Cyber Attack Lawsuit Filed Against Clearwater Florida Real Estate Firm Richards, Gilkey, Fite, Slaughter, Pratesi & Ward, P.A. ("Richards Gilkey")

TAMPA, Fla., Jan. 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- What would you do if a million dollars disappeared? Cyber Fraud Recovery and Robert Brvenik announced the filing of a lawsuit against a Florida real estate firm, Richards, Gilkey, Fite, Slaughter, Pratesi & Ward, P.A. ("Richards Gilkey").  The amended complaint, filed on January 10, 2018 alleges that the firm employed inadequate cybersecurity on its computer systems, thereby allowing the fraudulent transfer of $974,663.44 from an account belonging to Brvenik.  In the lawsuit, Brvenik is alleging negligence, breach of fiduciary duties, and legal malpractice by the law firm, and is seeking compensatory damages.

The lawsuit alleges that, at the time of the real estate closing, the law firm was subject to a cyberattack in which a hacker compromised the firm's email account and emailed a fraudulent wire transfer request to Brvenik.  The fraudulent wire transfer specified an outside bank account that was under the control of the hacker.  The lawsuit contends that, if the firm had followed accepted security practices and standards, it would not have been hacked and the fraud could not have happened. 

Well before the time of the fraudulent transfer, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) issued a public service announcement warning law firms and real estate brokers of the high risk for cyber email hacking. The FBI also recommended the need for these firms to have greater cyber security measures in place. The announcement warned of precisely this type of scenario, which targets all participants in real estate transactions including buyers, sellers, agents, and lawyers.  Despite the continued warnings by the FBI, Richards Gilkey was hacked. 

Unfortunately, this type of hack and scam is well-known in the real estate industry and has been on the rise.  The FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) saw a 480% increase in the number of complaints in 2016 filed by title companies that were the primary target of Business E-mail Compromise (BEC)/ E-mail Account Compromise (EAC) scams. The BEC/EAC perpetrators have been able to monitor real estate proceedings and time their fraudulent requests for a change in payment type (frequently from check to wire transfer) or a change from one account to a different account under their control.

After filing the complaint, Brvenik noted "I was relying on Richards Gilkey to be up-to-date on current security procedures, or at least pick up the phone and call me to verify the instructions, so as to conduct the closing without my being defrauded out of nearly a million dollars."

The case is ROBERT BRVENIK v. RICHARDS, GILKEY, FITE, SLAUGHTER, PRATESI & WARD, P.A., and R. CARLTON WARD., in Pinellas County, Florida, case number 17-006730-CI.

About Cyber Fraud Recovery

Cyber Fraud Recovery is a Washington, D.C. based firm focused on helping clients recover funds lost due to cyber fraud and hacking at banks, law firms, real estate, and title companies.

If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions concerning this press release or your rights or interests in cyber theft, please contact Cyber Fraud Recovery at (415) 830-3804 or by e-mail at [email protected].

SOURCE Cyber Fraud Recovery