Dubai: Scammers con merchants out of millions of dirhams of foodstuff, electronics

Dubai: Scammers con merchants out of millions of dirhams of foodstuff, electronics

Victims — some of whom had to close their shops because of the losses — say the heists were executed with such meticulous planning and finesse that they didn’t see any red flags

Published: Wed 26 Jul 2023, 1:17 PM

Late last year, Johnny Smith closed applications for the 150 packaging helper positions he advertised for on LinkedIn.

The unsuspecting recruits hired for Max Star Trading LLC had served their purpose: Pack, weigh and load millions of dirhams worth of stolen goods into containers that have since disappeared, along with Smith and the entire staff of the Dubai-based company. That’s because Johnny Smith wasn’t a real person. Nor were Ahmed Ali, Javed Malik, Rana Khaleel and Yaswant. The names were just some of the many aliases used by the conmen.

Adopting a familiar modus operandi, the fraudsters contacted dozens of UAE and overseas firms, offering to buy everything from foodstuff and electronics to industrial equipment and construction material.

The initial orders were small and readily settled in cash. Once trust was gained, Max Star then made bulk purchases via post-dated cheques. All of them turned out to be duds.

When their cheques began to bounce, the traders rushed to Max Star's office in UBL Building on