Thanks, again for bringing this scam to our attention. As a fellow home inventory professional, I'm always concerned with the image portrayed by our industry as a whole. If this scam artist or any other gains enough negative publicity in the media, that woks against us all when we are trying to sell our services to new clients. Through no fault of our own, we could lose business just because of said scam artists. I, for one, will not tolerate such nonsense from anybody. Because I haven't been a victim of said scam artist, there is little I can do other than to advise current or past victims on ways to deal with said scam artist. As this board is a public forum, I am limited as to what I can say about said scam artist. I don't want to cause legal trouble for either myself nor this board by making written references to said scam artist that could be interpreted as slander or libelous in a court of law. Scam artists are, in general, a lower form of life to begin with. Thus, to state anything against them is to give them ammunition to use against me should they so choose (even if my statements are provable and accurate). I would advise any & all known victims to file a complaint with the FBI's IFCC (The Federal Bureau of Investigation's Internet Fraud Complaint Center) www.ic3.gov/, the Better Business Bureau of Southeast Florida www.bbbsoutheastflorida.org, The Florida Dept. of Agriculture & Consumer Services www.800helpfla.com/complnt.html, The U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Mail Fraud unit www.usps.com/postalinspectors/fraud/, The Federal Trade Commission www.ftc.gov, etc. I would also contact the Broward County Clerk's Office of Howard C Forman (954) 831-7019; Chief Administrator Iris Siple (954) 831-7173; Administrative Assistant Kathy Mayes (954) 831-7019; Their address is 201 S. E. 6th Street, Room 136, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33301. I would be interested to know if said scam artist has paid for a city or county business license, and whether they are paying all local, state & federal taxes due, etc. (remember that Al Capone was busted for tax evasion even though his other crimes were more serious). You should also voice your complaints to the hosting companies where the websites of said scam artist appear. And, complain to Craigslist, the publishers of the newspapers where his print ads appear, etc. Some television stations also have consumer help centers. If enough consumers complain, said television news departments might feel obligated to report it on their local news. Even if said scam artist doesn't go to jail, such news stories would go a long way to help prevent said scam from continuing. If any readers of this board can think of any other ways to go after said scam artists, it would very much be appreciated. Thanks!
Sean M Henigan, co-owner & manager, Safe-Homes, Arkansas Inventory & Engraving Service a.k.a. SHARKIESwww.sharkies.us.
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Best quote ever by a politician: "I'm running from public office."
There are a lot of people out there trying to separate you from your hard earned money and make a fast buck themselves. I would go to the Post Office and ask if there is a way to report this guy and his fraud, as the US mail is used to send the contract and money back to him. If they can investigate and shut him down, you have done everyone and our industry a GREAT service.
I will send you a personal message on the job hunting. Out of respect for Fred and his business, I don't want to place it here. However, I did make a small post about it a while back in one of the other sections.
I have the contract now.... it's a scam for sure....all the research i have done people saying he, they, whatever, take the money and run.... $600.00 mailed to them as job security, prior to any leads or other info. what a bozo. i am LOOKING for a job---NOT BUYING one! i wouldn't work if i could afford to buy jobs....ya know??
any~who read on.....enjoy....
Hi ,
We thank you for choosing a working relationship with our company.
Attached is the independent contactor agreement.
Please sign it and mail it to us together with your security deposit.
Please make your Cashiers Check or Money Order in the amount of $600 payable to:
Contract made on ___X-XX-2008____, between Esrom Inc.
here referred to as owner, and
T. (I REMOVED MY NAME) here referred to as contractor.
RECITALS
A. Owner owns and operates a Home Inventory Business and owner desires to have the following service performed. (Home Inventory Service)
B. Contractor agrees to perform this service for owner under the terms and conditions set forth in this contract.
In consideration of the mutual promises set forth in this contract, it is agreed by and between owner and contractor:
SECTION ONE.
DESCRIPTION OF WORK
The work to be performed by contractor includes all services generally performed by the home inventory business. Video taping, documentation, ect.
SECTION TWO.
PAYMENT
Owner will pay contractor the total sum of $100.00 per hour for the work performed under this contract.
Contractor agrees to pay the owner $600.00 to be held as a security deposit and will be refunded 4 months from the date of this contract or 50 home inventory services preformed by the contractor, whichever comes first. Contractor is obligated to perform a minimum of 15 Home Inventory Services per month which will be provided by the Owner.
SECTION THREE.
RELATIONSHIP OF PARTIES
The parties intend that an independent contractor-employer relationship will be created by this contract. Owner is interested only in the results to be achieved and the conduct of the contractor will be in a professional manner at all times. Contractor is not to be considered an agent or employee of owner for any purpose and the employees of contractor are not entitled to any of the benefits that owner provides for owners employees. It is understood that owner does agree to use contractor exclusively in the contractors assigned territory. The territory is as follows: A 15 mile radius from zip code XXXXX. It is further understood that the contractor may not contract for similar services to be performed for other owners while under contract with owner.
SECTION FOUR.
LIABILITY
The work to be performed under this contract will be performed entirely at contractors risk, and contractor assumes all responsibility for the condition of equipment used in the performance of this contract. Contractor agrees to indemnify owner for any and all liability or loss arising in any way out of the performance of this contract.
__________Larry Moore________________________________Date X-XX-2008Esrom Inc. *****THANK YOU GUYS FOR THE HEADS UP!! NOT THAT I WOULD'VE BOUGHT INTO THIS, BUT AT LEAST NOW YOU HAVE SOME PROOF BEFORE I DELETED IT*******GOD BLESS,TAM
hi!!! wow...never had this happen before...job offer, i google the name and or number and BAM! scam notices pop up! hey! thanks you guys!
Larry Moore of ESROM just called me ( I responded to an ad on Craig's list, in Jax Beach, FL. area) from 561-860-6445, claimed he is in current need of insurance inventory personel in my zipcode. the pay is $100.00 hr to travel within 15mi. of my home, once daily, to inventory items people are in the process of insurancing. said he gets $150 for per hr, and passes along 2/3 of it to his employees, all in order to get/keep/maintain good working relationships with potential longterm employees.... also said he would email me from ESROM this afternoon with the contract, i would be an independent contractor, paid Mon. and Fri....twice weekly due to the volume of work and the money i would be making. he also stated once i agree to the coming contract, i would receive my package in approx. 5 business days, i would then go thru training over the phone, then expect to make money in less than 5 days from that. he told me he was in his 60's, retired employee of the 'education' field, and his wife was a nurse....but they have had sooo much response from this new company of his working with insurance companies doing inventory, that it is all they can do now to keep up with the expanding areas and the need for new employees on an everyday basis, because by referrals only he is able to employ new people every week.... needless to say I was skeptical, thus here I am..... I will tell ya more when I get the contract.............
Fred, you saved another unsuspecting individual from this scam.
I received an e-mail from an individual in Colorado who had seen my earlier blog post on home inventory service business scams and wondered about this one.
I directed him to this thread, and wrote a new post about this scam.
As you can see from the 'Beware of Newspaper Ad' thread, we have a scammer who is taking advantage of innocent people with a scam offering to provide home inventory clients with an upfront investment required.
Here is the latest, the NAHIP was contacted today with an inquiry about an ad placed in Colorado. The new company name is Esrom Inc. and is out of Pompano Beach, FL. The names they are now using are Larry Moore and Carol Simms.
They will send you a bogus contract and ask for $600 or more up front for deposit and startup costs. They also now say it is a refundable deposit.
