is a legitimate organization, how come they ask the money to be transferred to a Chinese individual and not the organization?

At this point we asked him to talk to us through video call of Skype. He refused and said that Quote" A man in my position cannot be subjected to video calls."unquote

At this point, we doubted him more and asked him to pay for the registerestaion fee of $13,960. This is what he said: Quote"Listen, you must understand that it is your duty to register your company. It is not my duty as an investor to register your company."Unquote
We replied by sayingQuote"Since 51% of the company's share belongs to you and we each hold only 24.5% of the share, you are the the main shareholder.
Our suggestion is whether you pay for the company's registration fee now and charge us later for our shares or you buy the patent from us. Please let us know your decision soon, because we are in the process of discussing the matter with other investors. "unquote
He replied by sayingQuote"Having thought over the matters, I have decided that since I am entitled to 51% of the shares, I am willing to cover 51% of the cost of registration (approx. $7,100). I will not go beyond that point in making this investment. You will have to cover your portion of 49% ($6,860). If this is okay, then I will remit 51% of the cost (approx. $7,100) to GTIDC. This is my final suggestion and there is no other options left for me to consider. If this is acceptable to you, then lets act accordingly and close the deal" unquote
We repled by Quote" there are a few questions/comments that are unanswered in our minds.
1- How can a man in your position (as you put it) who is willing to invest 50 Million dollars, bargain for $6860?
2- How can an investor ,who has time and time again mentioned that this is a lucrative business, loose such business for $6860?
3- IF GTIDC is located in Gulf area, how come its bank is in China? There are many international banks in Dubai or other Gulf areas that could be used.
4- If GTIDC is a legitimate organization, how come they ask the money to be transferred to a Chinese individual and not the organization?
Even with all these questions, we are willing to continue the business in case you pay for the company's registration fee now and charge us later for our shares or you buy the patent from us."unquote

We never got any replies back..

Everything was suspicious, so we searched the internet and we realized that these two people have used the same way for scamming many people.(This is one of the links: https://www.facebook.com/IdeaConnection?filter=2)

p.s. copy of emails and Skype texts may be provided, in case it is needed