Case studies
Fraud patterns, taken apart. First-party, named where legal permits.
Every record here was caught by OilFlow's scam-detection pipeline against a real counterparty. We publish them so bank, insurer, and trading-house compliance teams can recognize the same shapes in their own pipelines.
A $50M Chevron-CEO impersonation, caught in 30 minutes
A LinkedIn profile claiming twenty-three years as Chevron's Group CEO pitched two cargo deals through OilFlow. The three-document test surfaced three independently verifiable falsifying signals inside thirty minutes.
Severity · Confirmed
Seller-mandate layer cake · pattern studyAnatomy of a seller-mandate layer cake (EN590 ULSD)
The most common pitch shape we see — verbatim across half a dozen brokers in our 2026 outreach pipeline. A 'Pinnacle Petrol LLC' or equivalent intermediary 'is a direct representative of the seller.' Mandate never surfaces. Three asks collapse it in 24 hours.
Severity · Review
Sanctions laundering · pattern studyRussian-origin barrels via AZ/KZ refinery routing
The exact laundering pattern OFAC, OFSI, and the G7 price cap have flagged repeatedly. A broker claims a 'temporary US waiver' or 'safe harbor' that does not exist. Three falsifiable signals every compliance officer should learn to read.
Severity · Confirmed