Complaint Review: Business Marketing Professionals

Business Marketing Professionals (BMP) is a scam. They entice small businesses with Obama administration stimulus money, at least $50,000, calling it grant money.  They count on the fact that the up-front cost of $499.00 is typically small  enough for small businesses to take a chance with and small enough that it would not be worth the time, expense and trouble to pursue legal action if it turns out to be a scam. This was told to me in so many words by C.J. Parks, BMPs Funding Director.  

I received a call in May 2010 from a representative. His job was to spew phrases such as:

         We can get you at least $50,000 dollars in grant (free) money.

         Last your billions went unspent because small businesses did not know about it.

         Corporations get tax breaks under Obamas stimulus plan.    

         We (BMP) have a proprietary and substantial list of private sources of such funding that you (small businesses) can have access to for $499.00.

         We (BMP) are a member of the Better Business Bureau (BBB).

         You are pre-qualified, (upon answering a few questions).

He did not actually know too much about the BMP program. I checked the BBBs web site for any listing while he was on the phone, and told him I could not find any BMP listing. He was baffled and did not know what to say, other than that was what he was told. I asked to talk to someone of a higher authority and knowledge, as I told him of my skepticism.  He gladly obliged by putting C.J. Parks, BMPs so-called finding Director, on the line. He did not know why I could not find them on the BBB site. This guy was high energy. After about 30 minutes of (1) listening to why I did not think my reasons would be seen worthy  of a grant by corporate reviewers,  and (2) a flowery sales pitch, he assured me, after a few minutes of researching his files, that he had at least 6 private corporations that would easily give me grant money. He stated that my concern (over what I felt was a feeble justification when compared to others) was not a problem as these corporations were very liberal in giving grant money away, because they did not want to miss the opportunity for new stimulus tax breaks.   He also reiterated the fact that last year these private corporations were not able to give all their grant money away. He explicitly qualified me and  guaranteed at least $50,000 within 45-90 days.

Parks linked me to a Cori Lynn Perkins who had me complete a client ENROLLMENT form titled, QUEST4FUNDING. She also reassured me that the grant of $50,000 was guaranteed, just before I sent the form in with my credit card number for payment on May 13, 2010.

A Lori Davis called to schedule me with a Ben Contorno, the Grant Specialist, whose job was to assist me in preparing the grant request. Contorno eventually called me and simply told me I had to apply for a grant through common public vectors and that no private money was available to me. I told him that this was completely inconsistent with what C.J. Parks explicitly told me. Contorno acted as though Parks worked for a different company. He said he did not really know Parks and that Parks  was in a different office, and that Parks was wrong. Contorno reported that access to their list of private corporations would cost a lot more money than I paid. He said he would follow-up with Parks.

I eventually got a hold of Parks and he explained to me that Contorno did not know what he was talking about and he would rectify it. He again guaranteed me access to the private list; specifically, the 6 or so corporations upon which he qualified me and that I would get the grant. Parks said he would take of Contorno and have him take care of it. Contorno eventually called me about 2 weeks later, saying he talked with Parks, but did not have anything insofar as the 6 or so private corporations to whom I was to send my grant application. Since this call, I have never heard another word from anyone at BMP, despite numerous voice mails and e-mails that I have sent to all named in this explanation.

On Nevadas Secretary of States web page, I found a Business Marketing Professionals, Inc. entity listed when I checked on May 13, 2010. The entity number is E0084072009-0 and the Nevada business ID is NV20091092047. The officers of the company are as follows: registered agent and secretary is Steven D. Goldstein, president is Alexander S. Collins, treasurer is Susan F. Price, and the director is William Shaw.

Obviously this smelled of FRAUD and a SCAM. I even confronted Parks early on. Of course he emphatically reassured me it was not.