Skylight Disaster Maims Three + Other Window Cleaning News

A window washer works with his shadow recently on the new Simmons law firm located in the former Jefferson Smurfit headquarters building in Alton. The building was gutted and completely rehabbed including the replacement of its hundreds of windows, making plenty of work for the window washer now that all of the panes are installed.

Firm fined after three men fall through skylights in same industrial unit in less than a month: A landlord was fined £5,000 after three workers fell through skylights at the same industrial unit on separate occasions – leaving one of them paralysed. The first man was a caretaker who fell through a window while cleaning it, breaking several ribs and suffering bruising. A second worker, at the Bizspace-owned industrial unit in Warrington, was sent up to the skylight to take photos of the scene – but fell through a different window. Luckily he landed feet first and was uninjured. Then a 62-year-old man who was sent to repair the skylights also tumbled out. He fell four metres and is now paralysed from the waist down.
Both Bizspace and Massey Roofing and Building Contractors, who employed the third man, pleaded guilty to putting workers’ lives at risk after the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted them. London-based Bizspace, which rents out business premises, was fined £5,000 and ordered to pay £9,000 costs at a court hearing. Anthony Massey, 67, from Bury and trading as Massey Roofing and Building Contractors, was given a conditional discharge because he has been declared bankrupt. It means he won’t be fined as long as he doesn’t re-offend within a year.
The first man fell on March 20, 2007, at Bizspace’s unit on Craven Court industrial estate in Warrington. The last fall was on April 10, 2007. A spokesman for Bizspace said: “The conviction of Bizspace only related to the falls of their two employees, not that of the specialist roofing contractor, which was clearly the most serious. “Judge Hales accepted neither employee was instructed by the company to go onto the roof and indeed, that there was no necessity for them to be there. This was reflected in the low level of fine.”

Local cleaning company handles unexpected situations: Socorro Janitorial Services handles about 110 commercial and residential jobs per week, and the company's vans and trucks are seen all over town and the surrounding area. Normally, the service's six employees clean homes, offices and restaurants, doing everything from window washing to floor care, with a little seasonal chimney sweeping and the occasional job clearing up construction sites.

Occasionally, however, they're called on to discretely perform a more sensitive service. Socorro police estimate they handle about 20 to 30 unattended deaths per year. Sometimes the deaths are quiet, and the deceased are discovered and removed right away. Sometimes, however, they're not. In some situations, expert handling of the aftermath of a messy death is called for, and that's where Socorro Janitorial comes in. "It's a sensitive subject," said Tony Tellez, the company's owner. "Depending on how severe it is, we're not licensed to do some kinds of things." For example, he said, some situations require more training and specialized handling. "We don't handle people or parts," he said. Typically, his company doesn't deal with the aftermath of violent crime, either. "The only ones we've dealt with are suicide or natural cause of death," Tellez said. "No homicides." Read more here..

The U.S. Secret Service first began investigating Todd Denson in 2006. The man later confessed he misappropriated nearly $80,000 from several residents of Cumberland County, where Denson used to live and own a window-washing business based in Westbrook. In order to attract investors, Denson fabricated stories about how he had made millions designing window-washing equipment or how he stood to inherit millions from his long-lost father. In most instances, Denson was able to document his alleged wealth. In one case, he played a phone message to a potential investor from an overseas bank that confirmed his wealth, witness testimony revealed. In another, Denson told Secret Service agents that he traveled overseas and physically saw the money. Three victims testified at his trial last year that Denson persuaded them to give him money with the promise that he would pay them back more than what they gave.

U.S. District Court Judge George Singal had hoped never to see Todd Denson again when the federal jurist in June 2007 sentenced the Stockton Springs man to 18 months in prison for mail and wire fraud. Denson, 50, was back before Singal on Friday to be sentenced for again soliciting money to send overseas in an international scam. A jury convicted him in September of 13 counts of wire fraud — the second time in four years that he was implicated in such a scheme. Denson spent 14 months in federal prison in 2007 and 2008 after he pleaded guilty to seven counts of mail and wire fraud in U.S. District Court in Portland. Singal on Friday sentenced Denson to 45 months — 30 months for the new wire fraud charges and 15 months for violating his supervised release on the previous case, which adds up to nearly four years in federal prison.

“I’m not sure the defendant today understands the harm he has done to other individuals,” the judge said Friday. “Mr. Denson, you are a person totally committed to your benefit.” The judge again sentenced Denson to serve three years of supervised release with strict conditions after he completes his prison term. One condition would prevent Denson from sending money out of the country. In addition, the judge ordered Denson to pay more than $26,000 in restitution on the current case and the $54,000 still owed from the earlier case. So far, Singal said, Denson has paid none of the restitution owed to the four victims he admitted scamming in 2006. Original blog story here.

Passing of David Trager: One of his daughters told of reading the judge's own eulogy of his father, who arrived in America as an immigrant from Europe knowing no English and hardly any other people. He eventually found work as a window washer. The immigrant window-washer's son made his way to Columbia and then Harvard Law School and then the federal bench, finding time along the way to make a lot of friends and admirers, if the huge and racially diverse crowd on a snowy morning at the funeral was any indication. I didn't, alas, know Judge Trager very well (his wife wrote for me at the New York Sun a bit), and the context in which I did know him was not his courtroom. But I always appreciated the encouragement he provided. For me, the remembrances of him this morning illuminated both the social mobility and the commitment to modest, impartial rule of law that are such important parts of both why people like the judge's father want to come to America in the first place, and why their descendants are proud to make it their home.

Mam's agony as son's killer jailed for death crash: One moment of madness cost him his life and left his family with a lifetime of heartache. Tragic teenager Conor Barton had never been interested in motorbikes before a pal persuaded him to become a pillion passenger on a 100mph death-ride. His heartbroken mam (pictured)  believes in that split-second decision, her treasured boy caved in to peer pressure from his older friend and climbed on the stolen machine without a helmet. It was a decision that would end up with him losing his young life as he was catapulted to his death. Today as joyrider Ryan Luscombe begins a four-year, eight-month jail sentence for causing the smash, Conor’s mam Heather Jukes has spoken of the agony of losing her only son. And the devastated 39-year-old has urged other youngsters to think before making the same fatal decision Conor did.

And one evening in August 2009, Luscombe called at the house where the teen lived with his grandmother, Joyce, asking him to come out. The window cleaner later persuaded his pal to join him on a joyride on a Suzuki 1100 he had helped steal from a customer. With Conor riding pillion without a helmet, Luscombe sped down a stretch of the A1 near the Team Valley, Gateshead, that was partially closed as repair work was carried out. Riding at “breakneck speed” southbound towards the roadworks where cones were filing traffic into a single lane, he sped past one lorry at an estimated 100mph and weaved from side to side trying to pass another, Newcastle Crown Court heard. And when he ignored the clear “Road Closed” signs, planning to use the slip road to jump slow-moving traffic, disaster struck. Conor was catapulted to his death when the bike careered into a parked dumper truck.

Maid American Style Opens New Office in Manassas & Offers Cleaning Packages Designed for Pregnant Woman & New Mothers. The excitement of a new baby is awesome and a blessing to all, however trying to maintain the house, kids, and work can be quite exhausting! Not to mention getting use to the newborns schedule during the first 3 months of life. It is for this reason that Maid American Style has established residential cleaning packages to assist pregnant women and new mothers with the daunting tasks of house cleaning chores.

Maid American Style is a Virginia based residential house cleaning and commercial office cleaning company that has expanded their coverage area to include residents and business customers in Washington, D.C., Adams Morgan, DuPont Circle, Georgetown, Annandale, Reston, Fairfax, Alexandria, Bristow, Arlington, Fort Belvoir, McLean, Vienna, Alexandria, Burke, Manassas, Woodbridge and the entire Washington, D.C. metro area. The company just announced the opening of their corporate office in Manassas, Virginia on January 10, 2010. The company offers green cleaning services and uses certified green cleaning products which are safe for everyone including infants and pets.

At least twice more over the festive period, birds clattered into windows. Only glancing blows, such that the birds survived and flew on, but it raised the question of whether this happens more in winter than in other seasons. And is it more likely with larger birds? The two other fatal instances that I can recall, one from last winter, the other from the 1980s, involved a thrush and a sparrowhawk.

“It’s certainly a problem we have experienced at Waterston House,” said Kathryn Cox of the Scottish Ornithologists’ Club. (Waterston House in Aberlady is the SOC head office.) “The green garden is reflected in the large windows, making the glass effectively invisible to birds. It seems to be less of a problem at the back of the building where there is a pond and less greenery. I have also experienced it at home where I have French doors and a window on opposite walls, and the birds seem to think they can fly through the building rather than over it.”

As to how best prevent such incidents, Cox offered several ideas. “We have reduced the problem greatly at Waterston House by moving our feeders away from the windows, not cleaning the windows so often in summer (so they’re not so reflective), and we have also put up lots of bird silhouette stickers to try and make them aware that there is a solid surface there. Despite this, we still had a swallow stun itself in the summer, but it recovered and flew away.

FALSE ALARM: An Avon officer was flagged down by a juvenile on May 13, who said that there was a man wearing a mask inside the First Federal Savings of Lorain Bank. Police waited outside for the suspect to emerge. However, when he came out, it was discovered the man was cleaning the bank and was wearing a ski mask because of his asthma.

Spoof Window Cleaner Spams The Spammers

Spam is the plague of the electronic age, comprising 90% of all e-mails and illegally netting millions of dollars each year. Into this frustrating wave of directed marketing steps the brave figure of Bob Servant, a former window cleaner and cheeseburger magnate with a love of wine, women, and song—as well as a devious sense of fair play. In collusion with his "editor" Neil Forsyth, Bob gives spammers a taste of their own medicine. This wickedly funny and original book features the anarchic exchanges between Bob and the hapless spam merchants who unwittingly flood his inbox. As they offer him African fortunes, Russian brides, and get-rich-quick scams, he turns the tables by offering them some outlandish schemes of his own. Upping the ante with the skill of a seasoned pro, Bob demands legal asylum, shoulders to cry on, and gold lions that speak—and almost gets his way. The result is page after page of wacky and hilarious e-mail exchanges—and a cathartic release for anyone whose inbox has been deluged with unwanted e-mail. Other window cleaners have also tried this.

It's all come as a shock to 32-year-old Neil Forsyth, who now lives in Edinburgh. He admits he first started replying to the spammers purely because he was bored. Neil said: "I was sitting on the couch one night and I got this email entitled 'Delete this at your peril'. It was a particularly funny scam which didn't make any sense, so I decided to reply. "It kicked off a six-month period where I started talking to spammers all over the world but, as I didn't want to use my own name, I opened an email account in the name of Bob Servant. "That was largely because I found it funny to sign o the emails 'Your Servant, Bob Servant,' and the more I spoke to them, the more I built up the character around it. "Spammers would ask about my life, so I created this character of a 62-year-old window cleaner and cheeseburger van operator in Dundee.

"I'm from Dundee and I know a lot of old guys like that who like to tell a story and tell a joke, so the character was almost a tribute to them. "I started off doing it just for amusement but my girlfriend at the time thought it was funny and so did my agent, so it came out as a book." Neil used his character to make outlandish requests to his new email pen "pals", who were happy to indulge him in the belief he would eventually give them cash. Neil said: "A lot of these email conversations got quite surreal.

"I started off by wondering just how far I could push these spammers before they lost it but I think they assumed that Bob had a mental illness and hung in there in the hope they'd get a fiver out of him at the end. "It was very much a case of starting off relatively sensible and then quite quickly the exchanges would become rooted in the absurd." One such tale involved Bob asking a contact if he could provide him with a talking lion for his zoo back in Dundee. Within hours, the contact was claiming he had spoken to someone who had a talking lion for sale and that the animal would be shipped to Scotland in exchange for some cash. Neil said: "The story with the talking lion is the one people mention the most.

"But I enjoyed the conversation with a Russian woman called Olga whom Bob fell in love with. "Suddenly, Olga's 'agency owner' called Sasha - who had the same e-mail address - popped up asking for his cut. "It resulted in Bob launching a business in Dundee. Him, Olga and Sasha were going to go around building novelty lakes in people's gardens. "The spammers had absolutely no problem in saying they would do that as long as Bob sent the air fare so they could come and join him."

Neil even got one spammer to admit he was a conman. He said: "I really enjoyed that exchange, as he twigged that Bob was joking. He replied saying that he thought Bob was very funny and I ended up having this strange conversation where he was openly admitting what he was up to. "He said he lived in Malaysia and I asked him if a lot of people fell for what he was doing. "He said it was a minority but that was all he needed. It was interesting to hear him openly discussing his work."

First released in 2007, Neil's book slowly became an international cult hit. He said: "I had been getting on with other books and other projects but Delete This At Your Peril spread through word of mouth. It got picked up a lot by American colleges. "That generated a bit of interest over here and then Irvine Welsh named it as the funniest book he'd ever read. "Tom Simpson, who is the keyboardist in Snow Patrol, also heard about it, as he comes from Monifeith. He passed the book around the band. They then passed it on to Richard Colburn, who is the drummer in Belle and Sebastian. "They both mentioned it to a lot of people and they might also have mentioned it in a couple of interviews, which helped stoke things as well. "I missed much of this because I was living in New York and, at this time, the book wasn't for sale any more, so it was a real phoenix-like rise from the ashes."

The renewed interest led to Neil writing a sequel in the form of his comic character's autobiography entitled Bob Servant: Hero of Dundee. He said: "You could describe Bob with any positive adjective but you'd have to put the words 'self-proclaimed' before it. He's a self-proclaimed good guy, a self-proclaimed man of the people and a self-proclaimed success story, who sees himself as a local boy done good. "He's now retired and spends his time trawling the streets and bars of Dundee looking for the respect that he thinks he deserves." His success led to BBC Radio Scotland producing an adaptation of the first book with Dundonian Cox starring as Bob. Comic actors Sanjeev Kohli, Felix Dexter and Laura Solon play the spammers.

Neil said: "I was absolutely delighted that the whole thing came together with such a talented cast of actors. It was a real pleasure to hear them bring it to life. "And Bob would think the fact that Brian Cox was playing him was just about right. I think he would see himself as being very much on a par with Brian. They're two local boys done good." As for Neil, he's still coming to terms with the fact his comedy character captured the imagination of so many. He added: "There's another Bob book I'd like to write and there's talk of a TV adaptation as well, so we definitely haven't heard the last of him."

The unmissable business opportunity

From: LANZHOU GLOBAL LTD 

To: Bob Servant
Subject: JOB OPPORTUNITY/ MAKE MORE INCOME
Dear Sir/Madam, We are Lanzhou Global, a specialist in the production of rubber belts such as power transmission belts, conveyor belts, etc. We need agents to receive payment in bank wire transfers and to resend the money to us. You earn 10% from each operation. Your job is absolutely legal. You can earn up to 3,000-4,000 pounds monthly.
Best regards,
Admin/Human Resources Manager,
Xiong Li

From: Bob Servant
To: LANZHOU GLOBAL LTD
Hello there
My name is Bob Servant and I am a semi-retired window cleaner. I am very interested in working for your company. I have a big garage that I could convert into an office?
Many thanks,
Bob
PS What would be my job title?
PPS Is there a uniform?

From: LANZHOU GLOBAL LTD
To: Bob Servant
Hello Bob,
Thanks a lot. Listen Bob, this job does not require your much time or space. You do not need a uniform for this and get 10% of each payment. You can give yourself any title you want. Please give us your full personal and banking details so we can get started with this now Bob, Thanks,
Xiong

From: Bob Servant
To: LANZHOU GLOBAL LTD
Xiong,
I am an old-fashioned kind of man and as far as I'm concerned if you are working then you wear a uniform. What kind of look do you go for? Do you wear a suit or a branded tracksuit? I want something tight, that's vital. It makes me feel alert.
Your new employee, a proud member of the Lanzhou Team,
The Big Man, Bob Servant

From: LANZHOU GLOBAL LTD
To: Bob Servant
Hello Big Man!
We are glad to have you as our staff, please send the information that we need. Do what you think is best for a uniform, Bob. We trust you. I wear a suit.

From: Bob Servant
To: LANZHOU GLOBAL LTD
Xiong,
Hello boss! I have been trying like a bastard to find the right uniform for the job and I think I have it – a boilersuit that I bought for £30. I've really enjoyed my first two days of working for LANZHOU GLOBAL LTD. It's been all go, but I have had a great time. I'll get to grips with the form tomorrow.
Yours loyally,
Bob

From: LANZHOU GLOBAL LTD
To: Bob Servant
Dear Bob,
The uniform sounds perfect. You should wear it when you are doing your business as you will look smart.
Bob, do not hesitate to send back your job application form. It is very important and we need this information for our system.
XIONG

From: Bob Servant
To: LANZHOU GLOBAL LTD
Xiong,
I have been very, very busy. I know you want to get these forms done, but it's not all about paperwork in business, Xiong, you should know that. What we need, Xiong, is to let people know that we are here and we mean business. Rubber belt business.
I've started spreading the word locally. I have also been thinking about a staff night out. Obviously, as things stand there is just me here in the Scottish office, but I was thinking of inviting a couple of people. I think that Chinese would be the most appropriate, as I'm sure you agree!
Is that OK? Shall I just keep a receipt and send it over to you?
Your Faithful Employee and Friend,
Bob Servant

From: LANZHOU GLOBAL LTD
To: Bob Servant
Bob,
Thank you again for your hard work for the company. I think that the party is a good idea, and yes we would prefer you to eat at a Chinese restaurant. But Bob, you have still not given us your national insurance number, bank account information and phone number right away.
Please hurry Bob
Xiong

From: Bob Servant
To: LANZHOU GLOBAL LTD
Xiong,
My friend. We've had some good times together. We've laughed and joked and worked damn hard to get LANZHOU GLOBAL LTD the respect that it undoubtedly deserves. But things change, my friend. I'd like to place on record how much I have enjoyed my time working with LANZHOU GLOBAL LTD. I suppose this is goodbye, Xiong. I will never, ever forget you.
Your ex-employee but lifelong friend

Bob "Xiong" Servant

From: LANZHOU GLOBAL LTD
To: Bob Servant
Hi, How are you? I know from the start you are a clown, I laugh a lot when i read from you.

From: Bob Servant
To: LANZHOU GLOBAL LTD
Hello there,
Yes, I was pulling your leg. All the very best with the old "Lanzhou" line. If you don't mind me saying so, I think it needs a bit of polishing. Tell me, where are you from and do many people actually fall for this stuff?
Stay strong,
Bob Servant

From: LANZHOU GLOBAL LTD
To: Bob Servant
Hello Bob,
Of course many people do fall for it, you know lots of gimimicks now and you make your cash. I am from Malaysia, tell me more about you.

No reply

The real life story..

Stockton Springs man convicted of wire fraud for 2nd time: A jury in U.S. District Court found a Stockton Springs man guilty Wednesday of soliciting money from several individuals, funds he then invested in an international money scam which officials say didn't exist. Todd Denson, 50, was convicted of 13 counts of wire fraud -- the second time in four years that he has been implicated in such a scheme. Denson spent 14 months in federal prison in 2007 and 2008 after he pleaded guilty to seven counts of mail and wire fraud.

Denson will be sentenced at a later date on his latest conviction but could face up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. Jurors deliberated for nearly 3 1/2 hours Wednesday after hearing almost two full days of testimony from witnesses called by Assistant U.S. Attorney James McCarthy, including a U.S. Secret Service agent who has investigated Denson for years. Denson's attorney, Virginia Villa, did not call any witnesses and did not ask Denson to testify in his own defense.

The trial centered on whether Denson intentionally defrauded people when he asked them for money with a promise that he would pay it back. For several years, dating back to before Denson's first conviction, the man has been involved in an Internet scam that many consumers received e-mails about but few followed through on. The premise is simple: The e-mail recipient is instructed to send a certain amount of money overseas, usually to an African country, in order to access a much larger pool of money, usually millions of dollars. Similar scams were operated through mailed letters and fax machines for decades before they moved to the Internet in the 1990s.

Denson evidently became convinced the scam was real. In 2006, he claimed he sent $60,000 of his own money overseas with the promise that more than $9 million had his name on it. When Denson learned that he needed to send more money, he began asking individuals to "invest," but was untruthful about what the investment was. The U.S. Secret Service first began investigating Denson in 2006. The man later confessed he misappropriated nearly $80,000 from several residents of Cumberland County, where Denson used to live and own a window-washing business.

In order to attract investors, Denson fabricated stories about how he had made millions designing window-washing equipment or how he stood to inherit millions from his long-lost father. He later pleaded guilty to seven counts of mail and wire fraud and was sentenced in Portland in June 2007 to 18 months in federal prison. He served about 14 months, but court testimony revealed he began engaging in the same scam almost immediately after his release. In most instances, Denson was able to document his alleged wealth. In one case, he played a phone message to a potential investor from an overseas bank that confirmed his wealth, witness testimony revealed. In another, Denson told Secret Service agents that he traveled overseas and physically saw the money.

Three reputed victims testified Tuesday morning that Denson persuaded them to give him money with the promise that he would pay them back more than what they gave. One victim, Gary Plante of Oakland, was supposed to get a private loan from Denson of $185,000 so he could buy a home. Plante deposited $5,000 into an escrow account at Denson's request to help facilitate the loan. Nearly a year has passed and Plante has not gotten the loan or his $5,000 back.

Another victim, Camillia Arelia, whose hometown was not available, knew Denson socially and at one point offered to give him money on the stipulation that he pay it back. Denson assured her that he had millions overseas that he could access. Like Plante, she was never repaid. "Evidence showed this defendant defrauded and cheated [victims]. He made promises he knew he could not and would not keep," McCarthy said in his closing argument. Villa said her client still believes there is money in an overseas account for him, and she told jurors that the prosecution never proved that Denson didn't have the money. Also here & here.

"Nigerian Scam" Drags On For Window Cleaner

BANGOR, Maine — A Stockton Springs window cleaner who spent more than a year in federal prison for soliciting funds to invest in an international scam pleaded not guilty Monday in federal court to 13 counts of wire fraud in what prosecutors have called a similar scheme. Todd Denson, 50, originally was indicted in May on two counts of wire fraud. He allegedly was asking people for money that he sent overseas. Denson told people that he needed money to gain access to millions he had in foreign bank accounts, according to court documents.

The first indictment cited two wire transfers totaling $4,700. The new indictment, dated July 13, cited 11 additional wire transfers totaling $20,383, including the amount cited in the original indictment. Information about what led to the additional charges was not available Monday. U.S. Magistrate Judge Margaret Kravchuk ordered that Denson continue to be held without bail, as he has been since his arrest in April. He scheduled to be tried on all 13 counts in September.

Denson appears to be a victim of a well-known Internet monetary fraud as well as someone who has tried to swindle money from people in Hancock, Waldo and Knox counties since he was released from prison in May 2008, according to court documents. He was sentenced on June 7, 2007, in federal court in Portland to 18 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to seven counts of mail and wire fraud. Denson admitted to bilking several Cumberland County residents out of nearly $80,000. His problems apparently began in 2006, when he fell for a fraudulent Internet scheme out of Ghana, according to previously published reports. The owner of a successful window-washing business in Portland, Denson sent $60,000 to the African nation after being told he could get a $9 million inheritance.

After he ran out of his own money in 2006, Denson used a variety of stories to get additional funds from seven so-called investors and wired the money overseas in hopes of getting the millions promised. In all, he bilked seven people out of nearly $80,000, but only four sought restitution, according to court records. He still owes $58,600 to those victims, according to court documents. It was unclear Monday how many people might have been victimized by Denson's most recent alleged activities, although three victims were identified in the original indictment. If convicted on the new charges, Denson faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

A Westbrook man who lost $60,000 of his own money in a fraudulent Internet scheme run out of Africa now faces a federal prison sentence for using $78,600 of other people's money after his funds ran out. Todd Denson, 46, told investigators that he received an e-mail that convinced him he could get an inheritance worth more than $9 million from a murdered man in Ghana by sending $1,000 overseas. Denson sent the money, followed by another $59,000. Eventually he ran out of his own money and told a variety of stories to get money from other "investors." He convinced one victim to invest in patented window-washing inventions and another to invest in an international construction company. On Thursday, Denson pleaded guilty to mail and wire fraud in U.S. District Court in Portland and faces up to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and will owe restitution to his seven victims. His case offers a cautionary tale for people who think they can get rich quickly, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Donald Clark.

In another case, Todd Denson, who ran a Westbrook-based window-washing company, placed a classified ad in the Portland Press Herald seeking investors. Denson said he needed to borrow $40,000 for 48 hours, and promised a $20,000 return on investment. He said he needed the money to release more than $9 million in funds that he kept in an overseas bank account, money he had earned by inventing patented window-washing equipment. Instead, prosecutors say, Denson shipped the money overseas to release what he had become convinced was millions of dollars in assets of a construction company he had acquired.

Prosecutors believe Denson spent $60,000 of his own funds before borrowing $78,000 from five victims. All of it was lost in the scam. He now faces up to 20 years in prison. When he was being questioned by a Secret Service agent last January, Denson reminded the agent that the two had talked before. Denson said he had called the Secret Service office and asked the agent if he thought the overseas investment Denson was involved in was legitimate. The agent said he was familiar with the scheme and warned him to stay away from it. He was told not to send any more money, and not to take anyone else's money to finance it.

Denson was told that "since he was aware of the scam, he could be held criminally liable for enticing other unsuspecting individuals into relinquishing their money," according to a court document written by Assistant U.S. Attorney Donald Clark. Despite the warning, Denson continued looking for "investors" to help him strike it rich. Victims like Denson go through a common psychological phenomenon known as a "social trap" that turns them into accomplices of the same con men who are trying to rob them, said Bill Thornton, a psychology professor at the University of Southern Maine. Victims need to justify their losses, he said. The more they lose in the scam, the more convinced they become of its reality. "We don't think of ourselves as stupid people, so there is some self-deception and rationalization," Thornton said.

Magalski likens it to gambling. "It's like a poker player who knows he's probably going to get beat, but he's got so much in the pot, he has to keep going and feeding it," he said. "You've invested so much." Magalski says it's difficult to say how much money has been lost to the scammers. While cases like those of Denson and Lewis are rare, his office hears almost daily from people who want to check out an e-mail they received, or from a financial institution concerned about a customer who is drawing large amounts of money out of his or her account. People who lose money are often too embarrassed to report it, Magalski said, but he estimates that losses of $10,000 to $25,000 are common.

When the losses are reported, often little can be done. American law firms that purport to represent the scammers turn out to be fakes. So do the addresses on the documents. The con men and the money are typically out of the country, beyond reach. The best Magalski can offer is advice. All of these crimes could have been prevented by ignoring the first e-mail. "The best way to combat this is public education," he said.