Alerts

Warning: Correspondence misusing the name of Jonathan Lee Goodwin of Jonathan Goodwin Limited

30 December 2022

Letters have been sent falsely claiming to be from Jonathan Lee Goodwin of Jonathan Goodwin Limited in respect of a supposedly unclaimed inheritance.

What is the scam?

Letters have been sent to members of the public referring to a supposedly unclaimed permanent life inheritance policy. The letter falsely claims to be from 'Jonathan Lee Goodwin' of 'Jonathan Goodwin Limited' (see below).

The letter seen by the SRA asks the recipient to help claim the life insurance policy due as the recipient has the same surname and nationality as the supposed client/deceased. The letter advises 10% of the proceeds will go to charity, 60% to the recipient and 30% to 'Jonathan Lee Goodwin'.

The letter provides the email addresses 'info@jgoodwinlimited.com' and 'jonathanleegoodwin@gmail.com' and a telephone number of '+44 20 3289 7902'. It also misuses the genuine postal address of a genuine firm (see below).

Any business or transactions through the above email addresses and contact number is not undertaken by a firm or individual authorised and regulated by the SRA.

Is there a genuine firm or person?

The SRA authorises and regulates Jonathan Goodwin Limited, which is a member of Sills & Betteridge LLP, a firm authorised and regulated by the SRA.

The genuine head office address for Jonathan Goodwin Limited and Sills & Betteridge LLP is 18-28 Clasketgate, Lincoln, LN2 1JN. The genuine contact number for the firm is 01522 542211.

The SRA authorises and regulates a solicitor called Jonathan Lee Goodwin who is a partner at Sills and Betteridge LLP. His genuine email address is Jgoodwin@sillslegal.co.uk.

The SRA authorises and regulates two other genuine solicitors called Jonathan Richard Goodwin a director of Jonathan Goodwin Solicitor Advocate Limited and Jonathan Mark Goodwin a consultant at Allen & Overy LLP.

The genuine firms of Jonathan Goodwin Limited, Sills & Betteridge LLP, and Jonathan Goodwin Solicitor Advocate Limited and the genuine solicitors Jonathan Lee Goodwin and Jonathan Richard Goodwin have all confirmed they have no connection to the correspondence referred to in the above alert. The genuine solicitor Jonathan Mark Goodwin is also believed to have no connection to the letters referred to in the above alert.

What should I do?

When a firm's or individual's identity has been copied exactly (or cloned), due diligence is necessary. If you receive correspondence claiming to be from the above firm(s) or individual(s), or information of a similar nature to that described, you should conduct your own due diligence by checking the authenticity of the correspondence by contacting the law firm directly by reliable and established means. You can contact the SRA to find out if individuals or firms are regulated and authorised by the SRA and verify an individual's or firm's practising details. Other verification methods, such as checking public records (e.g. telephone directories and company records) may be required in other circumstances.