BBB ALERT- Security Company Scheme www.privateofficer.com
BBB ALERT- Security Company Scheme www.privateofficer.com
Atlanta GA NOV 12 2008
BBB ALERT
More than a million jobs have been slashed in the United States this year. The unemployment rate now sits at a 14-year high of 6.5 percent.
With so many people looking for work the Better Business Bureau is getting complaints about one employment company that was operating out of Leander, Texas.
The Better Business Bureau says Antonio Silliano is accused of making thousands of dollars by tricking job applicants into paying fees for background checks with promises of security guard positions that didn’t exist. Now he’s behind bars.
According to the BBB hundreds of job applicants in Central Texas and across the country were asked to pay an up-front fee ranging from $89 to $150 for a background check.
Consumers reported to the BBB that after they paid the fee, they received letters saying this company’s Human Resources department would contact them, but that never happened and consumers say no offers of employment ever materialized.
Consumers also complained that their money was never refunded to them and that additional money was withdrawn from their accounts without their authorization.
The BBB first began investigating Antonio Silliano in February of 2007.
That’s when complaints started coming in about a company in Leander, Texas called Janovsky and Associates.
The complaints alleged the company marketed security guard jobs paying $18 to $28 per hour on several internet employment sites.
When the BBB updated the company’s reliability report with information about the complaints, someone claiming to be the owner of the company called to complain.
He said his name was Ryan Janovsky. BBB staff told him he had unanswered complaints and invited him to try and resolve them.
However, the complaints remained unanswered and unresolved. Members of the Memphis Police Department’s Economic Crimes Unit arrested Silliano after he started advertising jobs there.
He is charged with identity theft. Police say Silliano posted ads for jobs as window washers that paid $21 and required a $69 processing fee for a background check and drug test. Memphis police believe the names Ryan Janovsky and Michael Cioffi are two of several aliases Antonio Silliano used to perpetrate his crimes.
He also operated his scheme under other company names, including First American Scan, Nation Protection, Sendora Security, Silliano and Associates and National Commercial Cleaning. With the jobless rate so high some people have become desperate to find work. Websites like Monster, Hot Jobs and Career Builder receive lots of hits.
The BBB warns that while most job postings on these websites are legitimate, some fraudulent job postings can end up costing unsuspecting applicants.
“The crooks post jobs there and they also contact people who have posted their resumes there,” says Carrie A. Hurt, President and CEO of BBB serving Central, Coastal and Southwest Texas. “So you cannot assume just because it’s on one of these websites, that it’s a legitimate offer.
”The BBB advises when applying for a job, you should never have to pay any fees for things like drug tests or background checks. The employer should always foot the bill.
If you think you are a victim of a job scam, BBB encourages you to contact the three credit bureaus and your credit card companies so they can be on the lookout for fraud.
For more job searching tips, visit www.bbb.org.
BBB ALERT
More than a million jobs have been slashed in the United States this year. The unemployment rate now sits at a 14-year high of 6.5 percent.
With so many people looking for work the Better Business Bureau is getting complaints about one employment company that was operating out of Leander, Texas.
The Better Business Bureau says Antonio Silliano is accused of making thousands of dollars by tricking job applicants into paying fees for background checks with promises of security guard positions that didn’t exist. Now he’s behind bars.
According to the BBB hundreds of job applicants in Central Texas and across the country were asked to pay an up-front fee ranging from $89 to $150 for a background check.
Consumers reported to the BBB that after they paid the fee, they received letters saying this company’s Human Resources department would contact them, but that never happened and consumers say no offers of employment ever materialized.
Consumers also complained that their money was never refunded to them and that additional money was withdrawn from their accounts without their authorization.
The BBB first began investigating Antonio Silliano in February of 2007.
That’s when complaints started coming in about a company in Leander, Texas called Janovsky and Associates.
The complaints alleged the company marketed security guard jobs paying $18 to $28 per hour on several internet employment sites.
When the BBB updated the company’s reliability report with information about the complaints, someone claiming to be the owner of the company called to complain.
He said his name was Ryan Janovsky. BBB staff told him he had unanswered complaints and invited him to try and resolve them.
However, the complaints remained unanswered and unresolved. Members of the Memphis Police Department’s Economic Crimes Unit arrested Silliano after he started advertising jobs there.
He is charged with identity theft. Police say Silliano posted ads for jobs as window washers that paid $21 and required a $69 processing fee for a background check and drug test. Memphis police believe the names Ryan Janovsky and Michael Cioffi are two of several aliases Antonio Silliano used to perpetrate his crimes.
He also operated his scheme under other company names, including First American Scan, Nation Protection, Sendora Security, Silliano and Associates and National Commercial Cleaning. With the jobless rate so high some people have become desperate to find work. Websites like Monster, Hot Jobs and Career Builder receive lots of hits.
The BBB warns that while most job postings on these websites are legitimate, some fraudulent job postings can end up costing unsuspecting applicants.
“The crooks post jobs there and they also contact people who have posted their resumes there,” says Carrie A. Hurt, President and CEO of BBB serving Central, Coastal and Southwest Texas. “So you cannot assume just because it’s on one of these websites, that it’s a legitimate offer.
”The BBB advises when applying for a job, you should never have to pay any fees for things like drug tests or background checks. The employer should always foot the bill.
If you think you are a victim of a job scam, BBB encourages you to contact the three credit bureaus and your credit card companies so they can be on the lookout for fraud.
For more job searching tips, visit www.bbb.org.
=================================================
JOIN THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF PRIVATE OFFICERS
www.privateofficer.com/
Get news alerts, officer down, weather emergency news in your mailbox!
Sign up;adminassist@privateofficer.com
Join us at www.myspace.com/privateofficernews
Come be part of our social network! www.privateofficer.com
Categories: consumer alerts, security
bbb alert, better business bureau
