Complaint Review: OCEAN EQUITY REAL ESTATE & INVESTMENTS LLC

This is a fake company! There is a fake job listing posted on the web for OCEAN EQUITY REAL ESTATE & INVESTMENT LLC for a Remote Data Entry position. They will contact you by email and tell you to set up an interview immediately. I have copied the email below:

Hello Good morning i hope this email meets you well

I am contacting you in regards to your resume you submitted for the Remote position at Ocean Equity Real Estate & Investments, LLC. If interested, you are required to contact the Assistant Hiring Manager Mr Chad Hernandez on Signal Messenger for an interview now. The pay for this position is $29.96 per hour.

Benefits: Health, Dental, Life and AD&D Insurance,Employee Wellness and 401k plans,employee stock purchase plan(ESPP),Paid Time Off and Holidays. These takes place after working for the company after 30 days.

INTERVIEW INSTRUCTIONS

You are required to contact the Hiring Manager Mr Chad Hernandez on Signal Messenger for an interview. You can download the app from your Google Play/App Store or visit https://signal.org/en/download/ , Add the Hiring Manager via his/her Interview ID Number (808-217-5685) to schedule an interview with him/her right now. Good luck!

INTERVIEW DATA & TIME : Immediately
Company website : https://oceanereinvestmentsllc.com/

Best Regards
Ocean Equity Real Estate & Investments, LLC

They make you think you've been accepted for a Remote Data Entry job then they tell you they provide training and you will be provided with training materials such as a Macbook Pro, desk, etc., which you will purchase from their vendor. They will email you a check and tell you their delivery service is having issues.

Once you receive the check and mobile deposit it, they'll tell you to purchase from their vendor. The phone number was 210-889-4483 which belonged to an Alice Muhawenimana. They will give you her Cashapp as $Alic2024. DO NOT SEND ANY MONEY VIA ANY APP UNLESS YOU KNOW THE PERSON YOU ARE SENDING IT TO! 

I found an advertisement online for a Remote Data Entry Position with Ocean Equity Real Estate & Investment, LLC. I applied for the position by uploading my resume and I received an email from Wayne Drahos stating, "Yes! You can reply directly to this email and Wayne will get it." The email detailed the position, salary and to "...contact the Assistant Hiring Manager Mr. Chad Hernandez on Signal Messenger for an interview." It listed Job Benefits, and interview instructions along with the ID Number (808-217-5685).

After speaking with Hernandez through the Signal app, I thought the interview process was kind of odd but since I had not job hunted in almost 20 years, I thought the process may have changed.

On July 20, 2024, I received an email from Walker English (email: info@oceanereinvestmentsllc.com) with a Letter of Acceptance, a W-4 form, and a Background Check Authorization form attached. I completed and returned the documents to the same email address.

Hernandez interviewed me via the Signal app and gave me instructions that the company would be sending me a check to purchase needed materials for the training and job. They told me there was an issue with their mail delivery service and instead of Fedex'ing a check, they emailed me a check for $4900 but the amount was too much to deposit, so they sent me a $2300 check via email. I told them the funds were on hold for 24-hours so I could make sure the check was not fraudulent. I contacted my financial institution to make sure the check was valid, and they told me since I had the funds in my account to cover the amount, the check would not be held. They also could not tell me at time when they would know if the check was legit or not.

This fake company will email you a Letter of Acceptance, a W-4 for taxes, and a Background Check form. DO NOT FILL THESE OUT AND SEND THEM BACK. THIS IS HOW THE SCAMMERS GET YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION!

On July 25, Hernandez contacted me and instructed me to send $1000 to their "vendor" to begin the purchase of a laptop, desk, software, etc. I thought it was strange to send a vendor funds through Zelle and/or Cashapp to a vendor. I looked up the phone number Hernandez gave and noticed the name was Alice Muhawenimana with a Cashapp of, "$mamau20." I told Hernandez I would not send any money through this process and he needed to figure out another way. I told him I had no paper trail, no vendor name, address, etc. They will tell you the vendor will send you an invoice AFTER you send them $1000 to get the process started.

After refusing and telling him he needed to provide a better process like, send me the materials and bill me, Hernandez told me he had my home address and "... you do not want us to take drastic action and steps against you...". Once Mr. Hernandez knew I was adamant about not doing it his way, he called me on the phone. Another red flag was his name being Chad Hernandez yet he had a Middle Eastern accent and he stated, "We have all information about you and your home address, don't make us take drastic measures to get you hurt." At this point, I told Hernandez the conversation was over and he definitely will not threaten me. I told Hernandez if he wants to send someone my way, make sure he comes along with them so I could send all of them to meet their Maker prematurely. 

They will attempt to scare you by saying you signed a contract with them. Don't be fooled or intimidated by this. I reminded him that the "contract" also stated it was an, "At will contract where either party could terminate at any time without cause." 

I told him if he is a legit company, sue me. (Scammers don't sue and don't go to court.)

Things to look for:

1. Their website has no contact information.

2. During the interview I told him I had questions and each time he would ignore my request or change the subject. 

3. The entire interview is via the Signal app so you never see a person face-to-face.

4. The grammar and punctuation is off even though the company stresses attention to detail.

5. The letterhead's spacing on their correspondence is not correct. 

6. Email addresses are not to a specific person but begin with info@.

7. They use fake names like Walker English, Wayne Drahos, and Chad Hernandez.

8. Everything is done without you seeing a live person's face. 

9. They never give you an email address of a specific person you can contact. 

I have filed a report with the Federal Trade Commission.