Complaint Review: Freedom Information Services

I received a call on Friday, February, 4, 2005 from the Freedom Grant Information Services. They told me they were with the United States Federal Government but the guy had a distinct Indian accent. They offered me a grant for up to $50000 for any purpose I wanted. All I had to do was pay $250 and give them my checking account number. I asked for the information to be sent to me so I could review it and they said they would but only after I gave them my account number. I hung up.
Then on the following Monday, they call again and I ask for the address of the company:

PO Box 41802
St. Petersburg, FL 33743
(800) 801 5468

I asked for the guys name and in a very heavy Indian accent he tells me his name is Andrew Smith. I asked for the physical address and he told me if I get a tracking number he would give it to me. So I asked for a tracking number and he said I would get one if I gave him my bank account number.

Watch out for these people. Never give your account number to anyone over the phone or your birthdate, which they asked for the first time.

WARNING This company is being investigated by the FBI, States of Florida, Illinois and Ohio. Anyone associated with this company will also face actions against them.

CALL CENTERS FBI has started calling all call centers located in India who are dialing for this company. Such centers will lose their license to call the United States Of America and further action will be taken against them as deemed fit.

If you want to know about this company or complain or you can help the authorities in the investigation please call any one or all of the following :-

Attorney General Christ (Florida)
Assistant Attorney General Cassandra Karimi (Illinois)
Press Reporter Tamara El-Khoury (727-893-8318)

The Freedom Grants Team

1. James Lovern Criminal accused in multiple lawsuits.
2. Leo Corrigan Criminal accused in multiple lawsuits.
3. Evelyn Hernandez James Lovern's fianc.
4. Nick Serrano Smalltime crook, just recruited.
5. Omar Smalltime crook, just recruited.
6. Melissa Whitman Sharp, criminal mind.
7. Tracy.

Additional Company Names :-

Ultimate Funding, Inc., Consumer Grants
Ultimate Funding Plus, Inc.
Customer Care Plus, Inc.
Government Grant Information Services
Government Grant USA
Federal Government Grant Information Center
Federal Grant
Federal Government Grant Processing Center
Gov Grant Info Service
Government Grant Information Guide
Your Choice
Victims of Crime
National Grant Center
USA Government Grants
US Government Grant Guide
New Federal Government Grant Information
Free US Government Grants
America Helps America
Financial Management Service

How they work?

This is how it started from a call center in Chennai, then Bangalore, then New Delhi..

Saturday about noon, a Tri Cities resident received a phone call from a Rick Slair, who said he was with the Federal Government Grant Processing Center in St. Petersburg, Florida. He said that she had been approved for a grant from the federal government in the amount of $8,000.00. He said that she "qualified" for the grant because she paid her taxes and had no outstanding loans from the federal government.

He went on to say that her name was "given" to them from the credit bureau. She had him explain "grant--free money from the federal government; money you do not have to pay back." She would be receiving the necessary paperwork, which she would need to complete, sign and send back. When asked how she could verify that he is with the federal government he said that she would be given a Grant Access Code which would give her access to the grant money, and that she was to protect this code because it was just like a pin # at the bank.

Then he said that she would need to pay $249.00 to cover the necessary paperwork. He would arrange for the $249.00 to be paid 10 days from today, which would have been July 13th, then she would receive the grant money in 6 to 8 months.

It takes a long time for the paperwork to process, he explained, but that she would receive the grant access code and then would be able to access the $8,000.00 in 6 to 8 months. He wanted to verify information: name, address. She stopped him once again asking him again exactly who do you work for. Again, she was told the Federal Government Grant Processing Department. She asked for his name and a phone no. She was given (800) 551-0799, which she repeated back to him. When she told him that she would need to do some checking before doing anything, she was told that if she did that she would loose her eligibility, as her name would go into the "already called" list and that she would no longer be eligible. At this point, she said that she was sorry that would be the case but that she didn't do anything without checking it out thoroughly.

He was a fast talker who repeated a lot: "free money," "grant," "federal government."

After she hung up, she called the 800# that he provided. It was "Clark and Stone Book Company." She got a recorded message stating their days/hours of operation. The owner of this SPokane, WA. technical book company contacted The Local BBB and stated that they have been receiving numerous calls from people throughout the USA. They are in NO WAY affiliated with this scam, and their number has been given out by this company for deceptive reasons. BEWARE!

This company continues to call people nationwide with its scam, yet now they are giving out other information as follows: FEDERAL GOVERNMENT GRANT PROCESSING CENTER, Mario Sams, Rep ID: 0824, 402 Clarington Street, PO Box 41802, St. Petersburg, FL,33743. The phone number they are now giving people is: 800-552-7092 and that is a beauty supplies store that has nothing to do wtih this scam!

Now they have a different name Freedom Grants and different numbers too!

Legal Action

In Florida
ST. PETERSBURG - A local telemarketing company that was the first to be sued in Ohio for violating that state's Do Not Call law is now facing Florida charges of deceptive trade practices.
Attorney General Charlie Crist filed a civil complaint in Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Court on Tuesday against Consumer Grants USA Inc. of St. Petersburg; James T. Lovern, the company's president; and its vice president, Leo J. Corrigan, saying they duped customers into paying for information that is available to the public for free.
A joint investigation by the Florida Attorney General's Office and the Better Business Bureau of West Florida in Clearwater found that Consumer Grants USA used phone solicitations to inform consumers they had been selected for or won $5,000 to $25,000 in federal government grants.
Customers were asked to give bank account information and pay a fee ranging from $239 to $299. Instead of getting money, they were mailed a guidebook of government grants, many of which they were not eligible for. Information in the guidebook is available to the public for free.
Officials with Consumer Grants USA could not be reached.
In a statement about the suit, Crist's office said Consumer Grants USA claims to run a legitimate business that offers guidebooks on government grants to customers. The attorney general's complaint seeks civil penalties of $10,000 per transaction or $15,000 per transaction involving the elderly.
Crist estimates that as many as 400 people were victimized, but he was not sure how many are in Florida.
Grievances have been filed in Florida from all over the country, said Karen Nalven, president of the Better Business Bureau of West Florida.
Consumer Grants USA, formed just a year ago, is not a member of the Better Business Bureau, but the bureau has processed 359 complaints against the company. Of the 266 complaints concerning sales practices, 191 have been resolved, according to the bureau's Web site.
Nalven said a large number of complaints against big companies is not an anomaly.
"I would say what we look at certainly is the pattern," she said. "There certainly is a high pattern of complaints of the company basically all alleging the same situation." Last month, Ohio's attorney general, Jim Petro, sued the company, saying it violated several state laws involving allegations similar to those in Florida.
"Usually if it's happening in one place, the odds of it happening in another jurisdiction is pretty good," Crist said.
In Illinois

Springfield − Attorney General Lisa Madigan has filed suit against a Florida company allegedly behind a telephone scam that has phones ringing in Illinois with callers on the other end promising government grants in return for a one-time processing fee.
While Madigan said government grants typically are not awarded for personal use, scam artists allegedly lured consumers by falsely telling them grant money could be used for any personal financial need, including credit card or education payments, a down payment on a house or paying off a car loan.
Madigan last month issued a consumer alert warning Illinoisans about the new scam after complaints started coming into her Consumer Protection Division and other national consumer hotlines. Madigan's office has received 19 consumer complaints, most over the past two months, against the Florida company, Consumer Grants USA.
Madigan's office has received complaints from consumers in Boone, Cook, Macon, Madison, Massac, McLean, Peoria, Pike, Rock Island, Sangamon, Schuyler and Woodford Counties. Three of those complaints have been filed by senior citizens.
Madigan's lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Sangamon County Circuit Court, alleges the scam occurred when unsuspecting consumers gave out personal bank account information after being told by a cold caller they had been specially selected to receive a government grant for between $3,000 and $25,000. The telemarketers told consumers that they had to pay a processing fee between $199 and $279 to receive the grant.
Madigan said the scam hinges on a consumer's willingness to reveal bank account information found at the bottom of personal checks. This information allows the scam artist to use desktop software to create what looks like an actual check from the consumer's checking account and debit the so-called processing fees without the consumer's signature.
If a telephone offer sounds too good to be true, it probably is, Madigan said. I urge consumers to just hang up the phone if they receive a call like this. Never, ever give out financial or bank account information to someone you don't know and trust.
Madigan's lawsuit names Consumer Grants USA, Inc., a Florida corporation, doing business as Government Grant, Ultimate Funding, Customer Care Plus and Government Grant Information Center. Madigan's complaint also names as defendants James Lovern, president and director, and Leo Corrigan, vice president and director of Consumer Grants USA. The defendants are charged with multiple violations of the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act.
Madigan's lawsuit asks the court to prohibit the defendants from engaging in the business of telemarketing consumer grants and from further violating Illinois' consumer protection laws. In addition, the lawsuit asks the court to assess a civil penalty of $50,000, additional penalties of $50,000 per violation found to be committed with the intent to defraud and $10,000 for each violation found to have been committed against a person 65 years of age or older.
Madigan reminded consumers that a wealth of information about government grants is readily available online or at local libraries. She added that consumers who were victimized by the scam should immediately contact their banks to request a stop payment or credit for the amount.
For more information about grant scams, or to file a complaint, consumers can visit Madigan's Web site at www.IllinoisAttorneyGeneral.gov/consumers or call the Attorney General's Consumer Fraud Hotline at:
Chicago Springfield Carbondale
1-800-386-5438 1-800-243-0618 1-800-243-0607
1-800-964-3013 (TTY) 1-877-844-5461 (TTY) 1-877-675-9339 (TTY)
Assistant Attorney General Cassandra Karimi is handling the case for Madigan's Consumer Fraud Bureau.
Some additional Business Facts :-

- Have huge outstanding dues to Indian Call Centers which they have no intention of paying.
- FBI has the list of call centers dialing for them in India and action will be taken.
- They don't use ACH debits!!! They use electronic checks. If call centers call back their customers, which are returns, they will get to know that no ACH debit was attempted so the customer was not charged. Now you know why conversion dipped to 10%???
- Payment processor refused to charge customers on their behalf.
- Now they charge customers in the name of Preferred Long Distance Savings.
- The local Criminal Police is looking for James Lovern and Leo Corrigan, if you know their hideout please call police dept. of St. Petersburg and inform them.

How to safeguard yourself?

- Do not establish any business relationship with them.
- Ask them their business address and go there you will find nothing.
- DO NOT BUY the Government Grant Information Guide.

Future Plans

They are planning to launch a Medical Discount Card Fraud (Beneficial Health Group???) and a Free Computer Fraud after cheating Americans and Indian Call Centers in Grant Fraud and Credit Card Fraud (Health Benefits Group).


Activity in India

The reps of this company are in India from 25th January for two weeks. All call centers that they visit and discuss, will be investigated and reported to the FBI.

The Criminal Investigation Division in Florida has established contacts with some Indian companies to track the entire network of these scamsters.

If you are an Indian call center, you are advised to stay away from them.

If you are a victim of their fraud get them now!!!

CLICK here to see why Rip-off Report, as a matter of policy, deleted either a phone number, link or e-mail address from this Report. CLICK AND READ MORE..

This is 100% scam - the US Government does not charge people for grants nor do they call them up on the phone.

Do not give any more information to this individual or company - they are a complete scam. Contact your bank NOW and tell them what happened - you may have to put a hold on your account so this company cannot take money out.

Another rule - never, never give your social security number on the telephone especially never, never, never to someone who CALLS you! You have no idea who they are - they can say anything.

Good luck.