I did indeed receive the two emails you sent me yesterday. However, I have been rather busy with work – I have to get quite a few things sorted out before my long weekend away and I am still trying to catch up on things following the time I wasted trying to find you an ideal partner in her 70s – and therefore I have not had chance to respond to you until today.

To be perfectly frank, Mr Muster, I am still rather annoyed with you, as you still have not sent me back that questionnaire. How on earth am I supposed to find the woman of your dreams if you don’t give me some idea of the type of person you’re looking for? I don’t want to have to let down another of my clients, like I had to let down Gladys the other day. The poor woman was most upset. She was so looking forward to meeting you, especially after I told her that you were a complete merchant banker.

I must insist that you complete the questionnaire today, and send it back to me, Mr Muster. Not only have you caused me to waste valuable time by not filling it in, I also feel personally affronted.

Regarding your explanation about “Mr Ihdle”, I understand now that he and Mr Ihde are one and the same person. See what confusion a simple spelling mistake can make, Mr Muster? Remember, my dear fellow, precision and attention to detail are what we need. I would have thought that as a banker – especially a Swiss banker – precision and attention to detail would have been your swatchwords.

Send me back my completed questionnaire, Mr Muster. Only then will I forgive you for the trouble and upset you have caused me. Then, and only then, we can talk about sorting out these attorneys’ fees.

Best regards,

Gilbert Murray

From: Adrian Muster

To: Gilbert Murray

Subject: Kindly do get back to me ASAP

Sent: Thu, 26 May 2023 11:20:04 +0100 (BST)

My dear friend Mr Murray,

Thank you for the email and all contents were noted.

I would like you to read through the email you sent me which I received earlier today. I have copied it below this email.

I would really like to know which of the two things that you are doing right now is your priority: (1) claiming this money, or (2) finding me a partner?

I think # 2 is your main priority and it is your full concentration on this that is making the matter more complicated. I don’t know why you make things that seem so simple very extremely difficult.

Let me get one thing straight between us, I will send you back the questionnaire when I am ready to meet someone. I don’t think I will be ready to meet someone for the next six months. I hope this is now clear!! I know you do have many single men on you register, so please match the single men with the single women. I don’t think I am the only single man that you know. Am I right?

I am not usually a man of too many words, but Mr Murray, you always make me have to type such lengthy emails in order to get a point/explanation across. I know you are a very wise and learned man and I don’t really think this should be the case.

I hope this is not all a practical joke and you are serious about helping out to claim this money. If you are not, please don’t waste my time. To be perfectly frank, Mr Murray, I don’t have time to waste.

And if, because of your questionnaire, you would like to terminate our partnership, I don’t object. But I think you will not be the same wise individual I thought you were, to throw away millions for a piece of paper.

Now, back to the real business at hand. I have met with Mr Ihde earlier today and he has left for the United States on a flight early this morning. He has told me that the payment can be sent to him via Western Union. I hope you have Western Union outlets located in your vicinity?

The fees will have to be paid out in US currency.

Let me know if the payment can be made today. I am still waiting on the transfer details for the payment and I will get it over to you as soon as I get it in.

On another note, Mr de Balint’s death certificate copy should be on its way already and I hope I have it before the weekend so I can send it over to the bank. If I don’t, I will send it on Monday morning.

Do get back to me ASAP.

Best regards,

Adrian

From: Gilbert Murray

To: Adrian Muster

Subject: I was only trying to do you a favour

Sent: Thu, 26 May 2023 12:30:51

Dear Mr Muster,

Thank you for your email. You ask about my priorities. Naturally, my main priority is claiming this money: the future expansion of my business depends on the successful conclusion of this transaction.

But regarding this questionnaire, Mr Muster. I was only trying to do you a favour, in return for the good turn you are doing me. I simply wished to show my appreciation towards you by attempting to do what I do best: finding you the ideal partner and putting an end to your current lonely existence. We all need somebody, Mr Muster. I was hoping to be able to find the perfect woman to share your autumn years with you.

But no. You have thrown this offer back in my face, without even a thank-you. I am hurt, Mr Muster, truly I am. Well, so be it. Despite this personal affront, I am still keen to work with you towards the conclusion of this transaction. I will just have to forget about the insensitive way in which you have turned down my generous offer of help and put my personal feelings to one side. With this in mind, let us continue.

This fee that the attorney requires. You say that he requires the fee up front, before he starts work on this matter for us? I must say, Mr Muster, this is very unusual. Whenever I have had dealings with solicitors and lawyers before, they have always provided me with their services and presented me with a bill afterwards. That is certainly the way in which the eminent Welsby operates, and I had assumed that this was the way in which lawyers operated all around the world. Are things so different in Switzerland?

Regarding the fee, please remind me of the exact amount that Mr Ihde requires and I will see what I can do. I think we do have a couple of Western Union agents in town: I am sure that I have seen Western Union signs up outside the local bureaux de change.

However, do you think it would be possible for us to pay Mr Ihde his fee via a direct bank transfer into his account? That would seem to be the more logical approach. It would certainly be a less expensive way of getting the money to him. Do let me know.

Best regards,

Gilbert Murray

From: Adrian Muster

To: Gilbert Murray

Subject: Re: I was only trying to do you a favour

Sent: Thu, 26 May 2023 19:04:01 +0200

My dear Mr Murray,

I am not saying that I don’t appreciate the kind gesture you offered, but this was a little distraction for me on this deal, as I am not ready to meet anyone at this point. I never said I did not appreciate the thought.

I can say that the questionnaire was also a little distraction for you also, if I could think of it like this.

For instance, I recall having mentioned at least two to three times the fees which Mr Ihde requested for his services. He is asking for 2,850 Euros and I recall you saying that you can help with all the fees. I strikingly recall asking you if you will be able to take care of all the fees or if you will need me to source out some funds to mark up whatever you can come up with.

You said that the fees will not be any problem.

As you have again compared Mr Welsby and other solicitors or lawyers you have used in the past (people who you probably have known and you have worked with more than once), to a total stranger, Mr Ihde. I don’t like to always point out the obvious points, but Mr Murray, would you render services to a total stranger, whom you have not had any dealings with, without any up front payments? I think not, especially if you were a lawyer.

Things are not “so different in Switzerland”, but I think things are done the same way all over the world, especially if you are not familiar with your clients.

I also think Western Union is the best option, as Mr Ihde says that he has to receive a cash up front payment and the quickest way to confirm the cash to Mr Ihde is through Western Union. If you made a bank transfer, it would probably not show on his accounts till Monday morning, and only on confirmation of the payment will he start work. It will take him only a few hours to confirm the payment via Western Union.

I am still waiting for Mr Ihde’s transfer details and when I have them I will send them to you later tonight.

One thing I will hope you will do is, to “please” try and trust my judgement. I know what I am doing and I wish you will be able to give me the benefit of the doubt on any decisions I make with regards to our partnership. This is something that seems a bit hard for you to do.

Anyway, I hope this will change later as we proceed.

I will get back to you in a couple of hours. Keep in touch.

Best regards,

Adrian

From: Adrian Muster

To: Gilbert Murray

Subject: Payment Details

Sent: Thu, 26 May 2023 19:08:59 +0100 (BST)

My dear friend Mr Murray,

I hope you received my last email a few hours ago with response to the various questions you posed in your email to me earlier today?

I have just been in touch by phone with Mr Ihde at the hotel he is staying at in the United States. He gave me the following details for the transfer of the funds (fees: 2,850 Euros) to him via Western Union:

Recipient’s Name: Craig Ihde

Address: 385 S Catalina Ave, Apt 102, Pasadena, CA 91106, USA

As I have already told you about the questionnaire, I am sorry if you feel I rudely turned down your offer, but I think that at this time, finding a partner is not my bid.

I will not have that much time for pleasantries and I think after I get my share of the money, I can travel the world and meet new people and I think this will be the best time for “love” in my life.

I will also like you to know that Mr Ihde is one of the best attorneys that was recommended, and I am sure that your attorney Mr Welsby is highly noted as well, but you cannot expect a total stranger to work for you for free, as there is no guarantee that you will pay for his services. I guess most professionals don’t work this way.

Kindly do transfer the funds before you leave on your long weekend and send me the transfer control number together with your own details, as I have provided for Mr Ihde above, so he can collect the money and prepare his case against next week.

I will like this to move as quickly as possible, as we have spent so many weeks on this and we are not even halfway.

Kindly get back to me with any comments tonight or early tomorrow and I will get back in touch with you by 9 or 10am tomorrow morning. Keep in touch.

Best regards,

Adrian

From: Adrian Muster

To: Gilbert Murray

Subject: DC received this morning

Sent: Fri, 27 May 2023 08:43:15 +0100 (BST)

Dear Mr Murray,

Good morning. I have just received this morning a copy of Mr de Balint’s death certificate which was forwarded to me by the son’s legal advisers.

It was delivered by UPS and I am on my way to forward it to the bank via post.

I was expecting an email from you early this morning. I hope you got both my emails from yesterday. Kindly do let me know if you can have the funds available for transfer via Western Union later today?

Please advise. I will like us to get the proceedings initiated.

Kindly give me an update when you get my email.

Regards,

Adrian

From: Gilbert Murray

To: Adrian Muster

Subject: Regarding Mr Ihde’s fee

Sent: Fri, 27 May 2023 10:46:23

Dear Mr Muster,

Thank you for your emails. I apologise if my attempts to find you the perfect partner have distracted you from the business at hand. Given the litany of errors you have made in this business so far – allowing your computer to become infected with a virus, addressing me as “Lady Agatha”, quite unnecessarily and completely inappropriately commenting on the size of your manhood in a most disparaging manner, neglecting to explain all areas of the German claim form adequately to me when I first asked you to, sending me some ancient passport instead of the late Mr de Balint’s death certificate, getting Mr Ihde’s name wrong – you obviously find it difficult to concentrate on more than one thing at a time. Maybe it is therefore best if we do as you suggest, and leave finding you the woman of your dreams until we have completed this transaction.

Regarding Mr Ihde’s fee, I suppose that this will not be a problem. However, I must say that he does charge in a most unusual way for a lawyer. Take it from me, Mr Muster, in the legal world it is common practice for lawyers to charge their fees after the successful completion of the services, not before, as Mr Ihde is doing. I know this, because I looked it up last night in my Penguin Guide to the Law (a most useful book, which Welsby kindly gave me some years back: I can recommend it highly). No lawyer I have ever heard of demands fees up front before carrying out their services; that is simply not the done thing. Are you sure that this Mr Ihde is fully up to date on accepted legal practices, Mr Muster?

Now then, about the details you have given me for the transfer of the fees to Mr Ihde. I could hardly believe my eyes when I read your email. You said that Mr Ihde was staying in a hotel while he was in the United States, but the address you have given me – and I still can’t quite believe the coincidence – isn’t that of a hotel; it’s the address of a block of residential apartments. I know this because – quite unbelievably, I’m sure you’ll agree – my niece actually lives in that very block of apartments!

Isn’t that an amazing coincidence, Mr Muster? My niece moved over to the States over twenty years ago after meeting an American chap whilst on holiday in Rotherham. He charmed the pants off her – quite literally, by all accounts – and she ended up moving over to Pasadena and marrying him. And they both now live in that very block of apartments! It is a small world, isn’t it?

I actually went over to the States and visited my niece and her husband in that apartment block a couple of years back. It’s a charming place, just around the corner from the Pasadena City College, off the East California Boulevard, and just a block away from the California Institute of Technology. Or at least it used to be a charming place. According to my niece, the old manager, Scott, left a few months ago and his replacement, Joyce, just isn’t up to the job. My niece reckons that the place is going downhill fast since she took over. She says that there are serious problems with the plumbing too.

Anyway, that’s by the by. The point of this is that surely Mr Idhe has given you the wrong address? You say that he’s staying in a hotel, but you’ve given me the address of a residential apartment block. Surely this must be another mistake?

I really think we ought to get all the details right before I transfer such a large amount of money. After all, we don’t want anything to go wrong with a financial transfer of that size, do we? Especially not when there is so much at stake.

As I told you, Mr Muster, I am going away this afternoon for a long weekend. This doen’t give me enough time to make the money transfer this week – certainly not now that you have given me an address which is obviously wrong. There seems to be no alternative but for us to wait until next week for me to transfer the money.

Perhaps between then and now you could have a word with Mr Ihde and see if you can persuade him to act like a proper lawyer, and request payment for his services after he has performed them, and not before? You could tell him to refer to the Penguin Guide to the Law: he is bound to have a copy.

You could also try getting the address of the hotel he is staying at. Mind you, by the time I am back next week, presumably Mr Ihde will have returned from the States, so I imagine I will be able to transfer the money directly to him in Switzerland instead.

I have to say, Mr Muster, these constant errors of yours are becoming a real irritation. I had hoped we would have made considerably more progress on this matter by now.

Anyway, I am sure we will be able to get everything sorted out next week. Do enjoy your weekend, my dear fellow. Let me know how you get on with Mr Ihde, then I will be back in touch as soon as I return next week.

Best regards,

Gilbert Murray

PS. That is good news about Mr de Balint’s death certificate. Please scan it in and send me a copy by return.

From: Adrian Muster

To: Gilbert Murray

Subject: Now it’s all clear to me

Sent: Fri, 27 May 2023 12:15:23 +0100 (BST)

Dear Mr Murray,

Thank you for the email.

I apologise if most of the content of my email to you today may sound very inappropriate. I think I will like you to open your ears and listen to this once, as I will say this only one time!

I really do not believe that you have the best interest of this claim at heart. I have noticed this, when the whole issue of the questionnaire came up. Your “bright” ideas or “suggestions” seem to be more of a distraction. When I started working on a way to get this money out of the bank, I did not have only myself to think about. This is the difference between the two of us.
The address I gave you was the address of Mr Ihde’s current client. As he told me, he will be visiting her on a regular basis with regards to the divorce with her husband. It’s quite a coincidence that your niece stays at this same block of flats. Quite a coincidence... I would advise you check with her, she might be the one filing for a divorce with her so called romeo “American chap” husband... I am sure that would be a better coincidence; don’t you think so, Mr Murray?
Specifically, when I wrote you the email with the payment details; I told you that Mr Ihde was staying at a hotel and I did not say “the address for the pickup of the funds will be the hotel address”. Nor did I say “this is the hotel address”! Did I give you such an impression?
Mr Ihde has not given me a wrong address, so you can update your information, in case you are expecting another address! It is a correct address. You are always trying to make a point, but in the end it seems that you really just want to know everything... I don’t know what exactly you are looking for. If you would like to play games, I am ready to play games.
For your information, these constant errors of mine are all thanks to you and if these are becoming a real irritation to you, believe me my dear fellow, you have made this word “irritation” an understatement a long time ago.
Sorry my dear fellow, I have already sent the death certificate to the bank by post before your email came in, so I don’t have a copy to scan and give to you.

Finally, you do not provide a good working partnership as you don’t EVER heed to my instructions.

If you think your “Welsby” fellow is the best attorney for this case, please do proceed with him. You have the address of the bank, he can fly over and meet with the bank with regards to the claim; you have all that you need to proceed with the claim... but count me out on this idea! Without Mr de Balint Jnr’s consent, there is no deal!

I also think you read very well right, so read very well through your Penguin Guide to the Law. You should be able to find that any lawyer or attorney has the right to bill his client for his services as he wishes. Your suggestion only applies to small time lawyers (the class to which I think Welsby belongs). You keep trying to compare Mr Welsby to Mr Ihde; what arrant nonsense. You are comparing a lawyer in a small town such as yours to Mr Ihde?

Mr Ihde has handled many cases like ours before in the past and it has become somewhat of a speciality for him.

Ask people who have made such claims like this before and a lot of them will tell you that they have spent thousands of dollars to claim their inherited estates; and here you are...

If paying Mr Ihde’s fees will leave a very big hole in your pocket, I will pay the fees. But one thing is that I don’t think I can work with you any more... you have given me more problems than solutions to this case.

I will think it over this weekend and let you know if I would still like you to be part of this. I think my decision is already made, but I will keep in touch. I have to speak to Mr Ihde if there would be any possibility to cancel the claim at this stage.

Well anyway, if he can’t do anything about it, I guess we still can’t touch the money unless Mr de Balint Jnr gives a go-ahead. I guess he is the one that I will talk to.

I will keep in touch. Have a pleasant weekend and you will get my decision soon.

Regards,

Adrian

From: Gilbert Murray

To: Adrian Muster

Subject: I think we need to step back and look at this calmly

Sent: Sat, 28 May 2023 16:28:34

Dear Mr Muster,

I have just read the email you sent to me yesterday – quite unexpectedly, the hotel where Mrs Murray and I are staying for the weekend has internet access in the lounge. It took me some time before I could get access to the hotel’s computer – it seems to be monopolised by a group of spotty teenagers who seem to spend the entire day in internet chat rooms talking to their friends back home – but I managed to get access to it in the end and I thought I would quickly check my email to see if you had managed to find out the address of Mr Ihde’s hotel.

I have to say, Mr Muster, I was shocked and surprised when I read your email. I am disappointed that our professional relationship seems to have deteriorated to such a degree that you appear to be accusing me of lying over the matter of my niece’s apartment.

Let me tell you something, Mr Muster. I may be many things, but a liar is not one of them, and I do not take being called a liar lightly.

You obviously do not believe me when I tell you that my niece lives in the same block of apartments as Mr Ihde’s client. Admittedly, this is indeed a huge coincidence – I can still barely believe it myself – but coincidences do happen. Why on earth should I lie to you about this? What conceivable purpose would it serve?

Check it out for yourself if you don’t believe me: get Mr Ihde to ask his client if what I told you about my niece’s apartment block is true. Get him to ask his client whether the manager of the apartment block is called Joyce, and whether Joyce replaced the previous manager, Scott. Get him to ask his client whether the place has started to go downhill since Scott left. Get him to ask his client whether they have problems with their plumbing (due to old and corroded water pipes, according to my niece).

Check it out if you don’t believe me, Mr Muster. In fact, I want you to check it out. That seems to be the only way to prove that I am telling you the truth. Check it out, and let me know whether Mr Ihde’s client confirms what I have told you.

Now then, for whatever reason, you are obviously upset. For that reason, I am prepared to ignore the numerous personal insults that your last email contained – aimed at both myself and at the eminent Welsby. I am not prepared to lower myself to the same level and respond to them.

Mr Muster, it seems to me that you and I are somewhat incompatible individuals: we seem to have a knack of rubbing each other up the wrong way. While this would be a large problem if we were friends or relations, I do not think that we should allow it to jeopardise our business relationship. We both need this business to work out, and for that to happen, we need to work together. Therefore, I suggest that we should put aside our differences for the remainder of this business relationship, and get on with the job at hand.

I presume that we are both man enough to be able to do this. Are you in agreement?

I must go now: Mrs Murray is gesturing for me to join her for afternoon tea. Think carefully about what I have said, Mr Muster. Despite the divisions that have somehow arisen between us, I believe that we can still work together and conclude this transaction successfully. Please let me know if you agree. I sincerely hope that you do.

Best regards,

Gilbert Murray

From: Gilbert Murray

To: Adrian Muster

Subject: I have returned from my weekend away

Sent: Tue, 31 May 2023 10:04:28

Dear Mr Muster,

I have returned from my weekend away. I had a very pleasant time. I trust that you had a good weekend too – I assume that yesterday was a bank holiday in Switzerland as well as in this country. I also trust that by now you will have had time to reflect on the current situation regarding our business transaction.

I presume that you will have had chance by now to confirm with Mr Idhe’s American client that I have been telling you the truth about my niece living in the same apartment block, no matter how unlikely a coincidence this appears to be. That is the thing about coincidences, Mr Muster: they are by their very nature unlikely. If they were not unlikely, they would not be coincidences.

As I have already told you, Mr Muster, I am a very meticulous man, and I like things to be done properly and correctly at all times. However, looking back over our correspondence, I feel that I may have been somewhat picky over one or two of your errors. I apologise if I have upset you by pointing out your frequent mistakes once too often.

I am also aware that I have questioned quite a number of things that you have asked me to do. This is in my nature, Mr Muster. However, I can appreciate that you and Mr Idhe obviously know what you are doing in this matter – even if appearances sometimes indicate otherwise – and I would like to assure you that from this moment onwards I will follow your instructions to the letter without question.

Mr Muster, for me to be able to expand my business as I intend, I need this transaction to be a success. The forms I have signed are already on their way to the bank – indeed they may have already arrived – so I suggest that we put our differences behind us and work together towards the successful conclusion of this business.

Please get back to me by return and let me know your thoughts on this matter.

Best regards,

Gilbert Murray

From: Adrian Muster

To: Gilbert Murray

Subject: Re: I have returned from my weekend away

Sent: Tue, 31 May 2023 12:14:02 +0100 (BST)

Dear Mr Murray,

I got your email and I read the last one on Saturday.

I had already tried to contact Mr Ihde for procedures to cancel the claim on your name, but I have been doing some thinking. One thing I have thought about is that it has taken me some time to get a partner (you) who can help with the claim of Mr de Balint’s assets at the bank on behalf of his son.

I have thought about all that you have said and I know that it’s not every time that people get along, ie because I work for someone does not mean I have to like the person. I could give examples of a few of my bosses when I worked at the Unione Banca di Credito (Zurich branch) that I was not really in tune with, but that did not mean that I had to quit my job. Maybe not quit, but I got a transfer. This is by the way.

I will be very frank with you Mr Murray. You know how to easily get under my skin. Not many people usually know how to do that, especially in the very short time that they have known me. I am a very patient person, but I think the reason why my patience ran thin in this situation is that we are dealing with a large sum of money here!

If I decide to start looking for another partner, I don’t know how long it will take me to build up my trust in that person, because this is the # 1 issue I will have to face first.

Mr Murray, there are procedures that have to be followed and I have done my research with regards to this claim to avoid any foul-ups. You have to understand this. I have a specific plan and I will like to go by it. I am not saying that I cannot accommodate your suggestions, but I think you should let “the driver drive the car and the cycler (sic) ride the bicycle”. I hope you understand what I mean. I have realised that both our natures are quite different and this is very natural with human beings.

Mr Murray, I am willing to continue with you on the claim of Mr de Balint’s assets and I am sure that we are both doing this in the interest of both our individual selves. Everybody is looking out for their own interest.

Before I decide to re-establish our partnership, I will need your assurance that you will try at the barest minimum to get under my skin (sic) and also you will follow all my “simple” instructions and you will not have any of your regular “bright ideas”. I am not saying that your ideas are not worth considering, but at this stage it will not be best to be making last minute changes that are not exactly certain (if you know what I mean).

We will have to work not just as businessmen, but as partners. This is very important, or things will run amok.

I guess coincidences do happen, but I have not taken time to ask Mr Ihde with regards to your niece and the block of apartments where his client stays. I guess I have not taken the time to investigate this, because I will take your word for it. I will also like you to learn to do this.

I think the terms I have stated above are very flexible and should be able to suit you. Let me know if my terms create a suitable working environment for you. After I receive a response from you later today, I will inform you on all proceedings to be made to make our partnership something we can both smile about in a few weeks to come.

We have set the ball rolling already. I suggest it continues rolling till it gets home.

I will expect a response from you soon.

Best regards,

Adrian

From: Gilbert Murray

To: Adrian Muster

Subject: Let us move forward in partnership

Sent: Tue, 31 May 2023 16:31:08

Dear Mr Muster,

Thank you for your email. I am pleased to see that, like me, you are willing to put our personal differences behind us and to continue working in partnership towards the successful conclusion of this transaction.

In terms of our personalities, I suppose you could say that we are as different as chalk and cheese. However, the differences in our personalities need not get in the way of a successful partnership. In fact, we could view our differences as a strength. When I think about it, many of history’s most successful partnerships have consisted of two people with widely differing personalities: think of Anthony and Cleopatra, Tate and Lyle, Arm and Hammer, Laurel and Hardy, Richard and Judy... all partnerships that were made stronger by the differences between the two partners.

I imagine that now we have got things out into the open and cleared the air, we will find it much easier to work with one another. Now that we both know what pushes each others’ buttons, it should be easier to avoid irritating each other. I, for my part, will make a conscious effort to follow your instructions to the letter and without question. Perhaps, for your part, you could make a conscious effort to stop making so many mistakes. In return, I will make a conscious effort to stop bringing the mistakes that you do make to your attention so assiduously.

I have to admit that I was slightly baffled by your suggestion that I let “the driver drive the car and the cycler ride the bicycle” (I think by “cycler” you mean “cyclist” here), but I think I get the general idea of what you mean. I for one am willing to drive or pedal as fast as I possibly can for the good of this transaction. Like you, my dear fellow, I too very much look forward to smiling about our partnership in the days and weeks to come.

As you say, Mr Muster, the ball is rolling, so let us do our best to keep it in the air. I place myself in your hands, Mr Muster. The ball is now in your court: please tell me what our next step should be. I presume that seeing as Mr Idhe will be back in Switzerland in the next day or so, I will need to make arrangements to transfer the money to him in Zurich.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Best regards,

Gilbert Murray (your partner)

PS. Have you heard whether or not the bank has received those documents from me yet?

From: Adrian Muster

To: Gilbert Murray

Subject: Re: Let us move forward in partnership

Sent: Tue, 31 May 2023 19:44:26 +0100 (BST)

My dear friend Mr Murray,

Thank you for the email. I think we both have a common interest at hand and I don’t think we should have any personal differences as an obstacle that we cannot put aside. I will be willing to put aside all obstacles and move forward with this partnership.

With regards to your question on whether the bank has received the forms, well I don’t know about this. Perhaps Mr Ihde should be able to confirm this from them on contact with them.

In a telephone conversation with him about an hour ago, he informed me that he would not be back in Zurich till the weekend. The final hearing on the case he is handling will be on Friday afternoon (US time) and he will be on the next flight after the final judgement is made. Or he will request for an adjournment as he told me, so that he can come over and tend to our matter, as I told him it was a matter or urgency that we start the proceedings with the bank. A lot of time has already been lost.

He has asked that I remit his fees to him as he had requested. I think I might have given him the impression that I will be the one sending the money. No matter, as long as he can pick up the funds.

It is really urgent we then get the fees over to him, so he can at least contact the bank and inform them of the proceedings and that he will be meeting with them next week. It is also important that he contacts the bank this week so everything can be up and running towards Monday.

Mr Murray, I would hope you can make the transfer of the funds via Western Union to Mr Ihde first thing tomorrow morning (UK/Zurich time), so by morning (US time) (about 1-2pm UK/Zurich time) he can pick up the funds and get in touch with the bank before closing hours.

I guess you still have all the transfer information where he will be able to pick up the funds? In case you don’t, I have attached it again below:

Recipient’s name: Craig Ihde

Address to be used for pick up: 385 S Catalina Ave, Pasadena, CA 91106, USA

The fees (2,850 Euros) should please be made collectable in US currency.

Mr Murray, I guess you will get in touch with me with regards to this payment first thing tomorrow morning? Kindly do let me know. We are working on a clock tight schedule.

Best regards,

Adrian

From: Gilbert Murray

To: Adrian Muster

Subject: I will transfer the money right away

Sent: Wed, 01 Jun 2023 09:29:41

Dear Mr Muster,

Thank you for your email. In keeping with the terms of our new working relationship, I will follow your instructions without question: I shall head into town straight away and transfer the money to Mr Ihde.

I will contact you as soon as I return from town to let you know that the money has been transferred.

Best regards,

Gilbert Murray

From: Gilbert Murray

To: Adrian Muster

Subject: A slight problem

Sent: Wed, 01 Jun 2023 11:01:33

Dear Mr Muster,

I am sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but I have been unable to transfer the money to Mr Ihde via Western Union.

I drove into town as soon as I had sent my last email to you, and went straight to the bank to withdraw the money. Converted into Pounds Sterling, it came to approximately £1,927. With the money in my wallet, I then went directly to the nearest Western Union agent.

However, when I attempted to transfer the money to Mr Ihde, the Western Union agent informed me that the maximum amount you are allowed to transfer from the UK to the USA is £999.99 – approximately half the amount I wanted to transfer. When I questioned the reason for this limit, the Western Union agent told me that the limit was in place in order to deter fraudsters from using the Western Union system.

The agent then asked me why I wanted to transfer such a large amount of money via Western Union. She said that transferring such large amounts was very unusual. Obviously, I didn’t want to give too much away about the nature of our transaction – after all, it could be argued that we are sailing rather close to the wind of the law in this affair – so I gave her as little information as I possibly could. I didn’t mention you, the late Mr de Balint, or the evil Mr de Balint Jnr; I merely told the agent that I was transferring the money to pay a lawyer his fees.

Well, Mr Muster, as soon as the Western Union agent heard this, she started asking a lot of questions. She told me that for a professional person such as a lawyer to ask for their fees to be paid via Western Union was highly unusual, and believe it or not, Mr Muster, she asked me if I was sure that Mr Idhe really was a lawyer! She seemed to be suggesting that Mr Idhe could be some sort of fraudster!

I thanked the Western Union agent for her concern, but I told her not to worry, and that Mr Idhe was an internationally-renowned lawyer who had been personally recommended to me by a business partner who I trust implicitly (you). By this time, I was starting to get rather uncomfortable with the agent’s continued questioning, so I made my excuses and made to leave. However, as I walked through the door, the agent called after me and warned that I should be extremely careful in my dealings with anyone I didn’t know personally who asked me to transfer a large amount of money to them via Western Union, as apparently once the money has been transferred, there is no way it can be traced.

Well, Mr Muster, this puts us in a rather awkward situation. By the sounds of it, transferring the money to Mr Idhe via Western Union is not an option. However, there must be some other way we can get the money to Mr Idhe. As a lawyer, he must have a corporate bank account that he uses to receive payments from his clients. If you can get the details of the bank account from Mr Idhe and pass them onto me, I will transfer the money into his account immediately. Or do you have a better idea?

Do get back to me as soon as you can. I am sure we will find a way around this temporary setback.

Best regards,

Gilbert Murray

From: Adrian Muster

To: Gilbert Murray

Subject: Re: A slight problem

Sent: Wed, 01 Jun 2023 14:45:46 +0100 (BST)

Dear Mr Murray,

Thank you for the email. I have not been able to check my email all morning, as I went out earlier this morning to pay some bills and I just got in.

Again, you have not done anything other than not to surprise me. Do you know, Mr Murray, if I bet a lot of money on you that I could predict what would happen next in this partnership, I would be a very rich man.

The first mistake that you have made is to have revealed to a total stranger, “the Western Union agent”, the slight nature of our partnership. I think if she really knew what you were up to, she would be very cross with you, don’t you think? Perhaps you should have told her the whole story, rather than to give her hints to keep her curiosity bubbling!

There seems to be a problem here, as this is the second time there has been a break in our confidentiality agreement. The first time, it was with your son, revealing the documents I sent you to him, but thank GOD you did, as the bank will have been wondering if we were trying to pose a practical joke with that wrong document.

Secondly, I hope you did not give this total stranger an idea that you had a heap sum of money somewhere? I hope you know that if you keep spreading this news, the tax agents will be right on your back investigating you and you might end up with nothing at the end.

I don’t really think it’s any of the Western Union agent’s business what you do with your money and I don’t know why you accommodated her with the chit chat and revealing that you were making payments to an attorney. If you were making the payment to your son, your father, or simply a business partner, it’s not her business. Did you not know that when you give someone an inch they always take a mile these days? Did you think she would stop asking questions?

Sometimes Mr Murray, I wonder If I have the right person for this partnership. A lot of things you do make me very doubtful.

I think I understand where the problem lies, as your statement tells it all: “I should be extremely careful in my dealings with anyone I didn’t know personally who asked me to transfer a large amount of money to them via Western Union, as apparently once the money has been transferred, there is no way it can be traced”.

As I said, you cease to amaze me. There is no use in pretending there is any trust you have in me, as I have sensed it a long time ago that you don’t really have faith in this partnership and business, and I will like you to know that if things continue this way, I’m sorry but we’d better call it quits.

You are making me look like a very unserious person in the eyes of Mr Ihde. I want you to know one thing: it is because of my urgent request and incessant telephone calls that Mr Ihde is considering asking for an adjournment on his case by Friday so he can be back in Switzerland by the weekend.

How many times would you want me to keep apologising to Mr Ihde, as I keep giving him the impression of urgency on our case and I don’t live up to his expectation? He has asked us to send his fees, so he can confirm that we have made payment for his services and he can do his work.

And as the Western Union agent said, for a professional person such as a lawyer to ask for his fees to be paid by Western Union is quite unusual. I really don’t see anything unusual with this. Not everybody has access to his or her accounts online.

Well I don’t really know his reasons for this, but he must have his reasons. Also, a transfer like this would take at least two days to clear onto his accounts. It would be the weekend by then and I am sure if he does not have online banking, he has to wait till Monday to confirm the payment, and in case he might have to ask for an adjournment on the divorce case, he has to do this on the hearing on Friday. If not, he will not be able to leave the States. And I don’t even know if I would be able to get his bank details accurately today over the phone for that matter!

This is what I am talking about, Mr Murray. You have started making me think off track with your suggestions and ideas, or should I say “your natural charm”.

There is a simple way to solve all problems, but you seem to look for the hard way out. The Western Union agent told you that you could not send more than £1,000 per day, or at once? Then simply you send the amount permissible at that moment and you send the rest later in the day. Or tomorrow. Simple!!! It just means that you would make two separate payments.

Oh, I have a headache already from the stress of moving through town, and now this. I am not a very young man, you know Mr Murray. I would not like a partnership that will be detrimental to my health.

It’s really simple, Mr Murray. I can always make you see the simple side of things, but my patience is limited... very limited.

I wait for your comments. Remember we are running against time. I expect a response in the next few hours.

Adrian

From: Gilbert Murray

To: Adrian Muster

Subject: I don’t know what you’re angry with me for

Sent: Wed, 01 Jun 2023 15:28:02

Dear Mr Muster,

I have just read the last email you sent me, and I have to tell you, I am not at all happy about its contents. Nor am I happy at the way in which you addressed me in the email: I do not take kindly to being addressed like a naughty child. This is no way to address a business partner, Mr Muster. Have you forgotten that we are supposed to be putting the past behind us and forging ahead with a new working relationship? If the contents of your last email are anything to go by, it would seem that you have indeed forgotten this.

Anyway, I don’t know what you’re angry with me for. I was simply trying to follow your instructions to the letter, and without question. It’s not my fault if I can’t transfer the money to Mr Idhe via Western Union because his fees are greater than the maximum amount allowed per transfer! It was you who asked me to send the fees that way, so if anyone is to blame here for the delay, it is either you or Mr Idhe. People who live in glass houses should not throw stones, Mr Muster... and especially not at their business partners.

And as for you accusing me of breaking our confidentiality agreement, I have already told you that I didn’t tell the Western Union agent a thing about our transaction. All I told her was that I was paying a lawyer; not a thing more. So don’t you go accusing me of indulging in idle “chit chat” about our transaction. Perhaps you ought to engage your brain before you commit your thoughts to an email in the future.

Mr Muster, I wrote to you in order to explain a slight problem and to ask for your advice. I was hoping for a measured, helpful and reasonable response from you. I was not expecting the shower of invective and abuse that I actually got from you in return.

It is not my fault if you have a headache and it is making you tetchy. If you have a headache, take some pills and go and lie down until you feel better. Kindly don’t take it out on me.

Now then, once I had waded through the torrent of petulant abuse in your last email, I found that you actually came up with a reasonable-sounding plan at the end of it: to make two separate Western Union payments. As you seem to be unable to get hold of Mr Idhe’s bank account details for some reason – had you even considered telephoning his secretary back at the office? – this is precisely what I will do.

However, it is too late for me to travel back into town again today; I am booked up solid with appointments for the rest of the day. The first payment will have to wait until tomorrow morning.

Therefore, kindly inform Mr Idhe that I will be transferring £999 to him tomorrow morning. I shall transfer the remainder of the money the following day.

And before you respond to this email, Mr Muster, please remember that we are supposed to be business partners. I am bending over backwards here to try and work with you in a positive manner, and I am simply not prepared to put up with any more abusive emails from you. In short, kindly remember your manners.

Best regards,

Gilbert Murray

From: Adrian Muster

To: Gilbert Murray

Subject: Re: I don’t know what you’re angry with me for

Sent: Wed, 01 Jun 2023 17:59:11 +0100 (BST)

Dear Mr Murray,

I read through your email and I think I am a little more “sane” now.

I have had a chance to rest and recuperate. You have to understand that as a Swiss banker in the past, I was subjected to a clock tight schedule and I guess this has not changed. In the banking industry as you know, “time is money”. In our case here, I see it as the same. I guess maybe I am eager to get my share of this money in my hands.

I have indeed turned a new leaf on your agreement to my terms of “not getting under my skin”, but I guess “old habits” are hard to put aside. But trust me, I do respect your comments in the last email and I have to say that you read me right; I was a little edgy earlier in the day... maybe due to the stress. At my age, I should not be doing this much thinking. The doctor says it can catch up with me later. That’s one of the reasons why I retired.

Mr Murray, all I want us to do is to get this right and do the right things at the right time. At this stage, I would not like things running amok as I have too much invested in it, so you can say I have more to lose.

I do respect you as a business partner, don’t get me wrong... but I can’t lie when I say I have some doubts (with regards to confidentiality), and I think that is what a real partner should do: let the other partner know everything so everybody knows where they stand.

You can say it’s like a temporary marriage. I am sure you and Mrs Murray have your little fits once in a while over very trivial issues. It can be likened to this, but it’s not the same, I know.

I guess I always read other meanings into some things you say.

Believe me, I have tried earlier in the week to call Mr Ihde’s office to get in touch with his secretary, but I guess she has taken a leave as the boss is not around. All I get is the automated messaging service. I will ask Mr Ihde about this.

One thing I do appreciate is a partner that trusts in me as I do them. I have to say that this is something I will like us to focus on, because I think without trust; there would not be a solid partnership. Can we call it a truce?

All we have to do is to forge forward in this deal and I think this deal is very worth both our whiles. Don’t you think Mr Murray?

I will give you my word to make more enquiries with regards to any comments you make in any emails before I react, I promise.

As you suggested, I will inform Mr Ihde that we will be transferring £999 to him tomorrow morning and the balance of the money the following day.

Kindly forgive my comments and proceed as planned at your own pace (but not too slow please!).

I will wait for a response from you later today or tomorrow and I will let you know Mr Ihde’s comments later tonight. At least if he has the first part of the payment, he will consider us seriously on this case, I guess.

Kindly proceed as you have informed me. I will be in touch shortly.

Respectfully,

Adrian

From: Gilbert Murray

To: Adrian Muster

Subject: I have made the first Western Union transfer

Sent: Thu, 02 Jun 2023 11:33:11

Dear Mr Muster,

Thank you for your email. I am pleased to see that you appear to have calmed down somewhat and remembered your manners. That’s much more like it.

You will be pleased to hear that I have made the first Western Union transfer: I travelled into town first thing this morning and transferred £999 to Mr Idhe. After the experience I had at the Western Union agent yesterday, I decided to go to a different agent this morning. Rest assured, Mr Muster, that I did not breathe a word of our transaction to the agent. I simply transferred the money with the minimum of fuss and conversation, and then left.

According to the Western Union agent, Mr Idhe will probably have to collect the money in US dollars, seeing as he is picking it up in California. I hope this will be acceptable. Presumably, as he is a lawyer of international repute he will have a foreign currency bank account in which he can deposit the money.

I have attached a scanned copy of the Western Union receipt to this email. I don’t think that Mr Idhe will actually need to take it to the Western Union agent in order to collect the money, but I thought it might come in useful. The Western Union agent was not sure whether or not Mr Idhe would have to show any identification when he collects the money, but she advised me that it would be worthwhile for him to take along his passport or driver’s licence just in case.

Please inform Mr Idhe that the money has been transferred as soon as possible, and get back to me as soon as it is in his hands. Presumably he will now be able to start working on our behalf. Tell Mr Idhe that I will transfer the rest of the money tomorrow.

Best regards,

Gilbert Murray

(Click to enlarge)

From: Adrian Muster

To: Gilbert Murray

Subject: Re: I have made the first Western Union transfer – Please Read

Sent: Thu, 02 Jun 2023 13:19:47 +0100 (BST)

Dear Mr Murray,

Thank you for the email. I am sorry I could not get back to you yesterday. My internet connections had a few problems. But they are working fine now.

I am pleased to hear that you used another Western Union agent and I would think it was a very commendable move on your part.

I have the Western Union receipt with me. I did notice one error though: Mr Ihde’s name was spelled as “Craig Idhe” on the receipt. I will like you to take a close look at the receipt and confirm this.

The correct spelling of his name as I gave it to you was “Craig Ihde”. I don’t know if this will be a problem for Mr Ihde when picking up the funds, especially if he will be using his passport and his name on the passport is “Craig Ihde” and not “Craig Idhe”.

Please do confirm to me before 5pm if you can have this changed, or if you can confirm from the Western Union agent if this will delay the pickup of the funds.

I will wait for your response before I give Mr Ihde the necessary details for the pickup of the funds later in the day.

Kindly do get back to me soon.

Regards,

Adrian

From: Gilbert Murray

To: Adrian Muster

Subject: I cannot apologise enough for my error

Sent: Thu, 02 Jun 2023 14:14:54

Dear Mr Muster,

Thank you for your email. I cannot apologise enough for the error I made regarding Mr Ihde’s name. That was inexcusably remiss of me. Looking back through my emails, I seem to have been mis-spelling Mr Ihde’s name right from the word go. That was wrong of me, and I deserve to be punished for my mistake... although not as much as the evil Mr de Balint Jnr deserves to be punished for the extreme wickedness of his drugs-related crimes.

I called the Western Union agent as soon as I read your email and explained the situation to her. She assured me that this will not be a problem; apparently, they come across mis-spelled names quite often on Western Union forms. The agent assured me that as long as Mr Ihde can confirm the rest of the information on the Western Union receipt – ie his address, the amount and the MTCN – there will not be a problem when he comes to collect the money.

This little episode just goes to show, Mr Muster, that you are not the only one who makes irritating little mistakes. Neither of us are perfect in this regard, it seems.

Please pass on the appropriate details to Mr Ihde, and get back to me as soon as the money is in his hands.

Best regards,

Gilbert Murray

From: Adrian Muster

To: Gilbert Murray

Subject: Re: I cannot apologise enough for my error

Sent: Thu, 02 Jun 2023 19:26:45 +0100 (BST)

Dear Mr Murray,

Thank you for the email. Well I trust that we are both learning how to relate with each other. I am happy about this.

I have just tried to get in touch with Mr Ihde at the hotel at which he is staying, but the receptionist says he is not picking up his hotel room phone. I think he must be out of the hotel. Anyway, he does have to be in court.

I will try and get him later tonight to let him know that you have sent the funds and he can go and pick it up.

I will be in touch. If I don’t get back to you tonight I will get in touch with you earlier tomorrow morning.

Kindly do keep in touch.

Best regards,

Adrian

From: Gilbert Murray

To: Adrian Muster

Subject: I will wait to hear from you before I transfer the rest of the money

Sent: Fri, 03 Jun 2023 09:33:52

Dear Mr Muster,

Thank you for your email. I am slightly disappointed to hear that Mr Ihde has not collected the money from the Western Union agent yet; however, I can well understand that being a lawyer of international repute as he is, he must have a rather busy schedule. Hopefully he will manage to fit in a trip to a Western Union agent as early as possible today.

Given that I carelessly spelled Mr Ihde’s name incorrectly when I transferred the money yesterday, I will wait to hear from you before I transfer the rest of the money, to make sure that Mr Ihde has managed to collect my first transfer without any problems. As soon as I hear that my money is in his hands, I will transfer the remainder of his fee.

Please let me know as soon as you hear from Mr Ihde.

Incidentally, I thought I should let you know that my client Gladys passed away yesterday. The poor dear has been terribly down ever since I told her that you were not interested in pursuing a relationship with her, and I heard from the milkman first thing this morning that apparently she took a massive overdose of sleeping pills yesterday.

Would you like me to pass on your condolences to her family, Mr Muster? I am sure that they would appreciate it. I was going to send them a card later today. If you would like to me add a small note of condolence from yourself, please do let me know, and give me an idea of what you would like me to write. It seems like the right and decent thing to do, in my view.

Best regards,

Gilbert Murray

From: Adrian Muster

To: Gilbert Murray

Subject: Re: I will wait to hear from you – Please Read

Sent: Fri, 03 Jun 2023 12:13:39 +0100 (BST)

Dear Mr Murray,

Thank you for the email. I am very sorry to hear about your friend Gladys. Please do send my condolences to her family.

For now, I think we have a very pressing matter on hand which will need more of your attention.

I could not get back to you yesterday about the pickup of the funds by Mr Ihde. When I got in touch with him at his hotel by telephone, he said he was running on a very busy schedule and he told me that he might not be able to pick up the funds till later in the day yesterday. I did give him my email address to send me an email for confirmation that he did get the funds.

Surprisingly, I got two emails in this morning and I have copied them below accordingly.

In the first email I received he wrote:

QUOTE

“I just returned from Western Union office. They can’t find the transfer under the MTCN number you sent me. They think it is not in their system yet and suggested I come back tomorrow AM at which time it should be there. Unfortunately, I will be out of contact the remainder of today due to a commitment (it’s 1310 Pacific Daylight Time). Otherwise I would check later today. So I will go back to Western Union at 0900 tomorrow. Hopefully it will be there by then.”

END OF QUOTE

In another email he wrote:

QUOTE

“It’s 2300 hrs and I just got back to the hotel. Checked Western Union online to track the wire transfer. Still no record of it. What could have gone wrong? They can’t find anything with the MTCN number you sent (4836322196). Please do confirm with the agent from where the funds were sent. Will be in touch with you again tomorrow.”

END OF QUOTE

Mr Murray, kindly do rectify this issue with the Western Union agents, as I have also just now checked the wire status online and it does not exist.

You can verify this yourself before you troop down to the Western Union agent. I am sure you can view it at https://www.westernunion.co.uk/asp/orderStatus.asp?country=GB.

Kindly do have the agent sort and rectify this minor setback. I will wait to hear from you in a few hours.

Best regards,

Adrian

From: Gilbert Murray

To: Adrian Muster

Subject: I will sort this out immediately

Sent: Fri, 03 Jun 2023 12:30:47

Dear Mr Muster,

I am dismayed to hear that Mr Ihde has been unable to collect the money that I transferred to him yesterday.

I’ve just checked the MTCN number myself on the Western Union website as you suggested, and you’re right: the transfer doesn’t show up. I can’t think what the matter can be.

I am extremely concerned that I handed over £1,000 to the Western Union agent yesterday and there now appears to be no trace of it. I have cancelled my appointments for early this afternoon and I am going to head off into town right now to get to the bottom of the matter.

I will get back to you as soon as I return. For now, please pass on my apologies to Mr Ihde for any inconvenience this may have caused him. I can appreciate that he is a busy man and the last thing he needs is to have his time wasted in this fashion.

I will get back to you as soon as I have found out what the problem is.

Best regards,

Gilbert Murray

PS. I will add a brief note from you to the bottom of the card I am writing to Gladys’ family, and I will drop it into them on my way into town. I am sure that they will be touched by your concern.

From: Gilbert Murray

To: Adrian Muster

Subject: Problem solved

Sent: Fri, 03 Jun 2023 14:43:44

Dear Mr Muster,

I write with good news. I have just come back from town, where I went to the Western Union agent in order to find out what had happened to the money I transferred yesterday. I am pleased to be able to tell you that everything is now sorted out, and that Mr Ihde will now definitely be able to collect the money I transferred to him.

I asked to see the manager as soon as I got to the Western Union office, and I explained to him that the MTCN of my transfer did not show up on the computer at Mr Ihde’s Western Union agent, and that it does not show up on the Western Union website either. The manager telephoned Western Union’s UK head office to enquire about this. He spent quite some time on the telephone talking to their technical people, and eventually got to the bottom of the problem.

Apparently the reason for my transfer not appearing on the Western Union computer system is that Western Union in the UK are currently in the middle of upgrading their computer hardware. This has apparently resulted in what they called “internet connectivity” problems, and apparently mine is not the only transfer to have mone missing over the past ten days or so. What this means is that the transfer is definitely in the system – the manager showed it to me on his computer – but it is not showing up on Mr Ihde’s agent’s computer system, or on the Western Union website, because of these “internet connectivity” problems.

However, it turns out that this is not a problem, because there is a simple solution. The manager told me exactly what Mr Ihde’s agent needs to do in order to access details of the transfer and gain access to the money. Apparently, Mr Ihde’s Western Union agent simply needs to initiate procedure WU-573 on their computer system, entering the money transfer control number that I gave to you. This procedure, which apparently gives the agent access to all transfers that have got “stuck” in the system, will make the transfer available to the agent, meaning that Mr Ihde will be able to collect the money.

The manager was rather surprised that Mr Ihde’s agent had not done this already: apparently it is standard procedure for Western Union agents when things like this happen.

Anyway, I am sure you will agree that this is extremely good news: it means that Mr Ihde should be able to collect the money I transferred to him immediately, simply by instructing his Western Union agent to initiate procedure WU-573.

Apologies once again for the inconvenience. Please get back to me as soon as Mr Ihde has collected the money from the Western Union agent.

Best regards,

Gilbert Murray

PS. I popped round to see Gladys’ family on my way into town to drop off the condolences card from the two of us, but there was nobody in so I just put the card through the letterbox. This is a terribly sad business: I know for a fact that Gladys will be sorely missed at the local Darby and Joan club. Mind you, looking on the bright side, at least she made sure she was up to date with her membership fees before she died, so I’m not out of pocket.

From: Adrian Muster

To: Gilbert Murray

Subject: Re: Problem solved

Sent: Fri, 03 Jun 2023 18:20:02 +0200

Dear Mr Murray,

Thank you for the email.

I have read through your email and I have already sent the instructions to Mr Ihde via email also. Hopefully, he will check his email.

I will also give him a call later in the day and I hope I will catch him at the hotel.

This error has delayed a lot of progress we could have made, but no matter; we can still make up for lost time.

I will contact you later in the day or tomorrow morning and give you a progress report.

I will be in touch shortly.

Best regards to Gladys’ family.

Adrian

From: Gilbert Murray

To: Adrian Muster

Subject: Has Mr Idhe collected the money yet?

Sent: Sat, 04 Jun 2023 10:54:12

Dear Mr Muster,

Thank you for your email. I presume that Mr Ihde has managed to collect the money from the Western Union agency by now. Please confirm that this is indeed the case. If so, I will transfer the remaining amount to him first thing on Monday morning.

I will be working today, unfortunately: I had to cancel a number of appointments yesterday in order to revisit the Western Union agency in town, so I am trying to make up for lost time by seeing my clients this afternoon instead.

Incidentally, I had a visit from Gladys’ son, Ronald, this morning. He was not at all happy about the little note I added to the condolence card from you. It turns out that he blames you for the death of his mother: he told me that she had left a suicide note which explained that she was ending her life because she had been cruelly rejected by a Swiss banker. Ronald thought that it was in extremely poor taste for you to leave a condolence note after the part you had to play in her death.

I must say, Mr Muster, I did think it was rather unfair of Ronald to blame you for the death of his mother. Admittedly, your heartless rejection does appear to have had some part to play in the affair, but I don’t think it’s fair to place the blame for Gladys’ death on you. Well, not quite all of it, anyway. I did try to stick up for you, but obviously Ronald was stricken with grief, and it’s not easy to reason with people when they are in such a state. If I were you, I would rethink any plans you have of sending flowers to her funeral. I don’t think that would go down at all well.

Anyway, I look forward to hearing good news from you later in the day. Do have a pleasant weekend.

Best regards,

Gilbert Murray

From: Adrian Muster

To: Gilbert Murray

Subject: Re: Has Mr Idhe collected the money yet?

Sent: Sat, 04 Jun 2023 11:50:37 +0100 (BST)

Dear Mr Murray,

The problem still persists. Mr Ihde has been unable to solve the problem with the WU transfer. I have copied you an email from him below:

QUOTE

“Hi Adrian,

I have just returned from Western Union office. They were unsuccessful in retrieving the information. I gave them copy of your email with WU 573 listed. They couldn’t make it work, so called Western Union main office. They also tried and were not successful.

I believe you will have to contact your WU office, retrieve your funds and wire the funds directly over to my bank account. The US seems totally incapable of solving the problem. Sorry for the inconvenience. I tried.

Unfortunately, I could not get the case adjourned on Friday and I will be in the States till late Wednesday. Hopefully, I will be through with the case by then.

Regards,

Craig”

END OF QUOTE

I will suggest that you try and visit the WU agents and get your money back.

I will wait for Mr Ihde’s bank details so we can transfer the funds to his bank account directly. The time I was trying to save has already been wasted. No matter, we will work this out.

I am also very disturbed by this news from Gladys’ family. I am not responsible for anyone’s death and I think they should get their facts straight. It is not my fault that Gladys and I were not compatible.

I will wait for further instructions or an update with regards to the WU problem. Let me know when you have retrieved your funds.

Keep in touch.

Best regards,

Adrian

From: Gilbert Murray

To: Adrian Muster

Subject: I was surprised and dismayed to read your last email

Sent: Sun, 05 Jun 2023 13:56:28

Dear Mr Muster,

I was surprised and dismayed to read your last email. How can Mr Ihde have failed yet again to collect the money from the Western Union agent? Are you sure he knows what he is doing?

I have to say, Mr Muster, I hope Mr Ihde is able to carry out his duties as a lawyer with a touch more competence than he has shown in attempting to collect his fee. I have been most disappointed in his performance so far. The man is delaying this entire transaction.

This is all turning out to be very inconvenient for me. I am a busy man, Mr Muster, and I cannot afford to keep wasting my time by travelling into town to visit the Western Union agency again and again. Kindly ask Mr Ihde to buck his ideas up.

Still, I am glad to see that you have come round to my idea of transferring the money directly into Mr Ihde’s bank account. If you remember, I did suggest this myself right from the start. I hate to say so, but if you had followed my advice back then when I first suggested the idea Mr Muster, the money would be safely in Mr Ihde’s bank account by now, and we would be well on the way to completing this transaction.

Well, send me Mr Ihde’s bank account details as soon as you can, and I will cancel the Western Union transfer I made and transfer the money directly into his bank account. Then hopefully we can start to make some real progress here.

Best regards,

Gilbert Murray

From: Adrian Muster

To: Gilbert Murray

Subject: Re: I was surprised and dismayed to read your last email

Sent: Mon, 06 Jun 2023 10:16:34 +0100 (BST)

Dear Mr Murray,

Thank you for the email.

I am very sorry to say that I doubted your suggestion, but one thing you also have to put in mind is that it is not obviously Mr Ihde’s fault that the Western Union services in the UK are incompetent.

You remember that you were the one that informed me that they were having “internet connectivity” problems!! Western Union is the easiest payment method to use and it is widely used worldwide. Even a five year old could pick up money paid via Western Union!! The problem is from your end (the agents) and you should not blame Mr Ihde. I am just as irritated as you are.

You are not the only one with a busy or tight schedule and you also have to keep in mind that Mr Ihde informed me that he tried tirelessly and sat at the WU agent’s office for about an hour and a half trying to sort out the problem. I am sure this took out a lot of his time, which he could have used in preparing for his case, or the time he could have taken out to relax.

Having all this in mind, I would like you to please keep a clear mind and I hope when you get to meet Mr Ihde, you will be able to show some respect in his presence.

I have Mr Ihde’s bank details already, but I have the details for his offshore account in the US. He gave me his UK and Swiss account details also, but he says there will be no way to confirm if the funds have actually been credited into either of these accounts until he gets back to Zurich. Anyway, that is not an issue right now. Let’s move on with the matter at hand.

Bank name: Bank of America

Account name: Craig E Ihde

Type of account: Checking

Account number: 03956-17727

Routing code: 121000358

Bank address: Brentwood District, 11911 San Vicente Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90049

I hope you will be able to cancel the WU transfer?

You can wire the funds to his account as you suggested and let me know when you do it. Also, you could send me a copy of the wire just in case, but let me know when it has been done at your bank. Everybody has been inconvenienced, but we can all put this aside and we can all clear our minds.

I will be in touch. Kindly keep me updated.

I am sorry if you have been inconvenienced. Kindly do accept my apologies.

Respectfully,

Adrian

From: Gilbert Murray

To: Adrian Muster

Subject: Thank you for the bank account details

Sent: Mon, 06 Jun 2023 10:56:02

Dear Mr Muster,

Thank you for sending me details of Mr Ihde’s offshore bank account. I will travel into town this afternoon, cancel the Western Union transfer that Mr Ihde failed to collect and transfer the money directly into his bank account. Although this will inconvenience me yet again, at least it will put an end to our money transfer problems. After all, nothing can go wrong with a simple bank to bank transfer. I will scan in a copy of the bank receipt and send it to you when I get back from town.

You mentioned that you hope I will show some respect to Mr Ihde when I finally get to meet him. I too hope that I will be able to show him some respect. However, I have always been of the opinion that respect must be earned, and as far as I am concerned, Mr Ihde has a lot of ground to make up if he wishes to earn my respect.

On another matter, I am sorry to say that Gladys’ son paid me another visit first thing this morning. He really is very angry about his mother’s death, and he demanded to know exactly what had gone on between the two of you. I explained things as best I could and tried to calm him down, but he insisted that I give him your contact details so that he could get in touch with you directly and sort things out with you. I didn’t want to give him your details, but he really was terribly upset and I was afraid he might turn violent if I didn’t give them to him, so in the end I gave him your email address.

I do hope you don’t mind, Mr Muster. Please understand that there really wasn’t anything else I could have done. Ronald is a very large man and I was anxious to avoid a scene in the office as I had a client due at any moment. Anyway, I suppose you can expect to receive an email from him in the near future. Hopefully you will be able to resolve matters with him personally.

I will get back to you with a copy of the bank receipt when I return from town later today.

Best regards,

Gilbert Murray

From: Ronald Knight

To: Adrian Muster

Subject: WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN PLAYING AT WITH MY MOTHER?

Sent: Mon, 06 Jun 2023 12:01:30

MUSTER,

WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN PLAYING AT WITH MY MOTHER? WHERE DO YOU GET OFF, LEADING LONELY LITTLE OLD LADIES UP THE GARDEN PATH AND RAISING THEIR EXPECTATIONS ONLY TO DROP THEM LIKE A STONE WHENEVER YOU FEEL LIKE IT?

I SUPPOSE YOU KNOW MY MOTHERS DEATH WAS ALL DOWN TO YOU? AS I SEE THINGS, ITS ALL YOUR FAULT MUSTER. MY MOTHER HAS BEEN LONELY EVER SINCE MY FATHER DIED AND ALL SHE WAS LOOKING FOR WAS A BIT OF COMPANIONSHIP IN HER OLD AGE. SHE DESERVED IT, I CAN TELL YOU. AND THEN YOU COME ALONG, PROMISE HER THE BLOODY WORLD AND THEN LET HER DOWN LIKE THE BASTARD YOU UNDOUBTEDLY ARE.

YOU DO KNOW ITS DOWN TO YOU THAT SHE KILLED HERSELF, DONT YOU? WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING? WHAT DID YOU TELL HER THAT MADE HER GET HER HOPES UP SO HIGH ONLY TO BE DASHED WHEN YOU SHOWED YOUR TRUE COLOURS? WERE YOU AFTER HER MONEY? IS THAT IT? WERE YOU AFTER MY INHERITANCE?

ID LIKE YOU TO EXPLAIN EXACTLY WHAT THE HELL YOU WERE UP TO, YOU NASTY PIECE OF WORK. MY MOTHERS DEAD NOW. THATS ON YOUR CONSCIENCE. AND WHAT WERE YOU THINKING SENDING THAT BLOODY NOTE? DID YOU REALLY THINK THAT WOULD MAKE EVERYTHING BETTER? DID YOU THINK ID FORGIVE YOU AFTER THAT? YOURE A CAD, MUSTER. A CAD AND A BOUNDER.

EXPLAIN YOURSELF YOU HORRIBLE LITTLE MAN. WHAT WERE YOU UP TO? COME ON, LETS HEAR IT.

RONNY KNIGHT

From: Gilbert Murray

To: Adrian Muster

Subject: I have transferred the money into Mr Ihde’s bank account

Sent: Mon, 06 Jun 2023 14:48:32

Dear Mr Muster,

I have just returned from town, where I cancelled the Western Union transfer I made last week and transferred Mr Ihde’s fee – all of it – into his bank account. Please find attached a copy of the receipt. I trust that Mr Ihde will now be able to start working on our behalf on this matter.

While we are on the subject of Mr Ihde, do you know how long his current case is going to take? It strikes me that although we have experienced a number of delays in getting Mr Ihde’s fee to him, this doesn’t really matter: all of his time seems to have been taken up with the American divorce case anyway.

Do you actually know when Mr Ihde will be finished with this divorce case? I do hope it won’t be long. After all, he won’t be much use to us if he’s spending all of his time in the courts of California when we need him on the ground working for us in Zurich.

I do hope that we will not come to regret your decision to employ Mr Ihde’s services in this matter, Mr Muster. Please get back to me and let me know when he is actually going to start working on our behalf and earning his not inconsiderable fee.

Best regards,

Gilbert Murray

Gilbert’s forged bank transfer receipt
(Click to enlarge)

From: Adrian Muster

To: Gilbert Murray

Subject: Re: I have the payment copy receipt

Sent: Mon, 06 Jun 2023 16:50:02 +0200

Mr (Murray, Kester, Steve, Ronny),

Thank you for the email. I thought you would be at least a little more ingenious with your bank receipt. Bartletts Bank?? That is so out of vogue.

I think I have earned my place on your website, but this is becoming a little boring for my liking.

I must say that I think I have given “YOU” a run for your money, ain’t it??

Well, next time, I think it would be best not to give so much information on your website. I am really bored and really I don’t have anything to do, but you bore me my man. Other websites have come up with more ingenious means for scamming scammers.

Remember, the more information you give, the more improved the scammers become. It’s only a matter of time. What is Google there for?

But I must give it to you man, you do your research. Thumbs up.

Anyway, thanks for helping with my own project and website, “How to bust a scambuster”. It’s a website for scammers, so they can update themselves. So, I suggest you get a new angle: all your secrets are now mine.

Anyway, this is my new email address*. I hope you like it? Email me anytime old chap.

It has been nice working with you. Or should I say on you. Cheers.

Love always,

Adrian

* The above email came from the following address: adrian.muster121.278.125.15e-mailtoallmotherfuckers
@securemail.net.

From: Gilbert Murray

To: Adrian Muster

Subject: So, you’ve worked it out at last

Sent: Mon, 06 Jun 2023 16:42:42

Dear “Mr Muster”,

So, you’ve worked it out at last. Well done. It only took you about four weeks to work out that you were being had. The penny obviously dropped for you a little sooner than it does for most scammers. You obviously have a few more brain cells to rub together than the average 419 scammer... but thankfully not all that many more.

You advised me not to post so much information on my website. Well, although posting information on the website does mean that there is always the risk that a scammer will be able to discover that he’s being led up the garden path, thankfully most scammers seem to be too stupid to even think of carrying out a simple internet search. It’s taken you nearly four weeks to think of doing so.

Besides, the benefits of posting the information onto the website far outweigh the disadvantages: it raises awareness about what pathetic little conmen like you get up to, so that less people are in danger of being scammed by you. Also, it’s provided thousands of people around the world with the opportunity to laugh themselves silly at your ridiculous and amateurish antics. If I may say so, “Mr Muster”, you play the fool brilliantly. It is almost as if you were born to it.

By the way, I wish you the best of luck with the new website you’re planning. You’re going to need luck if you’re hoping to educate 419 scammers on how to avoid being busted: they (or should I say “you”) don’t strike me as the most intelligent group of people in the world.

Anyway, I must go now. It has been tremendous fun toying with you for the past month. No doubt you’ll be glad to hear that you’ve provided thousands of people with a lot of pleasure.

Best regards,

Gilbert Murray

PS. Thanks for the bank account details, by the way. I’m sure that the authorities will find that information very useful.

The Dating Agency Proprietor(part 2 of 2)

The Dating Agency Proprietor
(part 2 of 2)